books
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Penelope Lively: ‘I thought short stories had left me completely’The author on her unexpected new collection, the turmoil in British politics and her ‘tin ear’ for the class system -
Petina Gappah: ‘I was a lawyer, but I forced myself to write before I went to work’The author on her mini-life crisis, her ‘white whale’ novel and dreams of yoga on a veranda in the mountains
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The best children’s booksFrom tales of migration and crime to wolves, bugs and the difficulty of sharing – Julia Eccleshare’s picks of the year -
The best books on drinkHenry Jeffreys raises a glass to the British pub – and goes in search of volcanic wines
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Alan Moore talks to Stewart LeeThe comics legend tells the standup comic why his latest project is a small-town novel set in the Midlands, running to 1,280 pages and titled Jerusalem
news
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Harper Lee's hometown entertains grand plans for Mockingbird tourismLocal businesses led by the late novelist’s lawyer reveal ‘bigger vision’ for Monroeville, including building some of the houses in the story
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Jeremy Hunt's workhouse and the art of misusing a quotationThe health secretary this week clumsily invoked Oliver Twist to scold doctors wanting more funds. So we wondered what other great words politicians could mangle?
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Why bad sex is an international languageErri De Luca’s The Day Before Happiness is the first translated novel to win. But has a prize designed to ridicule high-profile literary novelists outlived its purpose?
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best books of 2016
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Nicholas Lezard’s best paperbacks of the yearKazuo Ishiguro’s haunting The Buried Giant, Adam Mars-Jones’s hilarious memoir and Sydney Padua’s eye-opening graphic novel are some of this year’s highlights
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jonathan Franzen, Julian Barnes and more...From Zadie Smith’s Swing Time to horror in the Highlands and a brief history of tomorrow ...
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Rose Tremain, Sebastian Barry, Paula Hawkins and othersPaula Hawkins reflects on guilt, Jackie Kay seeks hope post-Brexit, and David Nicholls is lured into the lonely city … writers pick their best books of 2016
regulars
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100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time100 Best Nonfiction Books of All TimeThe 100 best nonfiction books: No 44 – Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves (1929)Robert Graves’s account of his experiences in the trenches of the first world war is a subversive tour de force
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The first book interviewThe first book interviewLeroy Smith: 'Guns, robberies. That was my life'The first book interview: Out of the Box, written from shocking experience, is the memoir of a reformed criminal with an impassioned message for young black men
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Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books about postwar BritainFrom George Orwell to John Wyndham, novelist Linda Grant finds compelling reading about the ‘strange interregnum’ that followed the defeat of Nazi Germany
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PodcastPodcastAlan Moore talks to Stewart Lee – books podcastThe comics legend tells the standup comic why his latest project is a small-town novel set in the Midlands, running to 1,280 pages and titled Jerusalem
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The Hotel Years by Joseph Roth – Europe’s interwar era brought to lifeThe first appearance in English of a wonderful collection of articles by Joseph Roth captures his wanderings in cosmopolitan society before the rise of Nazism
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When in French by Lauren Collins – love and a language gulfAn American writer meets her French husband to be in a charming memoir that explores how language defines who we are
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Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey – the edge of EuropeMadeleine Bunting’s thrilling voyage through the islands considers their poetic appeal and place in national culture
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Vertical by Stephen Graham – class war from aboveCities are now segregated by height, with the world’s wealthiest living high, argues this fascinating book
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Saving Grace by Grace Wilson – brilliant commentary on the housing crisis
Graphic novel of the month Saving Grace by Grace Wilson – brilliant commentary on the housing crisis
A graduate’s struggle to find a room in London makes for a wise, hilarious graphic memoir -
All Out War; The Brexit Club; The Bad Boys of Brexit – rollicking referendum recollectionsThree excellent accounts of the EU referendum campaigning expose the petty conniving of all involved
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The best new picture books and novelsMonochrome magic with Mary Poppins, a swooning YA romance and Winnie-the-Pooh returns
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Christmas Days – cruelty, comfort and joyDifficult childhood memories transmute into forgiveness in a mix of seasonal stories, recipes, animal fables and fairytales
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Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton – portrait of an author ahead of her timeThis luminous biographical novel about unconventional 17th-century writer Margaret Cavendish is a small miracle of imaginative sympathy
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Himself by Jess Kidd – a dark and rollicking debutBuried secrets are uncovered and the dead rise in Kidd’s fantastical literary thriller set on the west coast of Ireland
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The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler – bittersweet follow-up to A Whole LifeRobert Seethaler has another hit on his hands with this coming-of-age tale set in pre-war Vienna
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Rotten Row by Petina Gappah – buzzing with Zimbabwe lifeFrom the hairdresser’s salon to the kombi bus, these compelling short stories vividly capture ordinary lives and the tensions that call for the law
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Picture books for childrenA classic song leaps from the page while a baby bunny throws a monster tantrum… the pick of the titles for younger readers
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Fiction for 8 to 12-year-oldsCelebrity authors Tom Fletcher and Clare Balding come up trumps along with seasoned favourites from Moira Young to Lauren Child
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The best new teenage fictionThis season sees plenty of emotionally charged titles to choose from, including tales of love from New York and beyond the grave and the aftermath of childhood
people
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A practical utopian from a divided USThe author of Little Women grew up among idealistic transcendentalists – and the book itself was a practical sacrifice to sustain those dreams
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It was an anchor at the bottom of the year. It fixed my childhood in placeThe festive period can feel overly sentimental and commercialised, but it also serves as a beacon of hope and joy
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Letting US authors compete for Booker prize is 'daft', says authorFormer winner says opening award to American writers, including ‘heavy hitters’, would limit chances of others
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There was nothing in my family that could be agreed uponNadja Spiegelman talks about the influence of her artist father Art Spiegelman, creator of the graphic novel Maus, and her new family memoir
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
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The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: omelette aux fines herbes from The Devil’s FeastA fan of the famous French chef Alexis Soyer, Kate Young recreates a recipe made by Soyer in MJ Carter’s mystery novel The Devil’s Feast
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Interview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore: Her Bookshop in TennesseeAfter 20 years working in publishing, Joelle Herr opened Her Bookshop in East Nashville in mid-2016 – and already can’t recall life before bookselling
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pictures, video & audio
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Alice in Wonderland's engravings – a forgotten storyLewis Carroll’s classic is renowned for John Tenniel’s illustrations. But few know about the engravers who made it all happen. Take a look at their work
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Nordic noir with Kati Hiekkapelto and Antti TuomainenWe investigate crime fiction from the frozen north with two of Finland’s rising literary stars
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Nazis on retreat: the SS holiday camp near AuschwitzWhen author William Ryan came across photos of Nazi criminals at a luxury retreat just a few miles from Auschwitz, he was inspired to write his novel The Constant Soldier, about the last days of the war as seen from a holiday hut
you may have missed
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At times I am Philip K Dick, minus the amphetamines, bashing out 6,000 words a dayThe novelist and children’s writer on running, hypochondria and his territorial Maltese terrier
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You have to act against the gravity of grief – to decide you won’t fallThe Israeli author on his comedic novel, family tragedy and reading in a war zone
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The screenplay of Fantastic Beasts is a rare miss for the wizarding worldJK Rowling’s little dictionary of animals has spawned a huge film franchise, with all the attendant merchandise. But with the movie in cinemas worldwide, who wants to read a screenplay?
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Are humans evolving beyond the need to tell stories?Neuroscientists who insist technology is changing our brains may have it wrong. What if we are switching from books to digital entertainment because of a change in our need to communicate?
Jonathan Safran Foer Technology is diminishing us