books
-
I’ve been threatening to write a Viking novel for almost 10 yearsThe Man Booker prize winner is happy to discuss his identity as a gay Jamaican, but doesn’t see why it should limit the scope of his writing -
There are people who think a crime novel can’t be proper literature… that’s a shame for themThe novelist and poet on snobbery towards genre fiction, bringing Hercule Poirot back from the dead and how Mother Goose got her hooked on rhyme
-
What was Lolita’s surname? Which wine did Hannibal Lecter really enjoy with his liver and fava beans? Test your literary knowledge with these brainteasers set by writers like Ian Rankin, Sarah Waters and William BoydLiterary quiz of the year, as set by authors: part one
-
Don’t call me the king of Christmas. I don’t like children, I try to avoid themAs a version of Fungus the Bogeyman is about to hit our TV screens, the author explains why he hates the festive period
-
books of the year
-
All the best books of 2015Fiction, food, biographies, sport... the best books of the year as selected by critics and authors for the Guardian and the Observer
-
Readers' best books of 2015After authors and reviewers chose their favourite books of the year, it’s time to let Guardian readers speak – here are your most-beloved books of 2015
-
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – fantastical fun, fantastically humanA story of strange enchantment and adventure told with winningly irreverent humour, this is perfect bedtime storytelling
-
Why we need to talk about sex in teen novelsThe author of the controversial New Zealand teen book Into the River (which was banned then unbanned this year) on why it’s wrong to try and keep books with sexual content away from teenagers if they want to read them
-
regulars
-
Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books about justice and redemptionFrom Marilynne Robinson’s pensive Christian drama to Seamus Heaney’s blood-soaked Beowulf, here are the best books about restoring the cosmic balance
-
Reading groupReading groupAndrea Levy's The Long Song gives the silent majority a compelling voiceThe funny and fierce narrator at the heart of Levy’s novel about slavery in 19th-century Jamaica – December’s reading group choice – flies in the face of narrative convention and gives the silent, black majority a chance to speak out
-
PodcastPodcast2015 in books – books podcastHarper Lee stuns the world, Marlon James puts Jamaica on the Booker map and Michel Houellebecq imagines a Muslim France – our critics wrap up the year
-
Book of the dayBook of the dayRules for Werewolves by Kirk Lynn review – a formidable debut with biteA pack of feral teenagers raise hell as they pursue their wildest visions of utopia
-
Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter Davis and Colleen DoranKpow! Blam! Take That! … a graphic autobiography by the man behind Marvel is all spandex and certainty
-
The Ottoman Endgame by Sean McMeekin – the breakup of an empireThe first world war was part of a much longer period of conflict in the east – and its consequences are still with us
-
Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe – funny and beautifulFrom helicopters to a human cell, a fascinating illustrated guide to the science and technology of everyday life
-
The Bedside Guardian 2015: ‘unique, touching, provocative’From Isis to Uber, Charlie Hebdo to Jeremy Corbyn: an engaging guide to a challenging year
-
Worktown: The Astonishing Story of the Birth of Mass-Observation by David HallIn the late 1930s a group of young idealists documented working-class life in Bolton. Their work laid the foundations for the welfare state
-
Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting & The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees by Robert Penn
Book of the day Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting & The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees by Robert Penn
A simple, elegant book about how to fell trees is this year’s most surprising bestseller. In the age of mediated reality, wood is back in fashion
-
Rules for Werewolves by Kirk Lynn – a formidable debut with biteA pack of feral teenagers raise hell as they pursue their wildest visions of utopia
-
Death By Water by Kenzaburo Oe – Japan’s Nobel laureate muses on memoryOe’s literary alter ego guides the reader through a dense forest of stories and competing recollections
-
The Book Collector by Alice Thompson – elegant and shocking entertainmentWith its gothic motifs, this dark portrait of a ‘fairytale’ marriage is full of mystery and suspense
-
The Eternaut – hero in a homemade diving suitBrilliantly mixing sci-fi with politics, this gripping comic strip is an institution in Latin America
-
The Age of Reinvention – don’t believe the hypeKarine Tuil’s promising tale of identity theft is let down by racial and sexual stereotyping
-
Dark Corners – Ruth Rendell’s final novel ratchets up the tensionIt’s the fine detail that enthrals in this tale of small lapses that lead to escalating calamity
people
-
You’re 10, a refugee in a foreign country. What the hell do you do?The award-winning young adult novelist on how he helped to raise $1m for the Syrian refugee crisis with one tweet
-
Happy 240th birthday to Jane Austen: how well do you know her books?Britain’s queen of lust-filled ballrooms and sudden engagements, Jane Austen was born on this day in 1775. But how well do you know her novels? Take our quiz to find out if you know your Wickham from your Willoughby
-
Peter Dickinson obituaryAward-winning author able to conjure up new worlds in his adventure-packed children’s novels
-
Wilbur Smith: a writer's memorable quotes you may want to forgetThe bestselling novelist has given an interview in which he gives spectacularly short shrift to his nearest and less than dearest
-
The Winter Wolf by Cliff McNishCheck out this brand new, original story by Cliff McNish and gorgeously illustrated by Trish Phillips and Michael McNish.
-
The joy of children's Christmas booksOne of the greatest pleasures in life is to read Christmas books together, ideally by a roaring fire. All of author Jane Ray’s books seem to have a festive feel to them somehow, and she takes us on a tour of why
-
The best feasts quotes in literatureFrom Keats to Harry Potter to Christina Rossetti to Wind in the Willows, we have mouthwatering quotes from the greatest literary feasts to whet your appetite for Christmas indulgences
-
The wonder of book fan art – in picturesSometimes your favourite books paint pictures so vividly in your head that you’ve got to actually get them down on paper. Here’s some of the most gorgeous fan art we’ve seen by Guardian children’s books site members and beyond
-
Jonathan Stroud on why he loves fan artThe Lockwood & Co author explains why he’s wild about fan art produced by his fans, and why he makes it himself
-
The Last Star by Rick YanceyThe Last Star, the final book in Rick Yancey’s award-winning The 5th Wave trilogy, isn’t published until May 2016, but we’ve got an exclusive sneak peak at the opening chapter… Take a look here
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
-
The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: the marshmallows from Tomorrow, When the War BeganMarshmallows symbolise carefree childhood holidays in Australian campsites for Kate Young. As she remembers their prominence in a favourite young adult series, she shares a recipe apt equally for summer barbecues and winter nights
-
Translation Tuesdays by AsymptoteTranslation Tuesdays by AsymptoteTranslation Tuesday: Venus by Chen XueA transgender woman and man consider their bodies one quiet, warm night, in this short story exploring physicality and beauty
-
pictures, video & audio
-
2015 in booksHarper Lee stuns the world, Marlon James puts Jamaica on the Booker map and Michel Houellebecq imagines a Muslim France – our critics wrap up the year
-
New covers revealedPottermore have revealed exciting brand new covers for the ebook versions of Harry Potter, now available – what do you think of them, and how do they compare to Jonny Duddle’s new jacket designs?
-
Slaughterhouse 90210: where literature meets pop cultureKanye West and Susan Sontag, Darth Vader and Hilary Mantel: after years of running a popular Tumblr mixing literature and pop culture, Maris Kreizman’s new book presents a carefully and provocatively selected mash of pop cultrature. Here are some extracts, with her commentary
you may have missed
-
How do we stop UK publishing being so posh and white?The absence of any black, Asian or minority ethnic writers on next year’s World Book Night list provoked a Twitterstorm
-
My Christmas in New YorkOne midwinter in 1950s New York, Harper Lee went to stay with friends. Little did she know she was about to be given the gift of a lifetime…
-
Are books getting longer?A new survey of bestsellers and critics’ picks has concluded that the average book is now 25% bigger than 15 years ago. But not everyone reads things this way
-
Have international critics selected the UK's best book?Middlemarch is No 1, according to a sometimes surprising top 100 ranking by books writers from around the world – excluding the UK. Could this be the definitive verdict?
Digested read Those Were the Days by Terry Wogan