#reading

#reading

Picture this: last weekend, while everyone was posting Instagram stories from crowded bars and house parties, I was curled up with a book about behavioral economics, completely absorbed. A friend texted asking if I was coming out, and when I said I was staying in to read, she replied with "You're such a nerd!" followed by a laughing emoji. But here's the thing-according to psychology research, my preference for books over parties might actually come with some serious intellectual perks.

Twin UK festivals Reading and Leeds will hold their 2026 editions on August 27-30 with mostly identical lineups, albeit with the artists playing on different days. Charli XCX, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C., Chase & Status Live, and Raye are this year's headliners and both fests also have Kneecap, Geese, Skepta, Sombr, Role Model and more. Leeds has Kasabian, who aren't currently listed on Reading's poster, on its Thursday night.

The best part about reading? No matter what type of book you choose, it inevitably helps you escape life for a little while also bringing you a more sharpened understanding of your existence. Whether you're looking to lose or find yourself, books are typically the answer. And our best books of 2025 definitely deliver. Following are the titles that we found difficult to put down throughout the last 12 months. Whether you're looking to expand your knowledge, flip your perspective, enhance your awareness of self and others, or simply bust yourself out of a rut, the following are our recommendations, in no particular order.

He spent much of the year or so hiatus caring for newborn Iris, but it also marked an unexpected turning point: Apatow began reading more than he ever had in his life. "I think it was the specificity of describing the human condition [in these books] that, through osmosis, reoriented me somehow. I got less dumb," Apatow tells Bustle ahead of the release of his latest book, Comedy Nerd.

A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers. However, it is challenging to get around to actually reading them.

"Reading has been unfairly maligned as an indoor activity for far too long. As a child, when nice weather came around, I was told to put down my book and go play outside."

'The Everything Store' by Brad Stone is a book I revisit every year. It shows exactly what relentless focus looks like, and it keeps me sharp. Every time I read it, I walk away with fresh ideas on staying agile, protecting my brand, and thinking several steps ahead.

For the cover of the July 7 & 14, 2025, special Fiction Issue, the artist Malika Favre chose an unusual setting to portray someone captivated by a book. "I really admire these brave men and women-I myself am plagued by a fear of heights," Favre said.

As a writer and avid gamer, I love how storytelling, gameplay, and creativity combine in games, making them unique compared to other media forms.

Reading was just reading, and no matter what you chose to read-the paper, Proust, " The Power Broker "-you basically did it by moving your eyes across a page.

"I didn't do it like that," Hassabis said. "I just did it through my gaming and reading a hell of a lot when I was a kid, both science fiction and science."

This partnership is also an initiative to support the library's summer reading programming and promote literacy.

"I'm teaching them the skill of partying. That's what I can bring to the table."

Great writing has the power to make a place you've never visited feel totally familiar. Carpentaria achieves that feat with rich environmental detail.

Recent research indicates a significant decline in the practice of reading aloud to children, with only 41% of parents of 0- to 4-year-olds doing it regularly.

I went to a book party last night, for very smart people. And I thought that might, like, through osmosis, just kind of pass onto me.