Books
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This is a revolutionary moment for black British writing, argues the author who this week became the first black woman to win the Booker prize. But how can this revolution lead to lasting change? -
Olive Kitteridge sold a million copies and won a Pulitzer. Can a follow-up recapture its magic? Elizabeth Strout talks about surprise success in her sixth decade -
A new book uncovers fresh allegations of the president’s inappropriate sexual behaviour
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These jagged, intoxicating pieces from the cult American author chronicle two fraught decades for feminism and lesbianism -
Passionately political, this tale of a budding relationship between two women set against the 2015 floods in the north of England is an inspiring cry of protest -
From Kate Atkinson to Haruki Murakami, the fast-paced Jack Reacher books have a host of obsessive fans. As a new thriller is released, we investigate the magnetism of Lee Child’s antihero
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A memoir that is racy, pacy and crammed with scurrilous anecdotes – what more could you ask from the rocket man? -
A high-energy survey of the politics and power brokers behind the world’s great populist sport
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The master of the spy genre takes aim at Brexit and Trump in a classy entertainment about political ideals and deception -
The fascinating tale of how the CIA plotted to smuggle Doctor Zhivago back into Russia drives an enjoyable debut -
A haunted house, home to two strange sisters in the 1970s, is revisited in the present day in this atmospheric gothic yarn
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Bowen’s short stories from the 1920s to the 40s shimmer with a world just out of reach -
The best of these funny short stories channel the author’s ‘smart-arsery’ and intellectual anxiety -
A boy is thrown together with his great-uncle in this examination of freedom and family by the author of Room
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In the second volume of the Book of Dust trilogy, Lyra is a student on the trail of a dangerous mystery, and Pullman’s target is as much intolerant rationality as intolerant theism
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Inspirational life stories, from a pioneering balloonist to Greta Thunberg; plus Greek gods, a fox’s loss and more -
Fowl play with the brothers of Artemis, a risky dream game and a Russian bear-girl mystery
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The genre’s current boom is dominated by middle-class males, she says, but the author of Surfacing prefers to concentrate on ‘deep time’ -
The judges staged a ‘joyful mutiny’ to name the pair joint winners of the literary prize. And that’s not all that unites them -
At 87, le Carré is publishing his 25th novel. He talks to John Banville about our ‘dismal statesmanship’ and what he learned from his time as a spy
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On this week’s show, we discuss the shock decision to split the prize between Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo, and look at two books about the UK’s Windrush generation -
The biographer of Mao on life during the Cultural Revolution, finding strength in her mother, and the sisters who helped shape modern China -
What began as advertising is now a threat to freedom and democracy argues the author and scholar. Time to wake up - and fight for a different digital future
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For all the suffering its women endure at the hands of men, it’s not hard to see why Doris Lessing disliked her book’s polemical reputation -
These Jacobean verses pay courtly tribute to the poet’s muse – and let rip on his critics -
Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them
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From Sarah Dunant’s eye for detail to Peter Ackroyd’s ear for period dialogue, fiction anchored in the past varies in character
Not the Booker prize
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Despite technical troubles, the judges have selected Supper Club by Lara Williams as the winner of this year’s award -
It’s been a fine year of reading, and now your choice will help determine the winner. You have just under a week to pick a favourite -
This funny and transgressive novel about a secret society where women gorge on food, drugs and sex is the best on this year’s shortlist -
A touching love story is not enough to redeem a novel that strains too hard to reflect the times
What to read
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Dazzling debut novels, searing polemics, the history of humanity and trailblazing memoirs ... Read our pick of the best books since 2000 -
The science fiction author on Michael Palin’s skewed perspective, being terrified by Stephen King, and her love of the Moomins
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The MP picks the best books about parliament and the life of working politicians – and Adrian Mole -
These lonely outposts provide stormy literary inspiration to writers from Edgar Allan Poe to Virginia Woolf and PD James -
After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. Take a quick look back at five centuries of great writing -
Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at his list
You may have missed
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Picking a winner is an impossible task, says Booker judge Afua Hirsch. Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo both deserved to win
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Arch, misspelled, often punctuation-free: writing online has become a distinct genre. But behind the studied carelessness is real linguistic innovation -
Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke may be fine writers but their awards only add to suspicions over the prize’s limited horizons -
From Richard Yates and Maggie Nelson to Ocean Vuong and Alice Munro, many of the great love stories are really about its aftermath. What can we learn from the literature of heartbreak?
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Graphic memoir A Puff of Smoke by Sarah Lippett – growing pains