books
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The Affluent Society by John Kenneth GalbraithAn optimistic bestseller in which JFK’s favoured economist promotes investment in both the public and private sectors -
The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan – the aftershocks of terrorismFor the couple who lose their two sons, and the survivor who walks away from the blast, trauma moves in strange ways following a terrorist attack in Delhi
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The best holiday books 2016From gripping fiction to history, brilliant poetry to biography, our guest contributors offer their recommendations for the beach and elsewhere -
The Chilcot Report by Sir John ChilcotA summary of the summary of The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, as suggested by John Crace
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Folk by Aaron Schuman – tradition and belongingImages of exhibits in a Polish museum shed light on the photographer’s family history and the way we view the past
news
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Literature can do power struggles tooLord of the Flies, A Very British Coup, House of Cards … fiction can almost match reality when it comes to political intrigue
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Which JD Salinger book should we read?Sixty-five this month, The Catcher in the Rye may be his most famous book, but there are others just as good. Which do you think we should tackle?
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regulars
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Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 novels about deranged killersFrom Norman Bates to Hannibal Lecter, murderous bogeymen exercise an enduring grip on readers’ imaginations. These are some of the best, and most frightening
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Reading groupReading groupHelp choose a JD Salinger book for the July Reading groupSixty-five this month, The Catcher in the Rye may be his most famous book, but there are others just as good. Which do you think we should tackle?
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100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time100 Best Nonfiction Books of All TimeThe 100 best nonfiction books: No24 – The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith (1958)An optimistic bestseller in which JFK’s favoured economist promotes investment in both the public and private sectors
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PodcastPodcastSummer reading with Mark Lawson and Lisa McInerney – books podcastAs clouds gather over public life, we turn to the books shining brightly this summer with Mark Lawson, Lisa McInerney and pack in a host of recommendations from Guardian writers
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Viva La Revolución by Eric Hobsbawm – Latin America from leftwing hopes to bloody dictatorshipsThe renowned historian was drawn to Cuba following the revolution and remained compelled by a continent destined to undermine conventional political truths
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The Visitors’ Book: In Francis Bacon’s Shadow – a moving study of hero worshipJon Lys Turner’s biography of Bacon’s closest friends, Richard Chopping and Denis Wirth-Miller, is as entertaining as it is poignant
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Pinpoint by Greg Milner – how is GPS changing our world?Anyone with a smartphone anywhere on Earth knows exactly where they are. But does that leave us lost?
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Heyday by Ben Wilson – the birth of the modern worldFrom noiseless curtain rings to the first transatlantic communication – the Victorian wonders that shaped history
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East West Street by Philippe Sands and A Passing Fury by AT WilliamsWhere did the terms ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ come from? And what is their link to the flawed trial of Nazis at Nuremberg?
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Blockchain Revolution – Satoshi Nakamoto’s world-changing innovationBlockchain, the increasingly celebrated peer-to-peer data technology, is the basis of bitcoin and has huge potential – will it be as big as the web?
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A portrait of parental anxietyWith the NHS a central theme, this story about the effect of a child’s illness on her family is a novel for our times
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A vivid modern fable about JamaicaThe poet’s new novel dramatises the country’s history in a book with the feel of a ticking bomb
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A refreshing and disconcerting novelA quirky quest for the nature of cosmic truth in an alternative Oxford
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Space travel and restaurant reviews from a ridiculously talented writerThe gastronomic misadventures of a cosmic food critic from a ridiculously talented writer
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A profound portrait of Van Gogh’s ‘faded’ woman
Let Me Tell You About a Man I Know by Susan Fletcher A profound portrait of Van Gogh’s ‘faded’ woman
The wife of the warden at the hospital where Van Gogh took refuge provides the focus of this profound painterly novel -
A future classicA great Flemish poet brings his grandfather’s recollections of the first world war vividly and poignantly to life
people
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Most journalists are voyeurs. Of course they areThe US writer, who alongside Tom Wolfe blazed a trail with the ‘new journalism’ of the 60s , has provoked controversy with his new book about a motel owner who spied on his guests. But is the story too good to be true?
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Samuel Beckett, the maestro of failureBetter known for his plays, Beckett felt his prose fiction was his central work, and his fearlessly bleak short stories are among the 20th century’s greatest
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Lord Evans of Temple Guiting, 1941-2016Publisher who turned Faber & Faber into a champion of the best contemporary writing
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I thought people would tell me to piss offAt this year’s singularly muddy Glastonbury, Rowan McCabe explained why he was delivering bespoke poetry to bedraggled campers
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Guardian children's fiction prize 2016, the longlistWe announce the eight wonderful authors and books that have been longlisted for our prize, this year judged by David Almond, SF Said and Kate Saunders
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Enter the Guardian young critics competition 2016Review one of the Guardian children’s fiction prize 2016 longlisted books as an individual or a school book group and be in with a chance of winning books, national book tokens and an invite to meet authors at our award ceremony – enter here!
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Celebrating five years of the Guardian children's books siteThe Guardian is changing how it covers children’s books – here we look back at some of the highlights of the Guardian children’s books site since 2011
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David Almond's The Savage, book-to-play – reviewBookgroup Millennium Riot Readers got to see David Almond’s stage adaptation of his book The Savages at the Live Theatre, in Newcastle. Here they tell us all about it
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Horatio Clare and Penny Thomas win the Branford Boase awardAubrey and the Terrible Yoot wins the award for first-time children’s authors and their editors
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Why I love feminist author Maggie StiefvaterKiersten White wants to lick the brain of author who doesn’t apologise for her existence or her success, but owns it
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
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The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: fried chicken and rolls from To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee’s iconic character Atticus Finch not only inspired Kate Young to briefly dream of being a lawyer, but also to make this delicious breakfast
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Interview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore: Harvard Book Store, Massachusetts' books mazeStarted with a $300 loan in 1932, Harvard Book Store has been independently run ever since. Its booksellers today share their favourite reads and best regulars (including a dog)
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pictures, video & audio
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Summer reading with Mark Lawson and Lisa McInerneyAs clouds gather over public life, we turn to the books shining brightly this summer with Mark Lawson, Lisa McInerney and pack in a host of recommendations from Guardian writers
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Lives shaped by history with Hisham Matar and Margo JeffersonWe examine how the most personal writing can illuminate a wider world as Hisham Matar and Margo Jefferson turn to memoir
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Migration: Ali Smith, David Herd and Wolfgang Bauer listen for the true storyAs the UK adjusts to life outside the European Union, we ask if literature can get to the heart of an issue that dominated the referendum campaign
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The best books for 2016From Essex serpents to chimpanzees, political satire to the best new thrillers … leading writers reveal which books they will be taking to the beach
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Night of the Animals: the American novel that predicted BrexitBill Broun’s debut novel mirrors some of the events of the past two weeks, but in his dystopian future things really go wrong when Prince Harry takes over
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Kader Abdolah and his controversial interpretation of Islam's holy bookIranian émigré Kader Abdolah read the Qur’an for the first time after 9/11 and was moved to write his own version – which involved reordering, cutting and even adding a chapter. So what is lost and what is gained?
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How will Winds of Winter regain the suspense stolen by the show?For those reading George RR Martin’s fantasy series, HBO’s dramatisation has been thrilling – but now it’s ahead of the books, it will be hard work to surprise us
The Water Babies: how a vicar saved a chimney sweep