books
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What are you reading this week?Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them
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Literati in MichiganAn indie shop born from the ashes of Borders, Literati runs on a simple truth: bookstores are only as good as the booksellers in them. Oh, and that nothing is better than dogs
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Children's laureates demand UK government investigate school library closuresExclusive: In an open letter to the government, current laureate Chris Riddell warns that school efforts to encourage reading is ‘being undermined through lack of economic and intellectual investment’
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A History of Pictures by David Hockney and Martin GayfordHockney’s anecdotes and insights illuminate this series of conversations about the evolution of art
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Zadie Smith’s NW: another example of TV's love affair with LondonFrom Any Human Heart to Capital to Smith’s new adaptation … why are novels set in London more likely to make it to the screen?
news
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Tennessee mother calls for removal of school history book 'promoting Islamic propaganda'Pearson textbook My World History is subject of formal complaint after parent says child felt assignments on Islam ‘went against her beliefs as a Christian’
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Siri Hustvedt, Joyce Carol Oates and more on the US electionWhy did so many Americans – of both sexes – vote for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton? Leading American women authors respond
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Is American Pastoral Philip Roth at his best? He didn't think soRoth said Sabbath’s Theater was his best book, even though many hated it. Should we take notice of a writer’s evaluation of their own work?
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regulars
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100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time100 Best Nonfiction Books of All TimeThe 100 best nonfiction books: No 42 – Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (1933)Brittain’s study of her experience of the first world war as a nurse and then victim of loss remains a powerful anti-war and feminist statement
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The first book interviewThe first book interviewJess Kidd: 'You make a deal with the universe and keep writing'The author of Himself explains some of the insoluble questions in her pitch black Irish murder mystery, and her long journey to publicaton
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Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books about the HimalayasFrom true accounts of harrowing ascents, to more fantastic ventures in Shangri-La and Shambhala, here are some of the best tales about the Himalayas
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PodcastPodcastJonathan Safran Foer on his novel Here I Am – books podcastThe American writer discusses his first novel in 11 years, books he hasn’t finished – and how his fiction is driven by instinct
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The Man Who Created the Middle East by Christopher Simon SykesA sympathetic biography of the Edwardian diplomat Sir Mark Sykes can’t disguise his bumbling role in carving up the Arab world
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A Day in the Life of the Brain – rethink requiredSusan Greenfield’s attempt to explain the latest scientific research into consciousness has an interesting framing device, but that’s where the clarity ends
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The New Book of Snobs: A Definitive Guide to Modern SnobberyDJ Taylor excels on how society greeted the Mr Pooters of the Victorian era but is less convincing about snootiness today
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Fashion, Faith and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe by Roger PenroseFrom string theory to the Big Bang – an explosive study from an eminent refusenik
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Spymaster by Martin Pearce – story of the MI6 boss ruined by scandalMaurice Oldfield was the ‘owlish son of a farmer’ who became a top spy. A new book revisits the man who may have served as a model for George Smiley and M
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This Way Madness Lies – from Bedlam to ECT, the story of psychiatryMike Jay’s fascinating book charts the development of mental health care through the lens of London’s infamous hospital
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The Power by Naomi Alderman – a shocking gender warNaomi Alderman’s anarchic sci-fi satire imagines a future in which girls can shoot bolts of electricity from their fingers
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The Jesus Man by Christos TsiolkasThis harrowing 1999 novel from the author of The Slap, published here for the first time, explores the migrant experience of a Melbourne family
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The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble – ageing and dying in styleMargaret Drabble’s sharply drawn characters look back on lives lived and forwards to achieving a good death
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Swing Time by Zadie Smith – a classic story of bettermentTwo childhood friends from London follow diverging paths in Smith’s finest novel yet
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The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam – a darkly funny view of assisted dyingSet in the near future, this nurse’s story of working on an assisted suicide ward is bleak yet full of compassion
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The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig – warmth and wonder in a seasonal caperHaig follows up his hit A Boy Called Christmas with a search ’n’ rescue adventure that steers clear of tweeness and sentimentality
people
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I want to write about what makes us into an unkind societyThe prizewinning Zimbabwean author on tackling everyone from Mugabe to aid workers – and her homeland’s sense of humour
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We’re on a xenophobic path – someone needs to press pauseThe books interview: the lawyer and novelist, both nominated for the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction, announced on 15 November, discuss human rights, citizenship and identity
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Ted Chiang, the genius behind ArrivalThe award-winning writer’s complex, thoughtful and futuristic stories should prove fertile ground for film-makers now Hollywood has discovered him
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The world is full of bloviatorsThe Guinness record-holder for longest career in cartooning talks about his life in satire
children's fiction prize
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The MPs' expenses scandal breathed life into historyIn the second of a series by writers shortlisted for the 2016 Guardian children’s fiction award, Landman explains how Hell and High Water came about
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Slang dates more swiftly than X Factor winnersIn the first of a series by authors shortlisted for the 2016 Guardian children’s fiction award, Alex Wheatle, AKA The Brixton Bard, explores the difficulties of dialogue-driven fiction, and the challenge of writing his shortlisted novel Crongton Nights
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Guardian children's fiction prize 2016 shortlist announcedHistorical and contemporary fiction go head-to-head as UK authors Tanya Landman and Alex Wheatle vie with US writer Brian Selznick and Australian Zana Fraillon for the only children’s book award judged by children’s authors
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
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The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight from Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryAfter a sleepless night following the US elections, Kate Young recreates one of Roald Dahl’s most delicious inventions – packed with salted caramel and gooey marshmallow
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Interview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore: Literati in MichiganAn indie shop born from the ashes of Borders, Literati runs on a simple truth: bookstores are only as good as the booksellers in them. Oh, and that nothing is better than dogs
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pictures, video & audio
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Jonathan Safran Foer on his novel Here I AmThe American writer discusses his first novel in 11 years, books he hasn’t finished – and how his fiction is driven by instinct
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The Beatles in infographics – in picturesA pair of graphic designers and self-confessed Beatles geeks have mapped Fab Four trivia including the instruments they played, the outfits they wore and even some of their most famous press-conference quips
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Milkman’s tall story is cream of the crop in Observer competitionMatthew Dooley’s elegiac tale of a milkman’s quest for glory is our winning graphic short story this year, and the runner-up is a thought-provoking tale of global warming
you may have missed
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Clinton didn’t fail us. We failed herSarah Churchwell examines the myths, stories and misogyny surrounding American women and power
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There are still things to say that haven’t been said beforeWinner Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones represents all that is innovative in literature
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Books about the HimalayasFrom true accounts of harrowing ascents, to more fantastic ventures in Shangri-La and Shambhala, here are some of the best tales about the Himalayas
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Sharing a name has its perksI’m a moderately successful author, writing about foraging and booze. But I’m constantly confused for a darts player, a radio presenter, and a jazzman
Day of the Imprisoned Writer Margaret Atwood writes letter of solidarity to jailed Turkish novelist