Reading

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Ted Scheinman
• Member Exclusive

By fourth grade, girls are better than boys at reading and, especially, writing. New research finds this gap then increases as they get older.

• By Tom Jacobs

The NEA reports an increased interest in poetry—but when we focus too much on numbers, we diminish the experience that makes poetry so vital.

• By Chad Bennett

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Chinelo Nkechi Ikem
• Member Exclusive

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Ted Scheinman
• Member Exclusive

As the art of close reading has declined, a cohort of experts has emerged to reverse the trend and encourage stronger reading habits.

• By James McWilliams

We need to help everyday Americans understand suicide better. Literature is well positioned to serve that function.

• By Michelle Falkoff

While the medium is relatively accessible for people with reading difficulties, its lettering norms are still leaving some behind.

• By Christine Ro

A new website from Oxford University sheds light on the organizations and individuals that moved the needle on societal understanding.

• By David M. Perry

More readings on the fallacy of endless economic growth.

• By Christopher Ketcham

How the literary genres you prefer reveal—or shape—your sense of what is ethical.

• By Tom Jacobs

As technology advances, doomsaying remains constant.

• By Michael Dirda

We know literary fiction can make us more empathetic. Can it also be used to raise geopolitical awareness?

• By Emily Tamkin

Abbie Lieberman explores how far one state has gone in improving early literacy—and how far all 50 still have to go.

• By Abbie Lieberman

Electrical signals in the brain may help identify children who'll struggle with reading as early as age three.

• By Nathan Collins

Noah Davis talks to creative Oni Hartstein about reading, drawing, creating communities, and how a trip to Disney World changed her life.

• By Noah Davis

As a kid, Rachael Maddux thought she could shut herself away from the reality of death. Instead, through Reader’s Digest, she came face to face with the fragility of life.

• By Rachael Maddux

The City of Brotherly Love is losing librarians, despite scores of studies proving their value. What gives?

• By Wes Judd

A new reading app turns one classic and one current novel into a pair of serializations. Could it be a way to overcome our very modern tendency to skim?

• By Casey N. Cep

The one-word-at-a-time presentation eliminates the eye movements that help you comprehend what you're reading.

• By Ryan Jacobs

Anthropomorphizing animals is a bad strategy for education, a new study suggests.

• By Paul Bisceglio

New research finds people who read an article presented in a symmetrical format find it both more appealing and more relevant.

• By Tom Jacobs

New research finds a compelling narrative can help us sidestep stereotypes.

• By Tom Jacobs

Only three percent of everything published in the U.S. each year is translated from another language—and the majority of that is computer manuals and other technical material. Why don’t Americans read beyond their borders?

• By Anna Clark