Our writers’ recommendations for literature that challenges and expands
January 3, 2026, 10:29 AM ET
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
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 brea…
Our writers’ recommendations for literature that challenges and expands
January 3, 2026, 10:29 AM ET
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
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.
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.
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)
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
PS
Courtesy of Dave B
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