Introducing Next Page

A new Vox offering for book lovers, led by critic Constance Grady. vox.com/culture CULTURE   A few months ago, I decided to count up all the books that were sent to me in a single week in my capacity as Vox’s book critic. I received 25 books in the mail, of which I saved 13 to consider for review and gave away the other 12. These numbers represent the merest fraction of the torrent of new books that come out every week. They are still a lot. They’re a lot for me to get through, and going through new books is my job. For people who don’t have the luxury of reading on company time, it’s pretty much impossible to go through all the new books that come out in a season — even just the new books you think might be good. And that doesn’t touch the millions and millions of great old books languishing out there, waiting to be read. That’s why I’m launching the new [Vox newsletter Next Page](, where we aim to cut through the noise of this massive deluge of new releases and equally massive pile of older books. Every month, we’ll send you a carefully curated selection of a handful of books to help you figure out what to read next. You can get a sense of what kind of books we’ll be reading [in the first post here](. But the main thing uniting everything I recommend is that the writing is going to be beautiful — because what else is worth spending your precious time on? If you love books and you love a beautiful sentence, I hope you’ll join me at Next Page. See you there. —[Constance Grady](, correspondent TKTK [an illustration of a stack of books with the words ''Next Page'' written in blue to the right of the stack, and ''Vox'' written in black above the stack]( Vox Since[Alice Munro’s death]( last month, I’ve been rereading [The Beggar Maid](, her 1987 novel-in-stories, and thinking about what a perfect book it is. The novel-in-stories form is maybe one of the most beautiful variations on the novel, and it’s a structure Munro innovated and mastered. It means a collection of short stories featuring the same characters which, when compiled into a single volume, become a long narrative about them. You might think here of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad or Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street. In The Beggar Maid (published outside the US as Who Do You Think You Are?), the short stories are about Rose, a bright and awkward girl growing up in small-town Canada, and her stepmother Flo, who Rose both admires and is ashamed of. You follow Rose from her clumsy childhood up to her glamorous adulthood, watching the way her life is informed by the impoverished small town she’s left behind. Each story in the cycle stands on its own, discrete and shining like a pearl, and then Munro strings them all together into something new like beads on a necklace. If you haven’t read Munro before, The Beggar Maid is a good place to start. If you’d like something else to read, let’s see what we can do for you. [Read the full story »]( A new book tackles the splendor and squalor of reality TV Critic Emily Nussbaum makes the case for the guilty pleasure as an art form. [Read the full story »]( Why do all the world’s best athletes do Subway commercials? The glitzy campaign, featuring stars like Patrick Mahomes, Simone Biles, and Travis Kelce, is part of an aggressive effort to fix its deep-seated problems. [Read the full story »](   [Become a Vox Member]( Support our journalism — become a Vox Member and you’ll get exclusive access to the newsroom with members-only perks including newsletters, bonus podcasts and videos, and more. [Join our community](   More good stuff to read today - [The whole time? The Boys has been making fun of Trumpers the whole time?!]( - [“Black girl tanning” is the summer’s most radical beauty trend]( - [What to do (and avoid) in extreme heat]( - [I’m pregnant. I’m traveling. I’m terrified.]( - [Do you have a small-business story? Share it with Vox.]( - [What this summer’s age-gap escapist fantasies are missing about romance and middle age](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.