Books

the crime scene

If I Hate Violence So Much, Why Do I Love Writing About It?

 Writers of violent thrillers reflect on — and reaffirm — the ethics of what they do. By Adam Sternbergh
in memoriam

How Mary Oliver’s Biographer Finally Met the Legendary Poet

 Oliver, who died yesterday, connected with people “on the page,” and Lindsay Whalen was no exception. By Lindsay Whalen
class is in session

‘We Are Living in Evil’: Discussing Friday Black’s Horrific Truths

 The Vulture Spoiler Book Club on the shocking, hilarious, deeply moral stories of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. By Boris Kachka, Mitchell Jackson, Morgan Jerkins, Hillary Kelly, and Maris Kreizman
  1. the crime scene
    If I Hate Violence So Much, Why Do I Love Writing About It?Writers of violent thrillers reflect on — and reaffirm — the ethics of what they do.
    By Adam Sternbergh
  2. the crime scene
    I Write Fiction About Border Crime, But Unlike Trump I Tell the Truth.The author of the Cartel trilogy reflects on depicting brutal border violence while Trump exploits it politically.
    By Don Winslow
  3. in memoriam
    How Mary Oliver’s Biographer Finally Met the Legendary PoetOliver, who died yesterday, connected with people “on the page,” and Lindsay Whalen was no exception.
    By Lindsay Whalen
  4. memoirs
    The Best Show’s Tom Scharpling Is Writing a MemoirTitled It Never Ends.
    By Megh Wright
  5. must reads
    6 New Paperbacks You Should Read This JanuaryLeila Slimani, Denis Johnson, and more.
    By Maris Kreizman
  7. class is in session
    ‘We Are Living in Evil’: Discussing Friday Black’s Horrific TruthsThe Vulture Spoiler Book Club on the shocking, hilarious, deeply moral stories of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
    By Boris Kachka, Mitchell Jackson, Morgan Jerkins, Hillary Kelly, and Maris Kreizman
  8. sparking joy
    Marie Kondo Isn’t Trying to Make Everyone Burn Their BooksCalm down, Twitter.
    By Anne Victoria Clark
  9. bad girl lit
    The Villainous Bitch Has Become the Most Boring Trend in LiteratureWe wanted unlikable narrators; we got an army of psychopathic she-beasts too shallow to hate.
    By Hillary Kelly
  10. resolutions
    Help Me! Author Marianne Power Read All the Self-help Books So You Don’t Have ToA single Londoner learned how to take the self out of self-help.
    By Joanna Scutts
  11. poetry
    New Year, New Verse: 4 Poetry Collections That Change the WorldPoems about addiction, war, tokenism, regret, forgiveness, and Republicans.
    By Jonathan Russell Clark
  14. q&a
    The Author of ‘Cat Person’ Wants Her New Book to Make You UncomfortableKristen Roupenian’s new short-story collection, You Know You Want This, builds on the themes of sex and power that made “Cat Person” a phenomenon.
    By Anna Silman
  15. one grand books
    Richard E. Grant’s 10 Favorite BooksLewis Carroll, Virginia Woolf, and more.
    By Richard E. Grant
  16. end of an era
    The Millions Will Live on, But the Indie Book Blog Is DeadSerious readers’ favorite source of outsider reviews, just acquired by Publishers Weekly, was essentially the last of its kind.
    By Kat Rosenfield
  17. oral histories
    The True Origins of Monty Python’s Spamalot MusicalThe best stories from the updated Monty Python oral history, including how Mel Brooks helped give birth to Spamalot.
    By Brian Boone
  18. dystopia
    Welcome to Dystopian Realist FictionToday’s feminist dystopian novels show us worlds far nearer and scarier than Orwell’s nightmares.
    By Cody Delistraty
  19. most anticipated 2019
    37 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2019From old favorites (Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith) to new favorites (Sally Rooney, Marlon James), plus sequels to Olive Kitteridge and The Handmaid’s Tale.
    By Hillary Kelly, Maris Kreizman, Lila Shapiro, Abraham Riesman, and Boris Kachka
  20. books
    10 Books Just Added to the Public Domain That Are Worth ReadingEdith Wharton, e.e. cummings, Agatha Christie, and more.
    By Hillary Kelly
  21. conspiracy theories
    Conspiracy Fiction Once Helped Us Tell the Truth. Now It’s a Weapon for Liars.An author of conspiracy thrillers remembers their heyday and wonders what’s next.
    By Alan Glynn
  22. comedy
    Comic Blythe Roberson on Her Book About Dating Men, Hating MenA single feminist teaches us How to Date Men When You Hate Men
    By Karen Chee
  23. vulture lists
    The Five Essential Jane Austen-Premised NovelsThe canon of books using Austen as a literary device instead of, you know, stealing her plots.
    By Terena Bell
  26. books
    Publishers Weekly Has Acquired the MillionsIt was one of the last independent book blogs.
    By Anne Victoria Clark
  27. must reads
    8 New Books You Should Read This JanuaryChigozie Obioma, Kristen Roupenian, and more.
    By Boris Kachka
  28. set visits
    Marie Kondo Returns, Just in Time for Your New Year’s ResolutionsOn the set of her new Netflix series, Tidying Up.
    By Phoebe Reilly
  29. 2018 in review
    2018: When Asian-American Art Became Its Own GenreIs Asian-American art simply Asian-American creators making work? Or is there something intrinsically Asian-American about the work?
    By E. Alex Jung
  30. obama's best of 2018
    Take a Wild Guess What Barack Obama’s Favorite Book of 2018 WasPer usual, our cool president has good taste.
    By Dee Lockett
  31. great adaptations
    15 Fantasy Adaptations We’re Excited to See on TV SoonSwords, potions, magic, oh my.
    By Devon Ivie
  32. best of 2018
    Hear Vulture Writers Discuss the Best Pop Culture of 2018 for Two Glorious HoursMatt Zoller Seitz, Jerry Saltz, Emily Yoshida, Dee Lockett, Sara Holdren, and Maris Kreizman shared favorites from the year in culture.
    By Vulture Editors
  33. choices
    Publishers Weekly Picks Trump Publishers as Persons of the YearInstead of picking the man himself, they opted to celebrate publishers cashing in on him.
    By Lila Shapiro
  34. best of 2018
    The 10 Best Book Covers of 2018, Described by Their DesignersThe artists behind the year’s most eye-catching covers talk about their sometimes torturous process.
    By Lila Shapiro
  35. whiskey in a teacup
    I Lived Like Reese Witherspoon for a Week and All I Got Was This HamA New York Jewess goes south for the holidays.
    By Rachel Handler
  38. year in culture 2018
    9 Books of Poems That Prove 2018 Was a Fantastic Year — at Least for Poetry.Including two rediscovered classics, a brilliant song of Trump-era outrage, and a transgender scholar’s reworking of Middle English.
    By Meghan O'Rourke
  39. one grand books
    William Finnegan’s 10 Favorite BooksGeorge Orwell, Elena Ferrante, and more.
    By William Finnegan
  40. best of 2018
    The Best Audiobooks of 2018Deborah Eisenberg did her brilliant stories justice and the Beastie Boys invited over a famous cast of dozens.
    By Jenni Laidman
  41. best of 2018
    Fiction’s 10 Best Scenes of 2018Shocking confessions, acts of depravity, and a feminist meet-cute with a merman.
    By Hillary Kelly
  42. best of 2018
    The 10 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2018Sentient plants, a telepathic key, obsessive-compulsive zombies and other avatars of our broken world.
    By Jaime Green
  43. books
    Cool Girl Cazzie David Is Writing a BookIt’s an essay collection inspired by her famous family.
    By Dee Lockett
  44. one grand books
    Nathan Englander’s 10 Favorite BooksNikolai Gogol, Colson Whitehead, and more.
    By Nathan Englander
  45. best of 2018
    The 10 Best Comedy Books of 2018Featuring Chris Gethard, Nell Scovell, The Simpsons, The Kids in the Hall, and an intimate look at Robin Williams.
    By Brian Boone
  46. cher
    Get Ready for Even More Cher in 2020The time has come for a Cher autobiography and biopic.
    By Anne Victoria Clark
  47. money
    Michelle Obama Memoir Continues to Steamroll Every Other Book Released This YearAnd more tour dates were added.
    By John Maher
  50. best of 2018
    The 10 Best Crime Books of 2018Opium smugglers, mad scientists, Instagram socialites, and serial killers fictional and real.
    By Maris Kreizman
  51. she's done it again
    Reese Witherspoon Is Taking You to Where the Crawdads SingBased on author Delia Owens’s novel of the same name.
    By Halle Kiefer
  52. on the books
    Did Michelle Obama Really Sell 2 Million Books in 15 Days? An Investigation.The former First Lady’s book is already this year’s biggest seller. But how do we know the exact numbers?
    By John Maher
  53. old new yawk
    Notes on the Grungy Years: Two Novelists Talk About 1970s New YorkTom Barbash and John Freeman Gill on the Upper West Side of their novels, a land of muggers and John Lennon.
    By John Freeman Gill
  54. year in culture 2018
    In Fiction, It Was the Year of the WomanAmid Trump-obsessed nonfiction blockbusters, women led the way forward for fiction that matters.
    By Hillary Kelly
  55. one grand books
    Deepak Chopra’s 10 Favorite BooksSalman Rushdie, Erwin Schrödinger, and more.
    By Deepak Chopra
  56. year in culture 2018
    Book Publishing’s No Good, Very Good Year of TrumpIn 2018, publishers cried about the president all the way to the bank.
    By Lila Shapiro
  57. best of 2018
    The 10 Best Books of 2018Reinvented auto-fiction from Heti and Cusk, gripping essays, wild tales of Russia and opioids, and final stories from the late master Denis Johnson.
    By Christian Lorentzen
  58. booker book review
    Anna Burns’s Booker Prize–Winning Milkman Offers Some Hope But No ChangeA surprise winner of the U.K. prize, Milkman is about Northern Ireland, #MeToo — and really any time or place — for better and worse.
    By Maddie Crum
  59. must reads
    6 New Books You Should Read This DecemberA Rock Hudson biography, this year’s Booker Prize winner, and more.
    By Boris Kachka
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