Ruchika Tomar’s debut novel, "A Prayer for Travelers," is set in the fictional Pomoc, Nevada, a small, desolate town of working-class people in the middle of the desert, a landscape evocative of the author’s childhood spent in Southern California’s Inland Empire.

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At the time, I had no idea that it would be the last concert I would be able to attend for the foreseeable future, or that I would become so nostalgic for that act of gathering in a large group of friends and strangers.

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Carly Taylor describes how Henry Miller's unchaste classic can reinvigorate our lives.

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I purchased Alexandra Kleeman’s novel, “You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine,” on a whim because a review on the back cover said, “Kleeman has written ‘Fight Club’ for girls.” If this comparison held up at all, I knew I would be delighted by the book. But from its first pages, I knew immediately…

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In celebration of this season of love, Reads writers share some of their favorite works that delve into the human heart and explore the depths of friendship, romance and more.   Audrey Mitchell, Contributing Writer “The Time Traveller’s Wife”  (Audrey Niffenegger) “Had we but world enough, and time…” The first time Clare and Henry meet…

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When a movie aims to simply render the story of a book onto a screen, as closely as it can to the words on the page, it is always setting itself up for failure. Because this is the general expectation we have for movies based on books, we are often hasty to make the sweeping…

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At the start of this year, Reads beat writers gathered together to discuss several works that have introduced them to new ways of thinking and being in the world.   Haemin Sunim’s “The Things You Can See Only See When You Slow Down” Eric Tang, Contributing Writer I came out of freshman year a mess.…

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Sometime around Week 7, like many Stanford students, I felt I had fallen into a rut. I needed to recenter myself with something both intellectually engaging and entirely self-motivated, something to break the constant inundation of ever-intensifying p-sets and papers. For me, an insightful book is often exactly what I need, and this time Virginia…

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In the week leading up to Thanksgiving break, Reads beat writers gathered together to share a read they are grateful for having in their lives and to reflect on its significance.   Sofia Schlozman, Contributing Writer (sschloz ‘at’ stanford.edu) “If I Should Have a Daughter” by Sarah Kay: For a long time, I thought that…

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In celebration of Halloween, Reads beat writers share a few of their favorite works that probe at the unsettling and the horrific, with recommendations that range from classic mysteries to thrillers that delve into the darkest parts of the human mind.

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Works of art can bring us closer to other people, raise questions that make us examine our values and opinions and articulate emotions and thoughts we’ve had but have never expressed. Perhaps the most resonant artworks are those that give us a new framework for experiencing the world. Art can draw our attention and appreciation…

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