books
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Writer pulls book from Simon & Schuster over Milo Yiannopoulos dealFeminist author pulls publication of forthcoming How to Be Heard after ‘alt-right’ figure receives $250,000 advance from imprint of publisher
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Keynes's economic theory voted most influential academic book on British lifeA public vote to decide which scholarly book has had the greatest impact on Britain has chosen The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
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Burns Night celebrates the wrong Scottish poetThe bard honoured on 25 January was a fine writer, but he also treated women appallingly. I can think of at least one other Scots author more worthy of a national festival
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The battle over Scottish identity continuesScots is now recognised as an official language, but its use remains a contested issue. Poet Hugh MacDiarmid, an early champion of reviving Scots vernacular, lit this fuse for the battle over language and identity
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Books about voyeursReading fiction is a variety of voyeurism already, but these stories brilliantly examine the most sinister varieties of looking
news
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Howard Jacobson writes Donald Trump novella Pussy in 'a fury of disbelief'Comic fairytale was written in the weeks since the November presidential election and aims to offer readers the ‘consolation of savage satire’
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Penelope Fitzgerald webchat with Hermione LeeThe novelist’s acclaimed biographer – and an eminent literary figure herself – will be joining us on 27 January at 1pm to answer questions about her elusive subject
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Which writers can help us read Trump?Fictional dystopias by writers from Herman Melville to Philip Roth seem to have had the measure of the new US president many years ahead of time
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books in 2017
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Books to watch in 2017Jane Austen’s bicentenary, Arundhati Roy’s first novel in 20 years, and unpublished F Scott Fitzgerald ... the literary year ahead
regulars
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100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time100 Best Nonfiction Books of All TimeThe 100 best nonfiction books: the story so farAt the halfway point in his series, our columnist reflects on what constitutes a classic, the selection process and the omissions he regrets
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Book of the dayBook of the dayRogues’ Gallery by Philip Hook review – the gullible rich and the art marketThis expert and elegant history of art dealers provides background to today’s art world, funded by ‘idiots with pretensions’
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The first book interviewThe first book interviewRory Gleeson: 'Writing wrecks your head'The author of debut novel Rockadoon Shore talks about wanting to write like Richard Linklater directs, and visions of old English teachers berating him for his efforts
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Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books about voyeursReading fiction is a variety of voyeurism already, but these stories brilliantly examine the most sinister varieties of looking
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Fascist in the Family by Francis Beckett – Britain’s far-right traditionHow remote are the blackshirts of the 1930s from today? Biographies of John Beckett and ‘Lord Haw-Haw’ explore the history of fascism in the UK
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Rogues’ Gallery by Philip Hook – the gullible rich and the art marketThis expert and elegant history of art dealers provides background to today’s art world, funded by ‘idiots with pretensions’
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Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly HaskellThe veteran US film critic’s portrait of Spielberg is astute and entertaining
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The Age of Anger by Pankaj MishraA trenchant study of how anger and violence have influenced modern societies will have you fearing the worst
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A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea by Melissa FlemingThe miraculous tale of a Syrian refugee rescued from the waves loses its power in the telling
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Alice in Westminster: The Political Life of Alice Bacon by Rachel ReevesThis biography of Labour’s champion of comprehensive schools reveals a woman who was loyal to her party and passionate about her constituents’ concerns
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The Horseman by Tim Pears – a wise coming-of-age taleA boy and girl bridge the class divide through their love for horses in this moving novel set on an Edwardian country estate
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Ashland & Vine by John Burnside – the redemptive power of listeningAn elderly woman tells the story of her life to a young alcoholic in this lyrical, thought-provoking tale which thumbs its nose at narrative convention
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Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh – absorbing stories from the author of EileenRun-down holiday homes, rusting Hollywood pools, empty Malibu malls … themes of rot and decay are vividly explored in this darkly comical collection
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What Must Happen by Jeffrey Wainwright – seeking human traces in the landscapeMethodists and Marxists, art and aspiration in a powerful and austere collection
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The Stolen Child by Lisa Carey – folklore, fairies and fearA deserted island off the west coast of Ireland provides the vividly imagined setting for a tale of superstition and lust
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The Nix by Nathan Hill – a novel of extravagant appetiteA literary professor investigates the life of his estranged mother in an entertaining if self-indulgent debut novel
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The Pomegranate Tree by Vanessa Altin – a child's-eye view of war-torn SyriaThis fictional diary of a young Kurdish teenager is harrowing, but for every barbarity there is a moment of courage or kindness
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Babette Cole, anarchic creator of Princess Smartypants, dies at 66Flood of tributes to to author and illustrator of ‘exuberant, heartfelt and very funny’ books led by led by children’s laureate Chris Riddell
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Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans – a properly funny fantasy adventureWit, wisdom and colourful characters abound in a tale of two troubled children who stumble on a surreal land ruled by a toy rabbit
people
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Anthony Cronin 1923-2016: Engaging, brilliant, combativePoet, critic and columnist who was Ireland’s most prominent man of letters for more than half a century
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Meet the new faces of fictionA fortysomething who is still ‘pinching herself’ at starting a publishers’ bidding war. A woman who fell under the spell of witches. And a film critic with widescreen ambitions
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Referendums are like opinion polls. Sometimes they’re very wrongAs a new edition of his pioneering 1970 book Collective Choice and Social Welfare is published, the economist talks Brexit, Trump and real news
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I admired many authors. But Molly, I lovedGood Behaviour was the first novel Molly Keane published under her own name, and her best, says her editor Diana Athill. Here, she remembers their friendship
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
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The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: Pasta con le Sarde from The Terracotta Dog by Andrea CamilleriWho eats as well as Inspector Montalbano? It’s a mystery – but you can, as Kate Young demonstrates how to put together this easy Sicilian classic
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Interview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore: Blue Willow Bookshop in HoustonCelebrating 20 years since owner Valerie took over, Blue Willow Bookshop is equally split between adults and children’s books, and staffed with knowledgable booksellers who can do anything - including fixing vacuum cleaners
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pictures, video & audio
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Searching for alien life with Jim Al-KhaliliAs 21st-century telescopes transform the hunt for extraterrestrials from SF to hard science, physicist Jim Al-Khalili examines the prospects for finding life in space
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Tom Gauld on funny booksTom Gauld looks at reading to lift the spirits, inspired by writers on their favourite funny books
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Alan Bennett discusses Keeping On Keeping OnA national treasure reads from the latest volume of his diaries and discusses finding inspiration in the everyday
you may have missed
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Does Theresa May really know what citizenship means?The prime minister may not know her Aeschylus, writes the novelist Tom McCarthy, but she has a duty to understand the basic concepts she invokes
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How the far right is changing US publishingRightwing writers, ranging from conservative to lunatic fringe across all genres, have long been a lucrative books market. Will the new era see it grow?
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Tropes, trolls and Trump: the fantasy writer who inspired George RR MartinWithout Tad Williams there would be no Game of Thrones. The American novelist on reinventing fantasy – and why no one ever thinks they’re the bad guys
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Megacities in fictionThe creativity and energy coming out of these vast human jostles is a challenge for writers. From Dickens to Anita Desai, here are some who meet it
Jill Murphy I just wanted to have a book on the shelf