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Books

  • Margaret Atwood

    Book of the day
    Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood review – the great novelist reveals her hidden side

    Blake Morrison
    A sharp, funny and engaging autobiography from one of the towering literary figures of our age
  • John Irving.

    Fiction
    Queen Esther by John Irving review – a disappointing companion to The Cider House Rules

    John Self
  • picture of psychotherapist's chaise longue

    The big idea
    So you want to try psychotherapy. But what does it actually do?

    Huw Green
  • book jackets

    Feature
    ‘It’s not just a book, it’s a window to my soul’: why we’re in love with literary angst

    John Self
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini

    Essay
    What did Pasolini know? Fifty years after his brutal murder, the director’s vision of fascism is more urgent than ever

    Olivia Laing

What to read

  1. Composite image for Best Paperbacks September 2025

    This month's best paperbacks
    This month’s best paperbacks: Jonathan Coe, Tessa Hadley and more

  2. Claire-Louise Bennett, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Salman Rushdie, Patricia Lockwood and RF Kuang

    Autumn reads
    From a new Thomas Pynchon novel to a memoir by Margaret Atwood: the biggest books of the autumn

  3. Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli, The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei and The Ascent of Rum Doodle

    What we're reading
    What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in October

Non-fiction reviews

  • Anne Enright 2024 c Ruth Connolly

    Essays
    Attention by Anne Enright review – sparkling reflections on life and literature

    Kathryn Hughes
  • Zadie Smith.

    Essays
    Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith review – essays for an age of anxiety

    Houman Barekat
  • Dolly-Mixture-1981-Hester-Debsey-Rachel

    Autobiography and memoir
    Teenage Daydream by Debsey Wykes review – coming of age in an all-girl guitar band

    Fiona Sturges
  • Kathy Burke.

    Autobiography and memoir
    A Mind of My Own by Kathy Burke review – a brilliant, blunt and beautiful memoir

    Rebecca Nicholson

Fiction & poetry reviews

  1. picture of tom paulin

    Poetry roundup
    The best recent poetry – review roundup

    Rishi Dastidar
  2. Lily King

    Fiction
    Heart the Lover by Lily King review – a love story to treasure

    Rebecca Wait
  3. Dark streams and sandbanks in Saltwash.

    Fiction
    Saltwash by Andrew Michael Hurley review – raw, dark folk horror confronts mortality

    Liz Jensen
  4. Salman Rushdie.

    Fiction
    The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie – a haunting coda to a groundbreaking career

    Kevin Power

Children's and YA books

  1. The Ocean at Night by Isabelle Simler

    Children's book roundup
    Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
  2. Bear’s Nap by Emily Gravett

    Children's book roundup
    Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
  3. illustration of

    Children's book roundup
    Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
  4. A detail from put Your Shoes On by Polly Dunbar.

    Children's book roundup
    Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams

Interviews

  1. Lily King.

    Interview
    Lily King: ‘What is life without love?’

  2. Chris Kraus at home in Los Angeles.

    Interview
    ‘I’m going to write about all of it’: author Chris Kraus on success, drugs and I Love Dick

  3. Batool Abu Akleen in Gaza.

    Interview
    ‘My poems are part of my flesh’: Palestinian poet Batool Abu Akleen on life in Gaza

Regulars

  • Derek Owusu.

    The books of my life
    Derek Owusu: ‘I didn’t read a book until the age of 24’

  • picture of psychotherapist's chaise longue

    Big idea
    So you want to try psychotherapy. But what does it actually do?

  • Abdulrazak Gurnah.

    Audiobook of the week
    Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah audiobook review – coming-of-age saga in Tanzania

  • the texture of small drops on the glass from the rain

    Poem of the week
    Poem of the week: Simile by Éireann Lorsung

You may have missed

  1. Banned books on sale in California.

    Books
    A former Tory councillor tried to ban my novel Pigeon English. Why should pupils suffer because of him?

    Stephen Kelman
  2. Paul Bailey.

    Where to start with
    Where to start with: Paul Bailey

  3. Zadie Smith.

    Ranked
    From White Teeth to Swing Time: Zadie Smith’s best books - ranked!

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