Ten Outstanding Short Stories to Read in 2025
Kickstart your reading year with 10 short stories selected by longtime contributor Pravesh Bhardwaj.
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Our favorite stories of 2024.
A collection of top Longreads originals and editors’ picks from across the web.
The Twin Bandits
“The police couldn’t figure out how the perpetrator ripped off two banks at the same time. Until they discovered there wasn’t just one robber but a pair of them: identical twin brothers.”
The Journalist Who the Nazis Could Not Silence
No one has ever received more nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize than Carl von Ossietzky. This is his story.
Where Miracles Exist for the Weekend
An unlikely journey of marriage, faith, and doubt in the Jaliscan highlands.
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Weekly Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Michelle Shephard, Adrienne Mason, Dylan Levi King, Sara Mitchell, and Saskia Solomon.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Ed Park, Rachel Kushner, Will Tavlin, Michaela Cavanagh, and S.C. Gwynne.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Showcasing stories from Oliver Whang, Shannon Mattern, Niko McCarty and Xander Balwit, Josh Dzieza, and Sam Parker.
Essays and Features
Best of 2024: The Stories You Missed
It’s been a busy year: Here are some noteworthy pieces that may have passed you by.
Best of 2024: All Our Number Five Story Picks
Every story that appeared in the number five slot in our Weekly Top 5, all in one place.
Best of 2024: All Our Number One Story Picks
Every story that appeared in the number one slot in our Weekly Top 5, all in one place.
Best of 2024: The Most Popular Editors’ Picks of the Year
Our readership has spoken! This list compiles the most-viewed stories we recommended in 2024.
Best of 2024: Our Most Popular Stories of the Year
Our 10 most-read Longreads essays of 2024.
A Year in Reading: Power to the People
Incorrigible, insightful, inspiring: the incredible people of 2024.
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Reading Lists
Knotty Business: A Delightfully Tangled Reading List on Knots
Six stories on our fascination with knots.
Eyes on the Prize: A Treasure Hunting Reading List
Every quest holds at its heart a puzzle to solve—and that puzzle can become an obsession.
Come One, Come All: A Reading List on Parks
The drama within our public spaces.
In Living Color: A Prismatic Reading List on Pigment, Paint, and Perception
Six stories celebrating color in all its beauty.
Not Just Communes: A Reading List on Intentional Communities
Six stories highlighting communal lifestyles, past and present.
Bad Blood (Longreads’ Version): A Musical Feuds Reading List
Whether competition between artists or strife within a band, popular music features some of pop culture’s messiest rivalries.
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