Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Literary Hub

No One Cares About Your Dreams—Unless You’re a Famous Writer

Saul Bellow, Susan Sontag, Sylvia Plath and more on their nighttime visions.

Srinivas Rao

Why Excessive Consumption Limits Your Creativity

We consume far more than we create when it should be the opposite.

The Conversation

Why Mourning a Pet Can Be Harder Than Grieving for a Person

Disenfranchised grief refers to losses that society doesn’t fully appreciate or ignores. This makes it harder to mourn, at least in public.

CityLab

Burned-Out Parents Need Better Public Spaces

To ease the burden on families, we need places to let the kids roam free.

The Atlantic

Finding Meaning in Going Nowhere

Author Ottessa Moshfegh opens up about coping with depression, how writing saved her life, and finding solace in an overlooked song.

Stylist

How to Get Rid of Milia, Those Tiny White Bumps That Appear Around Your Eyes and Cheeks

Ever wondered what’s causing those small white bumps around your eyes? They could be milia, and your moisturizer might be to blame.

Popular Science

One Notebook Could Replace All the Productivity Apps That Have Failed You

A nerd’s guide to bullet journaling.

Smithsonian Magazine

Eight of Literature’s Most Powerful Inventions—and the Neuroscience Behind How They Work

These reoccuring story elements have proven effects on our imagination, our emotions and other parts of our psyche.

MIT Press Reader

The Myth of Objective Data

When we view objectivity and subjectivity as opposites rather than complements, we distort the empirical realities of data collection.

The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

Iris Murdoch on Imperfection as Integral to Goodness

Plus, how the beauty of nature and art leavens our most unselfish impulses.

Fast Company

Six Verbs That Make You Sound Weak (No Matter Your Job Title)

Sometimes it’s the smallest words and phrases that shape how you’re perceived at work. Here are a few to watch out for at every level.

Homes & Gardens

I Found Decluttering Exhausting – Then I Tried the ‘One Touch’ Tidying Rule

The ‘one touch’ rule could be the solution if keeping your home tidy feels like a never ending challenge.

Popular Collections

Curated guides to the best reads on the web

Pocket Collections

The Art of Navigating Thorny Office Politics

From bad bosses to gossipy colleagues and, of course, office refrigerator drama.

Today’s Pocket Hits

Friday, August 1

The American Scholar

Hundreds and Thousands

I didn’t know how you could inventory memories. I might search for a particular one, bring it up, dust it off. But how to count five days’ worth?

The Baffler

Winging It

For those trying to overcome their fears of flying, it’s been . . . a challenging time to say the least.

The Independent

Meet the Childfree Communities Planning for a Future Without Kids

As increasing numbers of us can’t or won’t have children, Helen Coffey talks to those who are planning their lives without a nuclear family, and investigates why government policy has yet to catch up with this rapidly growing demographic.

The Hustle

The Only State Without a Walgreens Pharmacy

Many independent pharmacies are in turmoil throughout the US. But a unique law has made North Dakota a haven for mom-and-pop operators.

PBS

In the Gray World of GLP-1 Supplements Online, Health Experts Urge Caution

TikTok beauty influencer Kaycee Ogle is regularly contacted by brands who want her to promote their products. But one email she received in June was different, and made her curious.

Mother Jones

The Surgery That Reveals Everything That’s Wrong With Women’s Health Care

From "wandering wombs" to modern biases, the troubling politics of hysterectomies

The Cut

What If a Child Was Terrified of Food?

The rise of ARFID, a new eating disorder driven not by body image but by fear.

Quanta Magazine

What Can a Cell Remember?

A small but enthusiastic group of neuroscientists is exhuming overlooked experiments and performing new ones to explore whether cells record past experiences — fundamentally challenging what memory is.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

SELF

Why the 5x5 Workout Might Be the Key to Serious Strength Gains

Consider it your gateway to heavy lifting.

Los Angeles Times

NBC’s ‘Dateline’ Hitting the Road for a Live True Crime Show — and Maybe a New Revenue Stream

News shows and networks are looking for ways to engage fans and find new revenue sources.

ESPN

Why Soccer’s Summer Transfer Window Lull Won’t Last Long

The final days of July are the dog days of soccer’s summer transfer window, but August will bring a flurry of wheeling and dealing.

Essence

How Inclusive Storytelling Is Finally Having Its Moment

A growing movement is challenging colorism and reshaping the way Black womanhood is seen on screen.

Harper's Bazaar

What’s Going on With Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson?

Here is everything we know about the “Naked Gun” costars’ relationship

Essence

The Corporate Ladder Is Dead—and Gen Z Wants Nothing to Do With It

Burnout, broken promises, and no work-life balance—young workers are opting out of the old path to success.

The Atlantic

Homes Still Aren’t Designed for a Body Like Mine

Why is it so hard for disabled people to find safe, accessible places to live?

PS

The Surprising Link Between Eczema and Eating Disorders — and What to Do

The link between eczema and disordered eating is more common than you might think.

Axios

What to Do When You’re a Trump Target, Corporate Edition

Advice for companies that become the focus of Trump’s Truth Social posts

Vanity Fair

Inside the Fiery Backlash Against Paramount’s Late Show Cancellation

The furor we’ve seen on late night and ‘South Park’ is just the beginning: TV writers plan to make the cultural cost of capitulating to Trump as high as possible.

Fast Company

From Lincoln’s Dream to an $85 Billion Merger, the Transcontinental Railroad Is Back

The coastal rail giants say it would create ‘the first transcontinental railroad in America’ through an $82 billion deal.

Saveur

What’s Really Causing Your Bad Breath?

From the mouth down to the gut, here’s what science has to say about bad breath—and how to treat it from the inside out.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

CNBC

While the Fed Kept Its Benchmark Unchanged, Here’s What Happened to Consumer Borrowing Rates

When it meets this week, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key short-term interest rate at its current target range — where it has stayed for all of 2025.

Maclean’s

Confessions of the Working Poor

I work hard, buy quality clothes and know how to fake my way through dinner-party conversations. But behind the scenes, I’m part of a fast-growing Canadian underclass.

CNBC

Back-to-School Shopping Is More Expensive This Year — Here’s the Breakdown

This year, parents will pay more for back-to-school essentials such as pens, pencils and backpacks.

CNN

‘Ozempic Face’ May Be Driving a Cosmetic Surgery Boom

“You can only refill a deflated balloon so much, and often surgical intervention is necessary.”

The New York Times

Study May Undercut Idea That Cash Payments to Poor Families Help Child Development

Rigorous new research appears to show that monthly checks intended to help disadvantaged children did little for their well-being, adding a new element to a dispute over expanded government aid.

USA TODAY

Trump’s Trade Deal With the EU: What It Means for Your Wallet

The new tariff could increase prices on goods such as cars, furniture and pharmaceuticals. Trump's tariffs are expected to raise prices by 1.8% in the short term, per the Yale Budget Lab.

CNBC

Even Many High-Earning Americans Don’t Feel Wealthy. Here’s Why

Many high earners in the U.S. still feel broke. Between lifestyle creep, debt and social pressure, even $200,000 per year doesn’t always buy peace of mind.

Vox

How to Make the Hardest Choices of Your Life

From picking a career to picking a spouse, one radical philosophical idea will guide you.

NPR

The Manhattan Gunman Believed He Had CTE. What Does That Mean?

The gunman accused of killing four people in New York City suspected he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE — a degenerative brain disease often associated with football players.

The Guardian

Trust Your Gut and Fail Bravely: Seven Influential Women on the Advice They Would Give Their 30-Year-Old Selves

It’s tempting to imagine what we might have done differently. But, as Diana Nyad says: ‘We earn our wisdom.’

CNBC

Animal Shelters Are Crowded as High Costs Squeeze Pet Owners

Millions of animals are stuck in increasingly cramped shelters because their owners are struggling to pay rising vet bills and other expenses.

NPR

In a First, the Senate Confirms a New CDC Director

Susan Monarez is the first director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to require Senate confirmation. She’s also the first director without a medical degree in more than 70 years.