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  • You Are Here by David Nicholls; Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys; Day by Michael Cunningham.

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

  • John Cooper Clarke

    The books of my life
    John Cooper Clarke: ‘I read Kerouac at 12 and figured I could improve on it’

    The punk poet on finally getting JD Salinger, why he rereads the Bible, and growing up with Rupert Bear and Batman
  • Snakes were used in early Christian ceremonies.

    Book of the day
    Heresy by Catherine Nixey review – book of revelations

    Kathryn Hughes
    From Herod as the Messiah to a virginity test for Mary – the Christian story, but not as you know it
  • Fern Brady.

    Audiobook of the week
    Strong Female Character by Fern Brady review – moving account of undiagnosed autism

    Fiona Sturges
  • Kaveh Akbar (c) Paige Lewis

    Fiction
    Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar review – an antihero in search of meaning

    Houman Barekat
  • Mikhail Gorbachev campaigning for reforms in Ukraine, 1989

    Translated fiction roundup
    The best translated fiction – review roundup

    John Self
  • ‘I, Tertius, wrote this letter’ … The Codex Sassoon, the oldest, most complete, extant Hebrew Bible

    ‘You can see it as a revenge fantasy’
    The new book arguing that enslaved people co-authored the Bible

Books of the year

What to read

  • Composite image of best paperbacks March 2024

    Paperbacks
    This month’s best paperbacks: Margaret Atwood, Curtis Sittenfeld and more

  • Addictive and innovative … TikTok.

    Five of the best
    Five of the best books about social media

    • Read on

      100 best novels of all time
      From The Pilgrim's Progress to True History of the Kelly Gang

    • Books of the century so far

      The 100 best books of the 21st century

    • Composite for the 100 best nonfiction books of all time list

      100 best nonfiction books of all time
      From Naomi Klein to the Bible – the full list

  • Author Wycliffe Hill and his ‘plot genie’ device for coming up with storylines.

    Computing and the net books
    Literary Theory for Robots by Dennis Yi Tenen review – the deep roots of AI

    Sukhdev Sandhu
  • Babies

    Society books
    The Price of Life by Jenny Kleeman review – what’s it worth?

    Eliane Glaser
    A riveting examination of the value we place on human life – from healthcare to hitmen
  • Sefton Delmer making a propaganda broadcast to Germany from the BBC, 1 November 1941.

    History books
    How to Win an Information War by Peter Pomerantsev review – the radio host who beat Goebbels at his own game

    Luke Harding
    This compelling study of 1930s journalist Sefton Delmer reveals how he used ‘grotesque cabaret’ as propaganda to undermine the Germans’ faith in nazism – and how such methods could be used against today’s tyrants
  • Portrait Of Lord Byron<br>Colorized engraving shows a portrait of British poet and writer George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), early 1800s. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)

    Biography books
    Byron: A Life in Ten Letters review – dispatches from a lusty life

    Peter Conrad
  • Becca Rothfeld

    Essays
    All Things Are Too Small by Becca Rothfeld review – bracing and brilliant essay collection

    Kate Kellaway
  • Spencer with Diana and their nanny Mary Clarke before his first term at Maidwell Hall in 1972.

    Memoir
    A Very Private School by Charles Spencer – a history of violence

    Blake Morrison
  • The countryside near Petworth, West Sussex

    History books
    The Rising Down by Alexandra Harris review – the joy of Sussex

    Kathryn Hughes
Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.
  • A cow with the sun blazing between its horns.

    Fiction
    Choice by Neel Mukherjee review – parables for our times

    Tanjil Rashid
  • Rita Bullwinkel.

    Fiction
    Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel review – tale of teenage girl boxers scores a knockout

    John Self
    The US author’s impressive first novel, a forceful and involving tale of eight young female fighters, punches above its weight
  • Tea bag being dipped into a cup

    Fiction
    Practice by Rosalind Brown review – tea, yoga and sonnets

    Sandra Newman
    The minutiae of a day in the life of a mostly happy student are brilliantly conveyed in this wryly comic debut
  • Lisa-Ko-Bartosz-Potocki 2MB

    Fiction
    Memory Piece by Lisa Ko review – anxiety hums off the page in dystopian New York story

    Holly Williams
  • The author Huzama Habayeb.

    Fiction in translation
    Before the Queen Falls Asleep by Huzama Habayeb review – a memory palace built in exile

    Lucy Popescu
  • Colourful shops and cafes on the Caledonian Road near Caledonian Road &amp; Barnsbury Overground station, in Islington, north London, UK<br>2JDF56A Colourful shops and cafes on the Caledonian Road near Caledonian Road &amp; Barnsbury Overground station, in Islington, north London, UK

    Fiction
    Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan review – the Dickens of our post-Brexit pandemic age

    Tim Adams
  • Tommy Orange, author of Wandering Stars.

    Fiction
    Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange review – tapestry of colonial trauma is harrowing yet healing

    Anthony Cummins
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  • I’ll See You in Ijebu, illustrated by Diana Ejaita

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

  • Cross My Heart and Never Lie by Nora Dasnes

    Children's book reviews round-up
    Young adult books roundup – reviews

    Fiona Noble
    First crushes, Rachel Greenlaw’s YA debut and the story of an improbable affair will make your heart beat faster this month
  • strong like me illustration

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

    Imogen Russell Williams
    A show of inner strength; stone age family life; a brilliant guide to the brain; plus a whistlestop tour of queer history and more
Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.
  • ‘Like a rock star’ … Liu Cixin

    Liu Cixin
    I’m often asked – there’s science fiction in China?

  • The author Mat Osman.

    Mat Osman
    I wanted to write about a real London – dirty, dangerous, working class

    Ursula Kenny
    The Suede bassist and author on writing without a safety net, terrifying himself for his next novel and which of the Thursday Murder Club books – by his brother Richard – he likes best
  • ‘I like that moment where you think: hang on, something’s wrong’ … Barbi Marković

    Barbi Marković
    The real horror story is life itself

    The horror author on stealing from other writers, why she can’t stand pathos and how Mickey Mouse has inspired her new short-story collection Minihorror
  • Richard Coles.

    The Rev Richard Coles
    I think my CV looks like the work of a fantasist

  • Tommy Orange, who was born in Oakland, California, is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.

    Tommy Orange
    My whole family has had problems with addiction, including myself

  • Joanne Harris.

    Joanne Harris
    Some of us don’t see the line between the books and the world

  • Jon Cruddas

    Jon Cruddas
    Labour has to rediscover its moral purpose

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Regulars

  • John Cooper Clarke

    The books of my life
    John Cooper Clarke: ‘I read Kerouac at 12 and figured I could improve on it’

  • Elia Barbieri's illustration of a face inside a goldfish bowl

    Big idea
    The big idea: why am I so forgetful?

    A failing memory can be frustrating, but it may be a sign your brain is working exactly as it should
  • Buchi Emecheta

    Where to start with
    Where to start with: Buchi Emecheta

    The Nigerian author of Second Class Citizen wrote from real-life experience about the universal problems of poverty and oppression that could be the burdens of women everywhere
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You may have missed

  • Women's prize for nonfiction 2024 judges: Kamila Shamsie; Nicola Rollock; Suzannah Lipscomb and Venetia La Manna. (Not pictured: Anne Sebba)

    Electric, poignant, exquisitely written
    Inside the inaugural Women’s prize for nonfiction shortlist

  • illustration by Bill Bragg

    ‘End of the world vibes’
    Why culture can’t stop thinking about apocalypse

    Dorian Lynskey
  • Drayton Housee Saltburn.

    From Brideshead to Saltburn
    Why we can’t get enough of country house stories

  • London Book Fair 2024.

    London book fair
    Romantasy, AI and Palestinian voices: publishing trends emerge

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