Carolyn Wells

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Articles

Amarrilo by Morning

Jan 16, 2025 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

Running out of gas one day in Texas, Emily Gogolak is helped by the county judge. The incident stays with her, prompting an interesting reflection on life in different American states. Retracing her steps to find her former savior, Gogolak discovers a small town with special meaning. Gordon has served as county judge for over 30 years. The old gas station, he tells me, shuttered about 20 years ago. Since then, he’s helped too many people to count.
The Vegan Hunter

Jan 14, 2025 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

The end of a bad relationship with a hunting-loving boyfriend inspires Blythe Roberson to reconsider her stance on killing an animal herself. As a vegan, Roberson takes her change in thought very seriously, resulting in a well-considered piece of writing with a touch of humor that prevents any veering into self-importance. Despite being a vegan who lived deep inside New York City, I now wanted to become a hunter.
How a Would-Be Bomber Rebuilt His Life

Jan 10, 2025 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

Michelle Shephard revisits a subject from nearly 20 years ago in this thoughtful look at a terrorist’s redemption story. In examining Zakaria Amara’s life post-prison, Shephard reflects on how her attitude has also moved on. A powerful look at the justice system, rehabilitation, the power of the media, and human beings’ capacity for change. I was surprised to hear from him.
Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Novelist Steal Another Writer’s Story?

Jan 9, 2025 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

In recent years, the “Romantasy” genre has taken the book world by storm. Combining the worlds of romance and fantasy, books such as Sarah J. Maas’s novel “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” about a nineteen-year-old girl who falls in love with a fae high lord, have sold in their milllions. It’s a formula that works, but is it one that can be copyrighted?
They Were Looking for Endangered Tortoises. They Found Human Bones Instead.

Jan 7, 2025 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

Starting as a missing person investigation, this piece instantly pulls you in before taking a sharp turn and placing you in the Mojave desert alongside some tortoise researchers. Mark Sundeen creates a story somewhere between a conservation lesson and Breaking Bad and proves that the desert is still the Wild West. They smelled decaying flesh. Partly covered by sand, wrapped in some sort of bedspread, was—something.
How “Vanilla Tourists” and Threesome-Hunters Ironed Out Feeld’s Kinks

Jan 3, 2025 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

As people become frustrated with more mainstream dating apps, Feeld—an app built for sexual nonconformists—has risen in popularity. But its success is leading to discontent amongst its old-school users. Is the community being ruined by the flood of new “vanilla” swipers? Josiah Gogarty delves into the gripes in this entertaining look at the world of Feeld. In the beginning, Amsterdam’s Feeld community was small, and felt like a secret, exclusive part of the city’s queer scene.
Cancel Culture on Campus: ‘Most of Us Are Terrified’

Dec 31, 2024 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

“At 20 you should be old enough to take responsibility for your actions, but nothing should be unforgivable,” writes Alice Thomson in this investigation into cancel culture at elite universities. Quoting numerous case studies, Thomson finds peer-on-peer policing has become a regular part of university life, with students deemed to step out of line ostracized, sometimes with devastating consequences.
A Year in Reading: Power to the People

Dec 13, 2024 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

Longreads has published hundreds of original stories—personal essays, reported features, reading lists, and more—and more than 13,000 editor’s picks. And they’re all funded by readers like you. Become a member today. “You know you’re going to die—today, tomorrow, within fifty years. . . .
Jude Law’s Beautiful Disappearing Act

Dec 6, 2024 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

It’s nearly the season to treat yourself to an annual rewatch of “The Holiday” (if that’s your bag), so splendid timing for Sam Parker’s GQ profile on Jude Law. There is nothing too scurrilous to find here—Parker offers a gentle look into how Law’s career has developed from “charming, handsome man” to darker roles—but it’s a pleasant meander through Law’s filmography.
The Death and Life of Jacob Cockle

Dec 6, 2024 | longreads.com | Carolyn Wells

Jacob Cockle was passionate about life, a passion echoed in the photographs he took. But it was also a life lived dangerously close to the edge. In this heartfelt piece, Duncan Leatherdale explores Cockle’s life on the beautiful Cornish coastline, his photography, and ultimately his death. Combined with some of Cockle’s stunning photographs, the result is haunting. He won expeditions, stays in fancy hotels, exhibition space.