Books
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The Goldfinch takes flight in cinemas, Robert Macfarlane goes underground and Margaret Atwood continues The Handmaid’s Tale … what to look forward to in the world of books -
An illicit meeting between long-term lovers makes for a poignant, piercing meditation on middle age and the passing of time
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The author of the Regeneration trilogy on Brexit, #MeToo – and rewriting the Iliad from a female perspective for her Costa-shortlisted novel The Silence of the Girls -
Twelve years after JK Rowling’s final book in the wizarding series, why is all the merch still flying off the shelves? -
Sibling loyalty comes under pressure in a Lagos-set debut that mixes crime, love story and family saga
Best books of 2018
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We asked for your opinions on the most outstanding books of the year. From novels by Sally Rooney and Gail Honeyman to memoirs by Brett Anderson and Michelle Obama, here’s what some of you said -
From Brexit satires to time-travelling murder mysteries and a former first lady’s wry observations on life in the White House, our critics pick the best novels, poetry, sports and children’s books of the year -
Observer critics pick their must reads of 2018, from life in 50s Harlem to a tale about the Troubles via Michael Wolff’s lurid profile of Donald Trump
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Fat-shaming and snooty diet advice are rightly targeted in this polemic. But Warner’s anger is oddly limited: why doesn’t he blame the food industry? -
The story of the buccaneering Calouste Gulbenkian, wealthy oilman, who anticipated today’s unfettered global tycoons
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Traumatic memories are bound between covers and then erased in an escapist fantasy debut that becomes a profound parable -
This debut novel about a missing twin in rural Trinidad is a sensitive depiction of family life with the page-flicking urgency of a thriller -
Aphoristic tableaux from the lead-up to the second world war build into a dazzling work of black comedy and political disaster
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From race and gender to queer politics and ecological disaster: huge themes are tackled in a slender Dominican dystopia that spans three time frames with dizzying results -
This twisted portrait of austerity Britain features an agoraphobic heroine -
A searing new voice in ‘sunburnt noir’, a creepy mystery in the Highlands, and a riveting kidnap tale
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Mealtime wars, a puppy without a bark and crazy science … fun and facts for all ages in this month’s selection -
Ten Little Fingers, Clap Hands, Farmer Duck ... the pioneering illustrator talks to Lisa Allardice about her 50 year career and the real story behind We’re Going on a Bear Hunt -
From celebrity-penned tales to fresh interpretations of the classics, here is our pick of the best for hungry readers from tots to teens
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The Irish journalist talks about his new book, which skewers the myths of English nationalism, and finding comfort in Beckett -
Edoardo Ballerini – who has recorded more than 250 titles – says audiobooks are an art form in their own right -
The writer whose radical honesty has won fans across the globe talks about writing as a cry for help, using books to fight racism and why she rejects ‘identity politics’
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Forty years after he first discovered it, Sebastian Barry explains why he loves James Joyce’s short story Eveline, then reads it for you, as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists -
With sleep problems on the rise, Phoebe Smith was tasked with writing stories deliberately designed to help people nod off – with the help of Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley -
If The Book Thief is the Australian author’s most famous book, this is his magnum opus
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Terry Pratchett, PG Wodehouse, Muriel Spark, Beryl Bainbridge ... we want to start 2019 with a laugh, so nominate a book here -
Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them
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What to read
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The novelist on why Penelope Fitzgerald is underrated and the book that changed his mind about science fiction -
Tales that show we can start afresh are what we need at this time of year – so Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun, shares her favourites -
You may have missed
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From a tiny copy of the Divine Comedy and a once-illegal birth control guide to a Bible the size of a stamp, these strange artefacts are masterpieces writ small -
As 2018 ends, the author reveals the books he has finally got round to reading this year – hardy survivors, he explains, of years of house moves and bookshelf clear-outs -
New agents and imprints, Northern Ireland’s first Man Booker winner … in 2018 the books world turned towards inclusivity and a broadening of perspectives -
Worshipped as a saint in Vietnam, beloved by the sex workers of Paris, with a party trick involving an orange – as Les Misérables comes to the BBC, let’s celebrate Hugo’s individualist spirit
Book of the day Kafka’s Last Trial by Benjamin Balint – long battle over a literary legacy