
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading is your ultimate source for the best in contemporary fiction, including short stories and novel excerpts from today’s most dynamic voices.
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The Easter Visit From Relationship Hell
An excerpt from Burst by Mary Otis, recommended by Ramona Ausubel

My Wife Lived Countless Lives Before She Met Me
"Connie," an excerpt from Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, recommended by Lauren Groff

Fate Is a Flask Spiked With Acid
"Queen of Heaven" by Joel Cuthbertson, recommended by Electric Literature

The Commuter
A single piece of poetry, flash, graphic, or experimental narrative arriving every Monday morning.
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ISSUE No. 264
The Day I Ghosted My Life
Mar 20 - Ellie Black
Til a Thought Experiment Do Us Part
"The Divorce," flash fiction by Alexandra Wuest

My Empty Ears Listen for the Shore
Three poems by Suphil Lee Park

My Mother Wrote Her Own Ending
"Blood Is Not Your Subject," a graphic narrative by Arwen Donahue

POPULAR in RECOMMENDED READING & THE COMMUTER
Lit Mags
My Mom Doesn’t Recognize Me But Neither Do I
Oct 12 - Wendy Wimmer
Lit Mags
You Can’t Come Back If Your Memories Are Missing
Mar 22 - Chloe N. Clark
Lit Mags
The Great Silence
Oct 12 - Ted Chiang
Lit Mags
The Day I Ghosted My Life
Mar 20 - Ellie Black
More Issues
Four Ways of Looking at a Campus Murder
An excerpt from I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, recommended by Steph Opitz

Mom’s Tissues Are No Match for the Wounds of Time
"Time of Mother," flash fiction by Jefferson Navicky

The Only Thing More Humiliating Than Virginity Is Sex
"One-Hundred Percent Humidity" by Michelle Lyn King, recommended by Electric Literature

Trying on Alternate Selves at the Abandoned Mall
Two poems by A. M. Goodhart

I Am My Best Self on Tripadvisor
"A Visit to Monk's House" from Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Øyehaug, recommended by Kari Dickson

Nina Simone Reminds Me to Suffer No Fools
Two poems by Akhim Alexis
