Literary Hub

Featured

Who Are the Best Monsters in Literature?

Mothman Is My Boyfriend Author McKayla Coyle has Some Ideas
Featured

Seven of the Greatest Farts in Western Literature

Elizabeth Zaleski Finds Famous Moments of Flatulence in Classic and Contemporary Works
Featured

May’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Speculative Adventures from Fonda Lee, Ada Hoffman, Veronica Roth, and more
Featured

“Bridget Jones meets Slavoj Žižek.” And Other Wild Book Pitches From My Inbox

Maris Kreizman on What Makes a Good Publicist Pitch

Happiness is Within Reach! And Other Fragments of Ancient Greek Wisdom

By James Romm

“Mise en Abyme,” a Poem by Lisa Russ Spaar

By Lisa Russ Spaar

“No One Talked.” On Growing Up Under Brazil’s Military Dictatorship

By Juliet Faithfull

The Power of the Stranger as Plot

By Ilona Bannister

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on Moving From Resolve to Action, Addressing the Climate Crisis

By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Thinking Inside the Box: How Constraints Can Make Us More Creative

By David Epstein

Violaine Huisman on Confronting a Father and Grandfather’s Legacy of Infidelity

By Violaine Huisman

What Objects Can—and Should—Reveal About Their Owners

By Rachel F. Seidman

On Making Time to Read War and Peace and Other Great Literary Works

By Laura Vanderkam

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Your
Daily Fiction

Deafness Should Be Allowed to Be Unremarkable

By Sara Nović

Elizabeth Strout on Creating a Quietly Strong Protagonist

By Jane Ciabattari

How Being a Mediocre Scientist Helped Me Become a Better Novelist

By Vincent Yu

What Animal Parents Teach Humans About Care

By Elizabeth Preston

Grave Years and the Undead Woman: On the Chilling Erasure of Mothers’ Needs

By Tiffany Tsao

Kaveh Akbar on Fiction’s Role Towards Revolutionary Action

By Kaveh Akbar

Crime Reads

Crime Reads

May 4, 2026

10 New Books Coming Out This Week

By CrimeReads

State of the Crime Novel, Part 2: Issues and Recommendations

By Molly Odintz

State of Crime Novel, Part 1: Routines, Problem-Solving, and Faithful Companions

By Molly Odintz

10 New Books Coming Out This Week

By CrimeReads

Book Marks

Book Marks

5 Reviews You Need to Read This Week

The Best Reviewed Books of the Month

Han Kang’s Light and Thread is a Love Letter to Language

By Clara Hillis

10 Great New Children’s Books Out in May 2026

By Caroline Carlson

Lauren Groff: There is No Such Thing as Boredom, Only Noticing

By Lauren Groff

“Be the Change.” On the Misattributed Origins of a Popular Slogan

By Benoit Denizet-Lewis

John Cougar Mellencamp Will Fight You: On the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rise of a Combative Heartland Leftist

By Erin Osmon

What Erdoğan’s Rule Reveals About the Current State of Western Democracies

By Suzy Hansen

On Humanity’s Earliest Attempts
to Make a Home

By Stefan Al

Ten Great Nonfiction Titles to Read in May

By Literary Hub

What Erdoğan’s Rule Reveals About the Current State of Western Democracies

By Suzy Hansen