books
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Letters to the Lady Upstairs by Marcel ProustJohn Crace wonders why Proust didn’t just bang on the ceiling with a broom-handle instead of writing interminable notes to his neighbour -
Fun Home creator on turning a tragic childhood into a hit musicalThe acclaimed graphic novelist on exposing her family, appearing in The Simpsons and why comics are her Trump therapy
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‘I don't present villains or heroes’The author of Freedom Hospital on dealing with the trauma of war in exile, the late friend his book is dedicated to, and why he still has hope -
Fiction is not a lie, but a truth, a necessary truthThe Booker prize winner on his new novel and why it’s not always possible to separate fact from fiction
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Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary BeardIn tracing the roots of misogyny to Athens and Rome, Mary Beard has produced a modern feminist classic
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Will Alias Grace repeat the TV success of The Handmaid’s Tale?Atwood’s 19th-century murder story is another prescient study of women in a patriarchal society
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Jonathan Franzen on one year of Trump's America‘As the ice shelves crumble and the Twitter president threatens to pull out of the Paris accord’, Franzen reflects on the role of the writer in times of crisis
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100 best political books
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15 of the best political biographies and diariesLeaders shape history and here are a selelction of the most remarkable insights into these public figures plus first-hand accounts by those with access to the corridors of power
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10 of the best feminist textsTwentieth-century polemical writing that changed the way we think about gender, chosen by Barbara Ellen
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10 key political texts on black consciousnessHow the lessons of injustice were drawn from centuries of slavery and colonialism, writes David Olusoga
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10 of the best books on British politicsThis collection tracks the ideological struggles that have helped form modern British society, writes Jane Merrick
regulars
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Book of the dayBook of the dayWomen & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard – reviewIn tracing the roots of misogyny to Athens and Rome, Mary Beard has produced a modern feminist classic
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PodcastPodcastSalman Rushdie on The Golden House, Trump and more – books podcastSpeaking with Mark Lawson, Rushdie looks back on his career and discusses his latest book, set in a US where a crass presidential candidate rises up in the dying days of Obama’s governnment
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Novel recipesNovel recipesNovel recipes: robber steak from DraculaThe spooky season inspires Kate to create a dish from Bram Stoker’s novel – just remember to keep that meat slightly bloody
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Reading groupReading groupReading group: Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban is November's choiceFar and away the most popular choice, this novel’s vision of a post-apocalyptic world arrives garlanded with rapt praise from those who have already read it
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Brolliology by Marion Rankine – thinking about umbrellasMary Poppins used one to fly but for most people they are merely ‘portable roofs’. Have brollies lost their magic?
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The Dawn Watch by Maya Jasanoff – Joseph Conrad in world historyThis brilliant study blends biography, lit crit and commentary on our times. Conrad’s life gave him a unique insight into ‘progress’, empire and global capitalism
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Mischka’s War by Sheila Fitzpatrick – my husband in Nazi GermanyThe renowned historian of the Soviet Union recounts the early life of her late husband, including his unforgettable story of the bombing of Dresden
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When They Go Low, We Go High – the best ever political speechesTony Blair’s former speechwriter Philip Collins considers the greatest hits and why they matter, with orators from Elizabeth I to Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama
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Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason – a devastating indictment of how we live todayRenowned critic of capitalism David Harvey explores a growing awareness that the free market can’t give people want they really want and need
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All Things Remembered by Goldie and Eskiboy by Wiley – bass culture memoirsThe drum’n’bass pioneer and the godfather of grime have each written a life story as concussive and eloquent as the music they celebrate
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First Person by Richard Flanagan – memoirs of a shady pastIn the Man Booker winner’s first novel since The Narrow Road to the Deep North, an invitation to ghostwrite a criminal’s autobiography leads a man into a moral crisis
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Kumukanda by Kayo Chingonyi – unflinching reflectionsFor all its lyrical elegance, there is no hiding the anger and defiance in this debut collection
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All the Dirty Parts by Daniel Handler – a provocative portrayal of teen sexualityThe author formerly known as Lemony Snicket explores gender politics and the fluidity of sexual identity through his perpetually horny antihero
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The White Book by Han Kang – the brilliance and transience of lifeThe author of The Vegetarian has written a powerful autobiographical meditation on the life and death of a newborn sister
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The best recent thrillersSnare by Lilja Sigurðardóttir; All the World’s a Stage by Boris Akunin; Pale Horse Riding by Chris Petit; Places in the Darkness by Chris Brookmyre; The Brother by Joakim Zander; Kill Me Twice by Simon Booker
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The Last Hours by Minette Walters – mass graves and power playsThe first novel in a decade from the queen of psychological crime is a historical drama set during the Black Death
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We See Everything by William Sutcliffe – surveillance and survival in dystopian LondonResistance fighters are tracked by drones in this young adult tale of violence, love and bereavement
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Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend – a magical debutThis enchanting adventure of a ‘strange little girl with black eyes’ more than holds its own against a certain H Potter. Roll on the franchise
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The best new picture books and novelsScary stories for Halloween, the transformative power of education … and fish-finger sandwiches
people
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For every hour you write a screenplay, you spend 10 defending itThe playwright and screenwriter on dilettante script editors, Bafta club bores and the simple truth about who should, and shouldn’t, be allowed to ‘improve’ your scripts
pictures, video & audio
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Ernst Haeckel: the art of evolutionThe influential evolutionary scientist, who coined such terms as ‘stem cell’ and ‘ecology’, was also a virtuoso illustrator. The editor of a new book celebrating this work introduces some highlights
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Salman Rushdie on The Golden House, Trump and moreSpeaking with Mark Lawson, Rushdie looks back on his career and discusses his latest book, set in a US where a crass presidential candidate rises up in the dying days of Obama’s governnment
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Stags, zombies and grindcore: the new wave of gothic artForget trenchcoats and black eyeliner. Gothic art has a rich history beyond the cliches. Faye Dowling’s The Book of Black tells its story – and introduces a new generation of devotees, from artists and graphic designers to tattooists
you may have missed
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The best books about the JFK assassination, from Norman Mailer to Don DeLilloWill the release of the latest cache of classified papers unleash a slew of books about the death of the charismatic Kennedy?
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My daemon is a raven, a bird that steals thingsPhilip Pullman, whose His Dark Materials trilogy is celebrated the world over, has finally produced a new instalment in Lyra’s story. As La Belle Sauvage hits the shops, he answers questions from famous fans and Observer readers
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A fantastical tale from the Man Booker winnerThis week the master of the short story won the Booker for Lincoln in the Bardo. ‘Fox 8’ is a heartfelt letter to Yumans
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John Banville on writing a sequel to The Portrait of a Lady‘It did seem that I might be a character in one of the Master’s tales of the uncanny’ … the author recounts how his follow-up to Henry James’s classic came into being
'I was in shock!' All the winners of our graphic short story prize interviewed
From Zadie Smith to Ethan Hawke Why we love graphic novels
Graphic short story Dennis and June
Graphic short story If You’re So Wise, How Come You’re Dead?