Our Top Reading Lists

The Longreads editors love to curate the best nonfiction stories on the web for our readers, but we are always happy to have some help! 2023 has been another year where we have published reading lists from outside contributors—on eclectic topics that range from Taylor Swift to neuroscience.

We have been lucky enough to have garnered some regular reading list authors, but we are always happy to welcome first-time listers into the fold. Our top 10 most popular lists of the year include curation from both veterans and new authors, and we are delighted to remind you of their many fantastic recommendations—get comfortable before you dive in, you may be here awhile. 

We’ll continue to commission and publish reading lists in 2024. So, if you’ve got a great idea for a list, please pitch us.

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1. A Reading List About the Neurology of Reading (Melanie Hamon, February 2023)

Seven stories exploring the surprising neuroscience behind the mutability of language and the reading brain.

2. Paging Dr. House: A Medical Mysteries Reading List (Lisa Bubert, March 2023)

In the spirit of TV’s Holmesian healer, enjoy these diagnostic digressions.

3. The Parent Dilemma: Should I have a Child? (Clare Egan, August 2023)

Clare Egan doesn’t know if she wants kids. Will this reading list help?

4. Working on the Edge: A Reading List About Extreme Jobs (Chris Wheatley, June 2023)

A livelihood is not a life—yet many risk the latter in order to create the former.

5. Not Serious People: A Succession Reading List (Chloe Walker, May 2023)

Great writing begets great writing — and the commentary around the HBO smash hit is some of the best around.

6. There She Goes: A Reading List on Women Adventurers (Ailsa Ross, April 2023)

The women you’ll find on top of the world.

7. Librarians on the Front Lines: A Reading List for Library Lovers and Realists (Lisa Bubert, September 2023)

Increasingly, being a librarian is less and less about books and more and more about community survival.

8. From Identity to Inspiration: A Reading List on Why We Run (Sheon Han, February 2023)

Sheon Han built a running habit during lockdown. In this collection, he highlights six writers’ insights on the sport.

9. Read ‘Em and Weep: A Reading List for Criers (Rachel Dlugatch, July 2023)

Grab your handkerchief and get ready for the waterworks.

10. Imperial Eras: A Taylor Swift Reading List (Jill Spivey Caddell, October 2023)

How Taylor Swift reflects every possible version of ourselves.