Books

vulture lists

The Best Books of 2022 (So Far)

 A few novels, a transcendent memoir, and an old Greek tale to lay on your beach blanket.
best of 2022

The Best Comedy Books of 2022 (So Far)

 Featuring funny haikus, an SNL alum’s memoir, and an academic exploration of right-wing humor. By Brian Boone
weird jobs

Riding With Conan

 O’Brien’s longtime assistant, Sona Movsesian, on smuggling her boss to work (and making him watch Bad Girls Club) during the Tonight Show debacle. By Sona Movsesian
  1. trailer mix
    Tell Me Lies Trailer: Real Eyes Realize Real LiesThe Hulu adaptation of Carola Lovering’s novel premieres on September 7.
    By Jason P. Frank
  2. rip
    Melissa Bank, Author of The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Dead at 61Remembered for her sharp writing about women’s lives.
    By Jason P. Frank
  3. memoirs
    Jennette McCurdy Remembers the Sam & Cat Moment That ‘Broke’ HerIn I’m Glad My Mom Died, the iCarly star details her lack of control over her early life and acting career.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  4. under oath
    Stephen King, ‘Freelance Writer,’ Testifies Against Book-Publishing MergerHe criticized the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and his publisher, Simon & Schuster.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  5. books
    The Booker Prize 2022 Announces Longlist of 13 BooksAt just 20 years old, Leila Mottley is the youngest writer ever to be longlisted.
    By Zoe Guy
  7. vulture travel
    Now You Can Gone Girl Yourself at SeaOr at least get your book signed by Gillian Flynn on the Danube.
    By Rebecca Alter
  8. coming soon
    Disney+’s Percy Jackson Series Expected to Air in Early 2024According to Rick Riordan’s “personal best guess.”
    By Bethy Squires
  9. vulture lists
    6 Great Audiobooks to Listen to This MonthSarah Vaughan, Ron Shelton, Margarita Montimore, and more.
    By Marshall Heyman
  10. mental health
    Constance Wu Felt Like She Didn’t ‘Deserve to Live’ After Social-Media BacklashShe returned to Twitter three years after she “ignited outrage and internet shaming that got pretty severe.”
    By Rebecca Alter
  11. underrated
    The Sisters Brothers Is the Rare Laugh-Out-Loud NovelComedian Josh Gondelman explains why Patrick deWitt’s book is so worth reading.
    By Jesse Raub
  12. crime
    Where the Crawdads Sing Author Still Wanted for Questioning in Zambia MurderThe Reese Witherspoon–produced film adaptation premieres July 13.
    By Zoe Guy
  13. books
    Shonda Rhimes and Julia Quinn to Expand Shondaland With Bridgerton Prequel NovelFirst she takes over TV, soon literature, then … the world.
    By Jason P. Frank
  14. explosions in the pod
    Song Exploder Is Exploding Books NowFeaturing interviews with Celeste Ng, George Saunders, Michael Cunningham, and more.
    By Bethy Squires
  15. the library is open
    Put Down the Juneteenth Ice Cream and Pick Up These 15 BooksA reading list for America’s latest greeting-card category.
    By Jordan Taliha McDonald
  16. book review
    Ottessa Moshfegh Is Praying for UsThe author has been hailed as a high priestess of filth. Really, she wants to purify her readers.
    By Andrea Long Chu
  17. authors
    James Patterson Has Apologized For His Thoughts About RacismAgainst [checks notes] older white men who want to be writers.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  18. vulture lists
    11 Books to Read If You’re Yearning for More HeartstopperBecause Charlie and Nick could use a summer-reading list before season two.
    By Michele Kirichanskaya
  19. watergate
    What to Watch, Read, and Listen to After GaslitAll the Watergate scandal you can handle.
    By Erin M. Brady
  20. book review
    A Memoir of Prison Time, Delivered With a Note of ApologyIn Corrections in Ink, Keri Blakinger writes about the years of addiction and incarceration she lived through before becoming a reporter.
    By John J. Lennon
  21. encounter
    ‘Have You Read Nevada?’Imogen Binnie’s first novel became a staple of trans literature. Nine years and one reissue later, how much has the culture changed?
    By Harron Walker
  22. summer preview
    17 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This SummerWith new releases from Akwaeke Emezi, Ottessa Moshfegh, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Mohsin Hamid, and more.
  23. yike!
    ‘How to Murder Your Husband’ Writer Convicted of Murdering HusbandNot a How to Get Away With Murder writer, clearly.
    By Rebecca Alter
  24. the group portrait
    Not Your Father’s Paris ReviewThe storied magazine has a new editor, a new staff, and a new vibe.
    By Apoorva Tadepalli
  25. book review
    Either/Or Is a Coming-of-Age Story That Moves at the Speed of ThoughtEither/Or is a sequel to Elif Batuman’s campus novel The Idiot — and it reveals what she’s been up to this whole time.
    By Sarah Chihaya
  26. book review
    In These Novels of Tech Dystopia, Memories Belong to the CloudJennifer Egan’s The Candy House and Vauhini Vara’s The Immortal King Rao are two very different books with a troubling shared prediction.
    By Mallika Rao
  27. profile
    ‘The Goal Is to Get As Bright As Possible’For the highly prolific writer Akwaeke Emezi, literary success is a spiritual calling.
    By Maya Binyam
  28. media digest
    The Believer’s Brief Sale to a Sex-Toy Website Has a Satisfying EndingHow the offbeat literary magazine returned to the hands of its original owner, McSweeney’s.
    By Justin Curto
  29. good one podcast
    Joe Rogan Is Just the Start of ItThe authors of a new book about right-wing comedy discuss the man who’s a “gateway to much more nefarious voices.”
    By Jesse David Fox
  30. book excerpt
    A Downward Tour Through the Right-Wing Comedy ComplexAn excerpt from That’s Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them.
    By Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx
  31. you didn’t hear it from me
    Hot Goss: DeuxMoi Is Becoming a TV ShowThe gossip account’s debut novel isn’t even out yet and it’s getting adapted.
    By Bethy Squires
  32. perfil
    Fernanda Melchor y la tragedia del machismoCon historias inspiradas en el crimen, la novelista arroja luz a los rincones oscuros de la masculinidad.
    By Max Pearl
  33. a spoiler in the bone
    What to Expect in Outlander Season 7, According to the BooksThe supersized seventh season is still far off on the horizon, but thanks to Diana Gabaldon’s novels, we don’t have to wait to find out what happens.
    By Maggie Fremont
  34. coming soon
    Tanya Reynolds Joins Grown-Up Cast of Harold and the Purple CrayonSony’s live-action adaptation of the beloved children’s book has cast a lot of adults so far.
    By Halle Kiefer
  35. profile
    Fernanda Melchor Writes Tragic MachismoIn her crime-inspired novels, male fear and desire are two sides of the same coin.
    By Max Pearl
  36. book excerpt
    When Max Met Furiosa: An Oral History of Casting Mad Max: Fury RoadThe yearslong process of finding the right leads for George Miller’s Oscar winner involved dozens of future stars — and just as many what-ifs.
    By Kyle Buchanan
  37. vulture lists
    9 Great Audiobooks to Listen to This MonthOcean Vuong, Molly Shannon, Tove Ditlevsen, and more.
    By Marshall Heyman
  38. memoirs
    Jamie Lee Curtis DIY’ed Jennifer Grey’s Memoir CoverGraphic design is her passion.
    By Ashley Shannon Wu
  39. trailer mix
    The Conversations With Friends Trailer Features a New Phoebe Bridgers Song‘sidelines’ is out now, as if we weren’t already emotional enough.
    By Justin Curto
  40. vulture lists
    31 New Page-to-Screen Adaptations to Add to Your 2022 Reading ListAnatomy of a Scandal, Conversations With Friends, and more.
    By Emily Maskell
  41. good books
    Oh Look, It’s the National Book Foundation’s Newest ‘5 Under 35’ ListThis year, the honor given to authors for their debut works goes to four novels and a short-story collection.
    By Hillary Kelly
  42. book review
    In the Novel Post-Traumatic, a Trauma Plot Refuses the ObviousIn Chantal V. Johnson’s novel Post-Traumatic, the story of one woman’s breakdown feels visceral and specific.
    By Jamie Hood
  43. encounter
    Ocean Vuong Considers His Work ‘Badass Emo’“I don’t see the fame until it pounces on me, which literally happened the other day.”
    By Brock Colyar
  44. a long talk
    How Chloé Cooper Jones Changed Her MindIn her memoir Easy Beauty, the writer confronts a subject she’d long avoided: her own experience of disability.
    By Amelia Schonbek
  45. profile
    Margo Jefferson Makes Her WayWith her book Constructing a Nervous System, the critic set herself a challenge: to recount her life through a web of influences.
    By Jasmine Sanders
  46. book spoilers
    What to Expect in Bridgerton Season 3, Based on the NovelsThere are a couple of ways the next Bridgerton sibling romance could go, but ton willing, we will have a masquerade ball!
    By Maggie Fremont
  47. josh safdie’s muse
    Julia Fox on Her Upcoming Book: It’s Not a Memoir, But It Is a ‘Masterpiece’So far, anyway… it’s not finished yet.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  48. meet the ton
    Who’s Who in Bridgerton: A Books-to-Series Character GuideAllow us to reintroduce you to the ton.
    By Maggie Fremont
  49. the devil reads deuxmoi
    DeuxMoi to Spin Celebrity Gossip Into Debut NovelANON PLS., the book.
    By Ashley Shannon Wu
  50. books
    The Best Sex Julia May Jonas Has Ever Read“Knausgaard is always looking at the people around him as objects. It feels like someone who’s not fully comfortable writing about sex.”
    As told to Lila Shapiro
  51. trailer mix
    There’s a New Taylor Swift Song (Yay!) in This Trailer (Boo!)Where the Crawdads Sing … along to her new song, “Carolina.”
    By Rebecca Alter
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