Books
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Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them -
From the evolution of plumbing to the freedoms of well-to-do women, the historian chooses books that shine a light on the nitty-gritty of life in the past
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A playful appropriation of some deliberately clunky metaphors manages to find startling life in them -
The writer on the meadows that inspired her love of nature and the eccentrics who taught her to live the life she wanted -
Olivia Laing tests the limits of fiction in this extraordinary debut novel
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Adam Thorpe’s erudite memoir reflects on the realities of relocating to a rustic French idyll -
Even a historian identified with optimism about the UK despairs about the country’s current predicament. Is revival possible? -
US senator John McCain’s cancer battle sets the mood for this chronicle of ‘great’ political fights
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The last volume of the Norwegian author’s Seasons quartet will keep his fans occupied, if not entirely satisfied -
A murderous meme, a death foretold and a twisted post-Brexit future – three to spook you -
Segal’s lightly fictionalised account of her time in England as a Jewish refugee is both moving and timely
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A boy alone in postwar London is drawn into shadowy worlds in this suspenseful yet frustrating story from the English Patient author -
This Is What Happened by Mick Herron, The Blood Road by Stuart MacBride, The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney, The Poison Bed by EC Fremantle and A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss -
Women fill with fury at waste, eco-apocalypse and the pressure to be flawless in a lyrical and oblique short story collection
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Plus a gentle introduction to the refugee crisis -
Dogs and jungle animals for young ones, politics and mysteries for older readers -
The plot may not be very original, but Dave Eggers can’t write a boring sentence - kids will love this tale of dark underground forces
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After writing novels on artificial intelligence, neuroscience and genetics, Powers’ has turned to trees. While on a hike through the Great Smoky Mountains, he talks about environmentalism and not having children -
The acclaimed novelist on his love of satire, Philip Roth and the death of the American dream -
As a gameshow prodigy, Joel Kupperman was fawned over by celebrities and received 10,000 fan letters a week. His son Michael’s illustrated memoir All the Answers explores the true story his father never told him
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Authors including AA Dhand, Steph Cha and Alex Segura explain how they are broadening the horizons of a traditionally very white genre -
Solar Bones, the Irish author’s fifth book, is told by a ghost on All Souls’ Day and was turned away by major publishers as too uncommercial -
The creator of comics such as Kingsman, Kick-Ass and now The Magic Order explains why he signed to the streaming giant – and how he did it equitably
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Attending the World Cup? Our expert suggests some modern fiction from the host nation -
Culture won’t be diluted by promoting minority writers. Its privileged ‘defenders’ are just trying to silence other voices, says author Hanif Kureishi -
What to read
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From the evolution of plumbing to the freedoms of well-to-do women, the historian chooses books that shine a light on the nitty-gritty of life in the past
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The novelist on how Notes from Underground lit her path to the dark side, the brilliance of Penelope Fitzgerald and comforts of Anna Karenina -
Books coming in 2018
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Which debut novel should you reach for this spring? Here’s our guide to the most exciting voices in fiction, politics, SF, graphic novels and more
You may have missed
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A place of sanctuary, rocks and rock festivals – what draws artists and writers to the desert’s unforgiving landscape? -
Technology is starting to behave in intelligent and unpredictable ways that even its creators don’t understand. As machines increasingly shape global events, how can we regain control? -
Sex, money, freedom, class ... Dunn’s 1960s interviews with Edna O’Brien, Pauline Boty, Ann Quin and others are a revelation today -
That’s the claim made by the authors of The Inner Level, which furthers arguments first laid out in their 2009 work, The Spirit Level. They reveal the bleak truth about uneven societies
Geraldine McCaughrean Carnegie medal winner slams children’s book publishers for ‘accessible’ prose