books
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Member's resignation over Lily Cole derided as 'snobbery'Author Nick Holland has been criticised for his response to Cole’s appointment to the group, after saying he would leave ‘before they announce James Corden as the creative partner for 2019’ -
Wonder Woman, Poochytown and goodbye Alan MooreFor graphic novel fans, this year is full of treats: more Batman and Spider-Man, rumours of a Ta-Nehisi Coates take on Captain America, some fresh faces – and big farewells to some old ones
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Savages: The Wedding by Sabri Louatah – thrilling treatment of race and politics in FranceTensions rise at a family gathering gripped by the election of France’s first Arab president, in the opening volume of an addictive four-part series -
In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson – the girl who wrote FrankensteinTwo hundred years after the creation of the gothic masterpiece, a new study tracks down the woman behind the monster
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Top 10 writers’ tips on writingMade a New Year resolution to start writing that novel? Take some writing tips from Leo Tolstoy, Muriel Spark, John Steinbeck and other famous authors
news
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From Naomi Klein to the Bible – the full listAfter two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. Take a quick look back at five centuries of great writing
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Which book about redemption should we read in January?From Milton to Marilynne Robinson, stories of spiritual and worldly salvation are a rich seam in literature. Please help choose one for us to make a fresh start with in 2018
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books coming in 2018
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Julian Barnes, Sebastian Faulks, Leïla Slimani ... the best fiction for 2018Plus Rupert Thomson, Aminatta Forna and a clutch of brilliant debuts
regulars
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Book of the dayBook of the dayThe Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser review – tales of human complexityThe recurring character of an ambitious young writer links narratives about love, betrayal and motherhood in a novel that explores the violence storytelling does to truth
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PodcastPodcastStephen Fry on Saki's Sredni Vashtar - short story podcastA small boy’s rebellion takes a sinister turn in Saki’s classic tale – a story loved by Stephen Fry, who explains why
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The books that made me ...The books that made me ...John Banville: ‘The Catechism had all the answers. If only it were all true’The novelist and screenwriter on Beckett, Nabokov and failing to finish a single one of the novels of Jane Austen
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Novel recipesNovel recipesNovel recipes: eggnog from The Fir Tree by Tove JanssonMoomins and eggnog: how better to enjoy Christmas? Avoid the supermarket imitations and make this rich and boozy festive treat at home, says Kate Young
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A Lab of One’s Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War by Patricia Fara – trailblazing feministsFrom scientists to weapons testers to doctors – bringing to life the formidable female pioneers who helped win the war and the vote
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This book redefines how we see Joseph ConradMaya Jasanoff brilliantly places Conrad as a pioneer of understanding the forces that shape the modern world
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Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power by Byung-Chul HanAn examination of the internet age suggests that we should cultivate the heresies of secrets and silence
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The Nuclear Confrontation by Rodric Braithwaite – Armageddon and paranoiaAn insider’s view of the ethical dilemmas and intelligence blunders that fuelled the cold war
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Franklin D Roosevelt: A Political Life by Robert Dallek – a stark reminder of strong leadershipDonald Trump’s weaknesses implicitly come to the fore as a master of the presidential biography captures Roosevelt’s compassion and sense of solidarity
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The Curious World of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn by Margaret Willes – in pursuit of knowledgeA lavishly illustrated ‘cabinet of curiosities’ opens up the life of unlikely companions who shared an unquenchable thirst for the new
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The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser – tales of human complexityThe recurring character of an ambitious young writer links narratives about love, betrayal and motherhood in a novel that explores the violence storytelling does to truth
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Dark Pines by Will Dean – if you go down in the woods today…A deaf journalist investigates the case of an eyeless corpse in a promising debut novel set in rural Sweden
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Love & Fame by Susie Boyt – going through the emotionsThe novelist’s sixth outing is good on life’s great challenges but suffers from a tendency to be too clever with language
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The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis JohnsonAll the slipshod magnificence and crazy wonder of the late, venerated American writer are present in this posthumous collection of short stories
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The best recent science fictionSealed by Naomi Booth, Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities by James Lovegrove, Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Sweet Dreams by Tricia Sullivan, Austral by Paul McAuley
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We Are the End by Gonzalo C Garcia – millennial ennui in SantiagoA wryly funny debut novel explores the relationship between real and virtual worlds through the angst of a video game writer
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I use coloured pencils to show which key I’m writing in – D minor, at the momentThe author on the importance of desk height, watching birds and Myriorama cards
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The best new picture books and novelsThe story of the flood as told by Mrs Noah, an introduction to the wonderful world of microbes, and gruesome tales to accompany Christmas dinner
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Tinselly tales for a child’s ChristmasFrom Quentin Blake’s Scrooge to Judith Kerr’s new cat Katinka and beyond, picture book present ideas abound…
people
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Crime author Sue GraftonTrailblazing author of an alphabetical female detective series set in fictional Santa Teresa
pictures, video & audio
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Stephen Fry on Saki's Sredni VashtarA small boy’s rebellion takes a sinister turn in Saki’s classic tale – a story loved by Stephen Fry, who explains why
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Neil Gaiman on Rudyard Kipling's The GardenerIn this instalment of our seasonal short story special, we have Neil Gaiman share why he loves Kipling’s melancholy story, which is then read by actor Marion Bailey
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Penelope Lively on MR James's Oh Whistle and I'll Come to you, my ladYou’ll never sleep in a twin bedroom again after hearing this classic Edwardian ghost story, selected by Penelope Lively read by Simon Callow
you may have missed
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Indie publishers on their favourite books of the yearIndia’s answer to Lear, a teen tale set amid the London riots and the first great book on grime. Experts pick 2017’s smartest, oddest and most overlooked reads
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An original short story by William BoydA chance discovery leads George Orwell fanatic Bethany Mellmoth on a pilgrimage to the Scottish island where Nineteen Eighty-Four was written. But what will she find there?
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Test your knowledge of literature, music and art on our Christmas quizWhat food did Samuel Pepys bury in his backyard? Which dystopian novelist had a ‘hopeless’ love affair with cricket? And how many words did Enid Blyton write per day?
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10 fictional feasts for ChristmasMany writers find food for thought in the holiday season, whether it is Charles Dickens’s turkey roast or CS Lewis’s turkish delight
How my novel ended up on David Bowie's must-read list
The man who read the world David Bowie's top 100 must-read books