What do our libraries say about us? It’s a question the Book Bench has explored in detail in the past. The answer we came up with is: A lot. In a recent piece in the magazine, James Wood gave a more nuanced response. “Our libraries perhaps say nothing very particular about us at all,” he writes. “Each brick in the wall of a library is a borrowed brick: several thousand people, perhaps several hundred thousand, own books by F. E. Peters…. We tend to venerate libraries once we know whose they are, like admiring a famous philosopher’s eyes or a ballet dancer’s foot.” This principle guides Leah Price’s new volume, “Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books,” which presents photographs of the libraries of thirteen authors—including Wood and his wife, Claire Messud—alongside interviews about their collections, their most prized titles, and their reading habits. Below, a selection of images and text from the book.
Books & Fiction
Short stories and poems, plus author interviews, profiles, and tales from the world of literature.
The Art World
The Whitney Biennial’s Taste for Flesh
The long-running survey has its usual missteps, but several works shine with wit and insight about the human body.
By Jackson Arn
Critics at Large
The New Coming-of-Age Story
Vinson Cunningham discusses his début novel, “Great Expectations,” a bildungsroman that captures a particular moment in American life—and that offers some clues about where the genre is heading.
Under Review
The Best Books We’ve Read in 2024 So Far
Our editors and critics review notable new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
By The New Yorker