Weekend reads: Week of August 15, 2026

Here's a collection of literary posts that we didn't share on our reader blog this past week but thought were worth highlighting.

• Come for the Heated Rivalry cottage; stay for everything else (The New York Times) 

• Let's do a "Couch to 5K" for reading (Naomi Alderman on Substack) 

• Woman's storage solution for her 800+ books divides the internet (People)

• How DNF became A-OK (The New York Times)

• Readers weigh in on when it's OK to give up on a book (The New York Times)