books
-
The bestselling fantasy author of the Dark-Hunter books is seeking damages from her fellow bestseller for allegedly using her ideas in the Shadowhunter series
-
Newly translated textbooks from the second and sixth centuries aimed at language learners also provide pointers on shopping, bathing, dining
-
Which books have you welling up, weeping or wailing? Now’s your chance to share it with others, and tell us why they moved you
-
History History’s People by Margaret MacMillan – can the past be understood through its personalities?
Kathryn HughesFrom Richard Nixon’s dog to the Mughal emperor who had his cook skinned alive, MacMillan’s study of individual lives – both powerful and little-known – is exhilarating -
A journey through a near-future California peopled by Mad Max-ish revellers and sun-drunk survivors of climate change
-
If Valentine’s Day is an unwelcome reminder of what has become of your love life, you can find solace at the bookshop. Here are 10 literary highlights for the lovelorn
news
-
Three millennia after its composition, there are many obstacles to understanding this pillar of western literature – but the effort is worth it
-
Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them – plus our favourite literary links
-
regulars
-
Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books for the broken-heartedIf Valentine’s Day is an unwelcome reminder of what has become of your love life, you can find solace at the bookshop. Here are 10 literary highlights for the lovelorn
-
Reading groupReading groupCan Homer's Iliad speak across the centuries?Three millennia after its composition, there are many obstacles to understanding this pillar of western literature – but the effort is worth it
-
PodcastPodcastJohn Irving in conversation with Jeanette Winterson - Guardian Live eventAt a Guardian Live event John Irving, one of America’s greatest living novelists, discusses his new book, Avenue of Mysteries, with author and professor of creative writing Jeanette Winterson
-
Book of the dayBook of the dayShylock Is My Name review – Howard Jacobson takes on Shakespeare’s Venetian moneylenderA bold retelling of The Merchant of Venice, set in 21st-century footballers’ Cheshire, subverts and enhances an appreciation of the original
-
Fashion The Button Box by Lynn Knight – do you have a happy relationship with your clothes?
Claire HarmanThis is a lively and personal history of clothing and the changes in women’s lives, from the white blouse revolution and ‘lazy tongs’ to mini-skirts and the Sindy doll -
Our role as obedient customers is scrutinised in a 600-year history of global economics
-
Marceline Loridan-Ivens’s memoir of being sent with her father to Auschwitz-Birkenau is exquisitely written and unwaveringly honest
-
Book of the day City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence
Ian BirrellBen Rawlence’s superb account of daily life inside Dadaab camp in Kenya underlines the plight of the world’s poorest people -
The late historian’s bald, factual account of the Holocaust is both moving and overwhelming
-
The TV journalist’s latest memoir is peppered with musings on death and obituaries for things lost to modernity
-
Nicholas Lezard’s paperback of the week: Anthony Briggs’s new version of the classic verse-novel is the first in English not to Anglicise the hero’s name
-
Fiction Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson – a provocative retelling of The Merchant of Venice
Stephanie MerrittShylock meets his modern doppelganger in the novelist’s playful examination of what it means to be Jewish -
Short stories Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin – beguiling tales
William SkidelskyThe award-winning author explores rivalry, and the boundaries between humans and animals, in a collection of her best stories
-
Susie Steiner’s second novel rises above more two-dimensional crime fiction by focusing on the little details that bring characters to life
-
Fiction Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta – love and conflict during the Nigerian civil war
Aida EdemariamA young gay woman looks for forgiveness from God in a brave novel seeking to challenge prejudice -
Children and teenagers Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford – heart, humour and a dash of existentialism
Piers TordayAl’s journey back in time to save his father will delight young adventurers and young scientists alike -
A life is vividly captured through a record of physical details – a sneeze, a taste, a tumble
people
-
Councillors back local woman’s campaign for bronze memorial in the author’s home city
-
The GP and author explains how he conceived of a journey around the human body in the holistic spirit of medieval medicine
-
Writer best known for the novel Georgy Girl, Hidden Lives, a moving memoir about her own family, and her revealing biography of Daphne du Maurier
-
The novelist had much to say on the writing process, provincial life in literature and seeing his work on the big screen, at a recent Guardian Book Club event
-
Author Elen Caldecott grew up with a foot in two classes - working and middle. But she only saw one of them reflected in the books she read. Where are the children’s books that celebrate working-class values and voices?
-
Joss Sterling, who won last year’s Romantic Novel of the Year award, is back in the running this year as the shortlists for the YA category are announced
-
Children’s authors Laura Dockrill and Candy Gourlay love to blend surreal with real in their enchanted, twisted fairytales. Here they explain why – and recommend a whole load of great books for those who like their stories weird and wonderful
-
The new Australian children’s laureate Leigh Hobbs takes us on a fascinating tour of the best in Australian illustration, from the heartbreaking Shaun Tan to explorations of Indigenous dreamtime and back to his very own and very yellow Mr Chicken’s crazed love affair with London
-
Show off your flair for story-writing and get the chance to meet Dame Jacqueline Wilson!
-
Sick of failing to give up chocolate AGAIN? From folding over page corners to judging a book by its cover, here are 10 bad reading habits you can successfully give up for Lent
-
To celebrate the Chinese new year, Moon Princess author Barbara Laban, shares her favourite mythological stories from China, from Sun Wukong the monkey king to how the Chinese zodiac began
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
-
The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: potato pancake from The Emigrants by Vilhelm MobergThe meal from this Swedish novel makes Kate Young reflect on the journeys her ancestors embarked on for the promise of a better life in the ‘New World’ – and her own
-
Translation Tuesdays by AsymptoteTranslation Tuesdays by AsymptoteTranslation Tuesday: A Little Love Story by Ödön von HorváthA translated tale of desire and nostalgia by Hungarian playwright and novelist Ödön von Horváth, who was killed by a falling tree branch in 1938
-
pictures, video & audio
-
At a Guardian Live event John Irving, one of America’s greatest living novelists, discusses his new book, Avenue of Mysteries, with author and professor of creative writing Jeanette Winterson
-
If you want to add a literary twist to your Valentine’s consumerism, we have scouted out the best book-themed presents. From Mr Darcy’s proposal on a cushion to Great Gatsby necklaces, here are 12 favourites
-
First edition copies of May Gibbs’s Boronia Babies and Norman Lindsay’s The Magic Pudding appear in an exhibition of Australian cartoons and illustrations
you may have missed
-
One of the most anticipated releases of 2016, The City of Mirrors is Justin Cronin’s final book in his trilogy that began with The Passage and continued in The Twelve. Read an extract, before its publication in June
-
In his contemporary revision of The Merchant of Venice, Howard Jacobson set out to explore Shylock’s enduring appeal, not make amends for his Jewishness
-
The historical novelist celebrates the 200th anniversary of a writer who held her own among the greats of her day
-
Thirty three years ago today Karen Carpenter died. In this extract from his 2010 biography, Randy Schmidt tells her full story ...
popular
Harry Potter New eighth book on way in July: the play script