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Books

  • The audiobook format allows readers to enjoy books on the move.

    Feature
    Listen up! Why 2024 was the year of the audiobook

    Ellen Peirson-Hagger
  • a model of a Neanderthal man at the Natural History Museum, London.

    Book of the day
    Hubris by Johannes Krause and Thomas Trappe review – learning from the Neanderthals

    Laura Spinney
    Why did we succeed when other hominins didn’t, and can lessons from our evolutionary past help rein in our destructive impulses?
  • Peter Dinklage is charismatic in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

    Audiobook of the week
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie audiobook review – a starry whodunnit

    Fiona Sturges
    Peter Dinklage’s resonant turn as Hercule Poirot gives the beloved writer’s debut a charismatic reboot
  • An illustration from All Aboard the Bedtime Bus.

    Children's book roundup
    The best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
  • AL Kennedy

    Book of the day
    Alive in the Merciful Country by AL Kennedy – activism and betrayal

    Clare Clark
  • Johanna Ekström

    Autobiography and memoir
    And the Walls Became the World All Around by Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing review – a dying writer’s journal

    Sukhdev Sandhu
  • An astute observer of human psychology … Eva Menasse.

    Fiction
    Darkenbloom by Eva Menasse review – Holocaust secrets unearthed

    Alexander Wells
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Books of the year

What to read

  • Haruki Murakami, Cher, Neneh Cherry, Angela Merkel and Alan Hollinghurst Autumn Books

    Autumn books
    From a new Murakami to a memoir by Cher: the best books of the autumn

  • Composite image of best paperbacks November and December 2024

    Paperbacks
    This month’s best paperbacks: Leonard Cohen, Sigrid Nunez and more

    • Claire Keegan.

      Where to start with
      Where to start with: Claire Keegan

    • Orbital by Samantha Harvey; Doppelganger by Naomi Klein; Spike: The Virus v the People by Jeremy Farrar with Anjana Ahuja.

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

Non-fiction reviews

  • A wassailing ceremony in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire.

    History books
    The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg review – the dark side of Christmas

    Sarah Bakewell
  • Johanna Sinisalo

    Science fiction roundup
    The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup

    Lisa Tuttle
    Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo; How to Build a Universe that Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later by Philip K Dick; The Woman Who Fell to Earth by RB Russell; Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
  • Ronald Blythe at home in Wormingford in Essex.

    Biography books
    Blythe Spirit: The Remarkable Life of Ronald Blythe by Ian Collins review – village voice

    Patrick Barkham
    A biography of the bard of rural England reveals an unexpectedly adventurous sex life
  • A portrait of Richard II from the 1390s.

    History books
    The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor review – the tragic lives of Richard II and Henry IV

    Kathryn Hughes
  • Tariq Ali<br>British political activist Tariq Ali speaks at a demonstration in Piccadilly, London, in front of the flag of the Fourth International, a socialist organisation formed by followers of Leon Trotsky, UK, 30th June 1973. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    Autobiography and memoir
    You Can’t Please All: Memoirs 1980-2024 by Tariq Ali review – an exasperating entertainment

  • Cher in her LA dressing room mirror in March 1968.

    Autobiography and memoir
    Cher: The Memoir, Part One review – from an orphanage to superstardom

    Emma Brockes
  • Gerald Durrell And WifeZookeeper and naturalist Gerald Durrell and his wife, stroking thirteen year old cheetah 'Prince' at London Zoo, November 2nd 1954. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    Autobiography and memoir
    Myself and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell review – hidden gems

    Kathryn Hughes
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Fiction & poetry reviews

  • Church in rural Ireland.

    Fiction
    Time of the Child by Niall Williams – new life, new meaning

    Barney Norris
  • Jon Fosse.

    Fiction
    Morning and Evening by Jon Fosse review – what happens when we die

    Chris Power
    The Nobel prize winner pushes at the veil between this world and the next in the immersive tale of a solitary fisherman
  • Eurotrash sees a son take his mother on a drive through the Alps.

    Fiction in translation
    Eurotrash by Christian Kracht review – blackly comic autofiction

    Marcel Theroux
    A writer takes his elderly mother on a road trip through the Swiss Alps in an attempt to break with his privileged family’s dysfunctional past
  • Checkpoint Charlie

    Fiction
    The Granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink review – love and loss in Berlin

    Alice Jolly
  • A 1928 Russian lottery ticket.

    Fiction
    Polostan by Neal Stephenson review – jazz age thrills

    Adam Roberts
  • Does a picture tell a thousand words?

    Fiction
    A Dream of White Horses by Paul Scraton review – images of exile

    Richard Robinson
  • cadair idris

    Poetry roundup
    The best recent poetry – review roundup

    Fiona Sampson
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Children's and YA books

  • King Winter's Birthday Hardcover – 14 Nov. 2024 by Jonathan Freedland

    Children's books
    How I brought a Jewish wartime refugee’s lost fairytale back to life

    Jonathan Freedland
  • I am cat by Jackie Morris

    Children's book roundup
    The best new picture books and children's novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
    A sensational sleigh ride; joyous poetry; amazing animals; a sinister seaside town; a deadly forest; a thrilling heist and more
  • Twenty Four Seconds From Now Illo Twenty-Four Seconds From Now: A Regular Love Story by Jason Reynolds

    Children's books
    Young adult books roundup – reviews

    Fiona Noble
    A dark fantasy in the vein of Alan Garner, a raw but hopeful tale of teenage alcoholism, and a cosy romcom with a neurodivergent angle are among this month’s selection
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Interviews

  • Alan Garner.

    Interview
    ‘It can feel quite mysterious’: Alan Garner on writing, folklore and experiencing time slips in the Pennines

  • Edward Carey at home in Austin, Texas

    Interview
    ‘Very generous and utterly terrifying’: novelist Edward Carey on Pinter, puppets and his spell living in a theatre

    The author, whose latest gothic novel is inspired by his lifelong love of theatre, on his journey from stage to page – and why his house in Austin is home to a 4ft doll of Madame Tussaud
  • Brandon Sanderson.

    Interview
    ‘It’s got everything you want, plus dragons’: Brandon Sanderson on the joy of writing fantasy

    The hugely popular author reveals his excitement at the release of his latest Stormlight saga, how he extracted himself from Amazon and why JK Rowling should have stuck to novels
  • Rachel Yoder.

    Interview
    ‘I had this animal, physical desire to be with my child’: author Rachel Yoder on writing Nightbitch

  • Peter Mackay in Edinburgh after he was announced as the new makar.

    Interview
    ‘Scotland has always been multilingual’: new Scottish makar Peter Mackay

  • Close-up photographic portrait of John Banville sitting in an armchair with his hand partially obscuring his face

    Interview
    ‘I’m writing a memoir. It’s a pack of lies’: John Banville on a lifetime in books, bereavement, and the Irish love of words

  • Maggie O Farrell.

    Interview
    Novelist Maggie O’Farrell: ‘Children don’t just need butterflies and rainbows’

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Regulars

  • Samantha Harvey.

    The books of my life
    Samantha Harvey: ‘I wrote love letters to Ross Poldark. Is this an admission too far?’

  • Elia Barbieri - The Guardian Saturday - 21 December 2024 - Why we need to keep spirit of classic movies alive

    Big idea
    The big idea: why we should revive the spirit of Christmas movies past

    From Double Indemnity to Women in Love, the accidental viewing of masterpieces was one of the joys of the season
  • Peter Dinklage is charismatic in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

    Audiobook of the week
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie audiobook review – a starry whodunnit

    Peter Dinklage’s resonant turn as Hercule Poirot gives the beloved writer’s debut a charismatic reboot
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You may have missed

  • Clockwise from top left: authors Mark Haddon, AK Blakemore, Sathnam Sanghera, Francis Spufford, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Kevin Barry, Fiona Mozley.

    Observer New Review 2024 puzzles special
    Whose lunch is it anyway? Match the authors with their midday meal

  • Books HD 11 28

    Feature
    ‘Perfect for winter nights’: the best crime novels to read at Christmas according to Ian Rankin, Bella Mackie and more

  • GTV ARCHIVE<br>Editorial use only Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/Shutterstock (767038s) 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' Films GTV ARCHIVE

    Feature
    ‘One of the most beloved writers of all time’: the genius of Joan Aiken at 100

  • Meme generation … Booktokers go wild for White Nights.

    Feature
    Fyodor fever: how Dostoevsky became a social media sensation

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