books
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The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-RoperThe historian’s vivid, terrifying account of the Führer’s demise, based on his postwar work for British intelligence, remains unsurpassed -
Rockabilly 82 by Gil RigouletA collection of intimate, fly-on-the-wall portraits capture the appeal of the 50s-themed youth cult to French musicians in 80s Normandy
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A thought-provoking study of betrayalThis scintillating novel set in 1950s Jerusalem is a tender coming-of-age story -
The Schooldays of Jesus by JM CoetzeeJohn Crace teaches the philosophising Nobel prize-winner an 800-word lesson in brevity
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Female war poets from the Middle EastThe carnage in Turkey and Syria has led to a blossoming of poetry – with women at the forefront. Here, two of them tell their stories
news
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The new Pippi Longstocking? Hunt for new foreign stars of children’s literaturePublishing project In Other Words aims to introduce young British readers to the next generation – after Asterix and the Moomins – of international literary heroes
john le carré
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The many lives of John le Carré, in his own wordsIn an exclusive extract from his memoir, Britain’s greatest living spy novelist talks family, foes and famous friends
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Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale and other actors on le CarréLeading actors including Rachel Weisz, David Harewood and Damian Lewis reveal what John le Carré is like to work with
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Simon Russell Beale reads from The Spy Who Came in from the ColdTo celebrate the publication of John le Carré’s first memoir The Pigeon Tunnel this month, actor Simon Russell Beale reads from the author’s 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
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Toby Jones reads from Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyTo celebrate the publication of John le Carré’s first memoir The Pigeon Tunnel this month, actor Toby Jones reads from the author’s 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
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David Harewood reads from A Small Town in GermanyTo celebrate the publication of John le Carré’s first memoir The Pigeon Tunnel this month, actor David Harewood reads from the author’s 1968 novel A Small Town in Germany
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Damian Lewis reads from Our Kind of TraitorTo celebrate the publication of John le Carré’s first memoir The Pigeon Tunnel this month, actor Damian Lewis reads from the author’s 2010 novel Our Kind of Traitor
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May, Balls, Clegg, Clarke: it is political biography seasonAs scores of politicians line up to release books, the first Theresa May biography is set to reveal far less racy details than David Cameron’s...
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Adventures in the Anthropocene by Gaia VinceThe declaration of a geological era defined by mankind’s destruction might be cause for despair, but this book inspires with tales of resourcefulness and survival, writes Claire Armitstead
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not the booker prize
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Chains of Sand by Jemma Wayne – trouble in IsraelA perceptive depiction of the fragility of life in an embattled land gets drowned out by strident politics, in the first of this year’s Not the Booker shortlist
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Would you like to be a judge?There’s no need to be famous or any kind of book-trade insider – but if you’re a passionate and discerning reader, we’d really like to hear from you
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The 2016 shortlist revealed – help us choose a winnerOur longlist of 147 contenders has now been narrowed to six novels, all of them from indie publishers
regulars
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100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time100 Best Nonfiction Books of All TimeThe 100 best nonfiction books: No 32 – The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper (1947)The historian’s vivid, terrifying account of the Führer’s demise, based on his postwar work for British intelligence, remains unsurpassed
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The first book interviewThe first book interviewRebecca Rideal: 'The time of the grand histories is coming to an end'The debut author explains how 1666, her account of an extraordinary year of plague, fire and war, seeks to tell a large story from the ground up
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Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books featuring parksFrom sprucing up the estate in Jane Austen to a backdrop for adultery in Graham Greene to a destination for an Iain Sinclair pilgrimage, authors have long paraded their characters through these most public of places
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PodcastPodcastIan McEwan on his novel Nutshell – books podcastThe award-winning novelist explains to a Guardian Live audience why he picked a foetus as narrator of his latest novel, Nutshell
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Shrinking Violets by Joe MoranA cultural historian looks at fascinating stories of the socially awkward, from Cicero to Morrissey
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Citizen Clem by John Bew – exemplary biographyAn absorbing new life of Clement Attlee shows how a quiet man from the suburbs became Labour’s unlikely postwar hero
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ADHD Nation: The Disorder. The Drugs. The Inside Story by Alan SchwarzA study of America’s ‘most misdiagnosed condition’ takes Big Pharma to task but leaves one important question begging
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Enough Said: What’s Gone Wrong With the Language of Politics? by Mark ThompsonThis important study by the New York Times chief executive and former BBC boss identifies many culprits for the destructiveness of political debate
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I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong – we are possessed by bacteriaEach of us contains 40 trillion microbes. Their power is enormous, and we are just beginning to realise it, as this thrilling book details
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Mad Enchantment by Ross King – the truth about Monet’s lily pondThis is the story behind Monet’s iconic images of water lilies painted at his gardens at Giverny, his vask work the last hurrah of impressionism
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Matter-of-fact but moving short storiesLucia Berlin’s short stories have an undeniable air of authenticity
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What does it mean to be Chinese-American?The stories of real-life Chinese-American figures are reworked in this compelling exploration of prejudice and disconnection
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A vivid tale of defectorsLee has worked with North Korean refugees, and her hotly anticipated debut novel vividly captures the challenges faced by defectors
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The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride – a brilliant evocation of sex and intimacyThe followup to A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing is a powerful account of an Irish drama student’s first love
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A Doubter’s Almanac by Ethan Canin – the burden of a beautiful mindFamily anxiety grows as the DNA of a troubled mathematical genius is passed down the generations
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Blood Sister by Dreda Say Mitchell – first in an East End trilogy packs a punchBeginning in the Thatcher era, Say Mitchell’s criminal saga vividly captures the intertwining destinies of the female residents of a housing estate
people
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If writers are to survive we must take responsibility for ourselves and our industryThe author discusses buying her own bookstore, the legacy of divorce and referring to herself in the third person
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Jay McInerney: no one sets out to be the voice of a generation – I certainly didn’tThe miserable end to an evening’s clubbing led to the first chapter of the era-defining novel Bright Lights, Big City
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Left to our own devices, writers adopt the habits of a hermit crabThe crime writer on bingeing on West Wing, taking time out on computer games and the joys of first-class train travel
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The strange case of The Face on the Cutting-Room FloorThe real mystery of this 1930s cult thriller is not its murder, but the identity of its writer. So, asks Jonathan Coe, who was ‘Cameron McCabe’ and what were the facts behind his fiction?
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Guardian children's books festival 2016Join Mog author Judith Kerr, Charlie and Lola creator Lauren Child and other star authors and illustrators at the Unicorn theatre, London on 23 October for a day celebrating the choicest children’s books
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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!
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
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The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: bread, butter and honey from I Capture the CastleFinding herself missing her sister, Kate Young makes a recipe from Dodie Smith’s iconic book about the Mortmain sisters
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Interview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore: Big Blue Marble, celebrating Philadelphia's diverse neighbourhoodsTapping into Mt. Airy’s ‘shop local’ ethic, Big Blue Marble is a focal point for community activism and feminist, progressive debate (and they sell books, too)
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pictures, video & audio
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Ian McEwan on his novel NutshellThe award-winning novelist explains to a Guardian Live audience why he picked a foetus as narrator of his latest novel, Nutshell
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Exploring the isthmus: documenting the Panama canal expansionPhotographer Andrew Kaufman spent 12 years documenting the expansion of the Panama canal, exploring the seas and barrios by air, foot and boat. The result is his book The Isthmus, documenting the modernisation of a country
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Stories inspired by Jane EyreTracy Chevalier and Esther Freud read stories inspired by Brontë’s most famous line: ‘Reader, I married him’
you may have missed
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Seeing The Ninth Life of Louis Drax on screen is like meeting an eerie strangerFourteen years after my kid in a coma first appeared at the kitchen table, the film – starring Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon and Aaron Paul – is to appear at last
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The authors forced to return their advancesThis week, it emerged that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith was being sued by his publisher to return his advance. From Julian Assange to Amy Schumer, he isn’t alone...
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How the Great Fire of London spawned a great literature of loss – and renewalPepys and Evelyn were the most famous chroniclers of the fire, but it also inspired a few amateurs and hacks...
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The attractions of populism for politicians, the dangers for democracyPopulists are just different elites who try to grab power with the help of a collective fantasy of political purity
Poem of the week In a dream she meets him again by Maura Dooley