books
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Grave goods to inspire Michael Rosen elegiesPoet to write works inspired by mysterious objects – both grand and modest – found in ancient graves and kept at British Museum -
Francis Wyndham, 1924-2017Author, journalist and leading literary figure who discovered and encouraged writers including Bruce Chatwin and Alan Hollinghurst
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Jonathan Safran Foer on Aleksandar Hemon's The Bees, Part 1Jonathan Safran Foer explains why he loves this tale about the Bosnian author’s father, which is then read by Chris Moran -
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson is January's choiceFor our theme of redemption, this novel about a midwestern congregationalist minister promises to be a bracingly thoughtful start to the year
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My Brother’s Husband – a Canadian gay man about the houseA single-parent Tokyo dad opens his door to an unexpected visitor in this touching, complex tale from award-winning Manga artist Gengoroh Tagame
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What are you reading this week?Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them
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A Bone Flute by Judith WillsonReflecting on the dramatic migration of swans to Britain from the far north, this arrestingly wintry work reonates with echoes from the deep past
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books coming in 2018
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A literary calendarEssays from Zadie Smith, Arnhem from Antony Beevor and novels from Julian Barnes, Sarah Perry, Pat Barker, Rachel Cusk … and Bill Clinton. Place your book orders now
regulars
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Book of the dayBook of the dayMy Brother’s Husband review – a Canadian gay man about the houseA single-parent Tokyo dad opens his door to an unexpected visitor in this touching, complex tale from award-winning Manga artist Gengoroh Tagame
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PodcastPodcastJonathan Safran Foer on Aleksandar Hemon's The Bees, Part 1 – short story podcastJonathan Safran Foer explains why he loves this tale about the Bosnian author’s father, which is then read by Chris Moran
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The books that made me ...The books that made me ...Mark Billingham: ‘I don’t finish any book I’m not enjoying. Reading should be a pleasure'The novelist on the stunning feats of Dashiell Hammett, Daniel Woodrell and Danny Baker
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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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When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing – a timely guideDaniel H Pink’s engaging book reveals the best times of day to make optimum decisions
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How Democracies Die – the secret of Trump’s successA fascinating account of how the US shook off its democratic safeguards and gave the world Donald Trump
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Icebreaker: A Voyage Far North – Horatio Clare signs on for a journey of discoveryA seemingly bleak 10-day mission in the Bay of Bothnia is the source of surprisingly vivid insights into the Finns’ national character
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The Militant Muse and Eileen Agar: Dreaming Oneself Awake – the women of surrealismTwo books on the creative lives and ‘heady intimacies’ of Frida Kahlo and the female artists embroiled in surrealism suggest the label was restrictive
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Everywhere Is Somewhere by Naseem Khan – the double life of a cultural activistThe cultural pioneer recalls her experiences of being an outsider in postwar Britain and the struggle for diversity in the arts
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Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House – tell-all burns allMichael Wolff has written a book to shake America to its foundations, a brutal exposé of an administration filled with fear and dysfunction
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Lullaby by Leila Slimani – a truly horrific, sublime thrillerThis tense, deftly written novel about a perfect nanny’s transition into a monster will take your breath away
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Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich – a fable for our timesEvolution has gone into reverse, birth rates are dropping and fertile women are held prisoner – a horribly plausible story about human survival explores female liberty
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The best recent thrillersThis Is How It Ends by Eva Dolan; Damned Serious Business by Gerald Seymour; Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit; The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn; and If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch
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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
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Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon – crime, comedy and old-age confusionIn a care home for the elderly, a woman draws strength from a mysterious friendship in an attempt to recall past secrets and prove her sanity
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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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The only time kids fully understand the world is when they readThe winner of the Costa children’s award on academia, adventure and her wild childhood in Zimbabwe
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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
people
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I’m interested in messing with genresThe author of Her Body and Other Parties on the art of writing sex scenes, engaging with dead writers, and the readers who give her flak
pictures, video & audio
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David Mitchell on The Monkey's Paw by WW JacobsCloud Atlas author David Mitchell introduces one of the great, early 20th century horror stories: WW Jacobs’s spine-tingling The Monkey’s Paw
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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
you may have missed
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Have you been paying attention?Terry Pratchett destroyed his unfinished works beyond the grave, Arundhari Roy made a return to fiction, and which politician keeps their iPad in a biscuit tin? Test your knowledge of the books and events of 2017 with our quiz
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Authors reveal their dream retreatsA hotel on the Moray Firth estuary; an adrenaline-filled auction room in west London; an ad man’s office in Manhattan on DVD … AL Kennedy, William Boyd and others celebrate their cultural hideouts
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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?
Fire and Fury Trump exposé flies off shelves, with publisher rushing to print 1m copies