Books That Open the Mind

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TL;DR

The article recommends literature that challenges readers and expands their worldview, featuring demanding books that offer intellectual exercise and grab attention. It includes curated lists from writers and encourages engaging with thought-provoking works.

Our writers’ recommendations for literature that challenges and expands

A shapeshifting GIF of a book — Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic

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Challenge has become a dirty word in literary circles, Robert Rubsam wrote recently: “This era of declining literacy and unsteady sales has led publishers to seek out writing that is summarizable, adaptable.” But books that demand effort, Rubsam argues, can help us encounter new possibilities in both literature and life.

“Whatever the limitations of the marketplace, great writing remains as capable as ever of breaking open your sense of the world and your place in it,” Rubsam writes. Today’s newsletter rounds up some of our recommendations for books that will challenge you and grab your attention.

On Reading Habits

A Bizarre, Challenging Book More People Should Read

By Robert Rubsam

The true pleasure of literature can be found in demanding works such as Your Name Here, by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff.

Read the article.

Five Books That Offer Readers Intellectual Exercise

By Ilana Masad

Each of these titles exercises a different kind of reading muscle so that you can choose the one that will push you most.

Read the article.

Seven Books That Will Make You Put Down Your Phone

By Bekah Waalkes

These titles self-consciously aim to grab their reader’s attention. (From 2023)

Read the article.

Still Curious?

A reading resolution you can keep: Aim to bump older, culturally important, or much-recommended works to the top of your to-be-read list, Emma Sarappo writes.

Read these six books—just trust us: Each title richly rewards readers who come in with little prior knowledge.

Other Diversions

Reading is a vice.

One weird trick to feel more relaxed at home

The cult of Costco

PS

I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. “Walking near my house in Seattle on a rainy fall day, I saw a number of leaves stuck to the sidewalk with rain beaded on them. This one was my favorite,” Dave B., 65, writes.

I’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks.

— Isabel