When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.
Linguist Amanda Montell is the creator of the podcast "Sounds Like a Cult" and the author of "Cultish" and "Wordslut." Her new book, "The Age of Magical Overthinking," explores the cognitive biases running rampant in today's information age.
'Stiff' by Mary Roach (2003)
I fell in love with Mary Roach's witty, hypercurious, totally singular science writing thanks to this macabre (but not grotesque) nonfiction exploration of dead bodies. I owe so much of my voice as a writer — including the silly footnotes in my books — to Roach, whose delightful diction has breathed life into topics from space travel to digestion. Buy it here.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Word by Word' by Kory Stamper (2017)
Written by a career lexicographer with an infectious love of the English language, this ode to the dictionary is full of fun facts for linguistics lovers, as well as intimate stories that nerds of all stripes can enjoy. It's a cozy book that will make you appreciate dictionary entries with newfound wonder. Buy it here.
'Noise' by Daniel Kahneman et al. (2021)
Kahneman's books belong in any skeptic's starter pack, including this one. The Nobel-winning psychologist just passed away at 90 after devoting his life to studying human decision-making, and his work on our irrationality is more urgent than ever. Though we humans aren't very good at changing other people's minds, we have much better luck changing our own. Buy it here.
'Everything/Nothing/Someone' by Alice Carrière (2023)
Carrière is the daughter of an illustrious but aloof New York painter and a movie star with such boundary issues that you wonder, "Was this child abuse, or is he just European?" Carrière's memoir describes her romantic but isolated West Village childhood, and a 15-year roller coaster of psychiatric hospitalization, overprescription, drug abuse, and self-destruction, in prose that's gorgeous, timeless, and wise. Buy it here.
'Grief Is for People' by Sloane Crosley (2024)
Crosley is the writer who made me feel like I could write books one day. What a gift to read her intimate elegy to her best friend, who died by suicide. Crosley is well-known for her humor, which I appreciate even more in the context of such vulnerable solemnity. Buy it here.
'All Fours' by Miranda July (2024)
I am in awe of Miranda July's mind. Her forthcoming novel deals with aging and desire while chronicling the auto-fictional story of a 45-year-old semi-famous artist who embarks on a cross-country road trip that's quickly derailed. It's peculiar, gripping, saucy, heartbreaking...everything July does best. Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
September 17 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a diet of outrage, toxic rhetoric, and tank treads on states' rights
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very momentThe Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add upThe Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
