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Books

  • Lore Segal.

    News
    Lore Segal, Austrian-American author, dies aged 96

  • Can Xue.

    News
    Chinese author Can Xue is favourite to win 2024 Nobel prize in literature

    With odds of 10/1, the author of Love in the New Millennium, who was also the favourite last year, leads a pack that includes Haruki Murakami and Margaret Atwood
  • Reagan at a 1984 debate against Democrat Walter Mondale.

    Biography books
    Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot review – a head of state lost without a script

    Peter Conrad
    This perceptive study of the former US president reveals a self-styled ‘Mr Norm’ with few real political beliefs but a sense of decency
  • dice

    The big idea
    Should we be thinking about luck differently?

  • World Without End - final PDF Page 156

    Graphic novel of the month
    World Without End by Jean-Marc Jancovici and Christophe Blain review – Doomsday in minute detail

    Rachel Cooke
  • Observer New Review Q&A ONLY Sept 2024 Leave Olga Tokarczuk is a Polish writer, Mantua 10 September 2023. (Photo by Leonardo Cendamo/Getty Images)

    Interview
    Nobel prize winner Olga Tokarczuk: ‘We live with violence and misogyny like some sort of constant illness’

  • Salman Rushdie appears by videolink at Lviv BookForum

    News
    Salman Rushdie to publish first work of fiction since 2022 stabbing

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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 October 2024

    Paperbacks
    This month’s best paperbacks: Werner Herzog, Karl Ove Knausgaard and more

    • Inventory of everything … the humble yet fascinating list

      Five of the best
      Five of the best books shaped by lists

    • 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

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Non-fiction reviews

  • Boris Johnson walking away from a lectern

    Boris Johnson
    Unleashed by Boris Johnson review – memoirs of a clown

  • A Nassau Grouper in the Cayman Islands.

    Science and nature books
    Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller review – a marvel of narrative non fiction

    Dorian Lynskey
    This genre-defying journey into the science of classification weaves memoir and history in shimmering prose
  • mental health and mindfulness concept. steps leading to a bright sky. 3D Rendering<br>2K6G63R mental health and mindfulness concept. steps leading to a bright sky. 3D Rendering

    Health, mind and body books
    Your Journey, Your Way by Horatio Clare review – the Martin Lewis of mental health

    Stuart Jeffries
    Inspired by his own breakdown, the author’s generous and deeply researched guide to navigating mental health care in the UK is full of wisdom and hope
  • Xavier Le Clerc author pic

    Autobiography and memoir
    A Man With No Title by Xavier Le Clerc review – a poignant hymn to an Algerian father

    Lucy Popescu
  • Malcolm Gladwell, author, photographed at the Penguin Offices, Central London

    Society books
    Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell review – same theory, but a bit dreary

  • TOPSHOT-BELGIUM-BRITAIN-NATO-DEFENCE-DIPLOMACY<br>TOPSHOT - Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (unseen) following a meeting at the NATO headquartes in Brussels, on February 10, 2022. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

    Autobiography and memoir
    Unleashed by Boris Johnson review – regrets? Not even a few

    Tim Adams
  • Malcolm Gladwell

    Malcolm Gladwell
    Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell review – the superspreader returns

    Edward Posnett
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Fiction & poetry reviews

  • Stephen Fry poses for photographers upon arrival at the National Portrait Gallery Re-Opening on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 in London. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

    Classics
    Odyssey by Stephen Fry review – a jaunty version of Homer

    Sam Leith
  • Wendy Cope.

    Poetry roundup
    The best recent poetry

    Rishi Dastidar
    Collected Poems by Wendy Cope; Eat the World by Marina Diamandis; Unwritten Woman by Hannah Lavery; Agimat by Romalyn Ante; Monster by Dzifa Benson
  • Rumaan Alam posing for a portrait

    Fiction
    Entitlement by Rumaan Alam review – meandering study of money’s corrupting influence

    John Self
    The author of Leave the World Behind makes some strange choices in this aimless tale of a billionaire’s assistant and her quest to spend his riches
  • Kate Mosse smiling for a portrait

    Fiction
    The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse review – satisfying family saga finale

    Alex Preston
  • clothes on a washing line blow in the breeze, ringed by the flat horizon

    Fiction
    The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich review – a multifaceted rural tale

    Michael Donkor
  • ‘Henry is ensconced in a Soho cafe, trying to write a memoir’ in All My Precious Madness.

    Fiction
    All My Precious Madness by Mark Bowles review – biting humour

    Houman Barekat
  • Karl Ove Knausgård

    Fiction
    The Third Realm by Karl Ove Knausgård review – a visionary epic

    Lara Feigel
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Children's and YA books

  • The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please, HarperCollins

    Children's book roundup
    Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
  • An illustration from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.

    Children and teenagers
    The Haunted Wood: a History of Childhood Reading by Sam Leith review – young at heart

    Sarah Bakewell
    A thoughtful, witty and warmhearted journey through children’s literature
  • The Dinosaur Next Door, by David Litchfield

    Picture books
    Picture books for children – reviews

    Imogen Carter
    Letters between Van Gogh and his brother Theo inspire a delightful biography. Plus, new releases from big-hitters Oliver Jeffers and David Litchfield
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Interviews

  • Attica Locke …

    Interview
    Attica Locke on the US election: ‘It’s white Americans that have to fix this’

  • Barbara Kingsolver photographed at her home in Virginia by Ian Curcio for the Observer New Review, August 2024.

    Interview
    ‘I’ve dealt with anti-hillbilly bigotry all my life’: Barbara Kingsolver on JD Vance, the real Appalachia and why Demon Copperhead was such a hit

    As the Pulitzer-winning author’s little-known first book is published in the UK, she discusses the roots of division in the US, her wild childhood, and putting the story straight about where she’s from
  • Malcolm Gladwell

    Malcolm Gladwell
    Beyond The Tipping Point: Malcolm Gladwell on Covid, Trump and what he got wrong

  • Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian posing for a portrait with trees in the background

    Interview
    Stuart Murdoch: ‘I feel like this book will be the Trainspotting of ME’

  • Richard Powers 0626

    Interview
    ‘I no longer have to save the world’: Novelist Richard Powers on fiction and the climate crisis

    Alex Clark
  • Nate Silver

    Interview
    ‘People should be making their contingency plans, like, right away’: America’s leading forecaster on the chances of a Trump win

    David Shariatmadari
  • Isabella Hammad AUTHOR

    Interview
    Isabella Hammad: ‘I heard Edward Said speak when I was seven’

    Anthony Cummins
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Regulars

  • Alan Hollinghurst.

    The books of my life
    Alan Hollinghurst: ‘I wrote letters to my schoolfriends in dwarfish runes’

  • dice

    Big idea
    The big idea: should we be thinking about luck differently?

    We tend to focus on good or bad fortune, successes and failures. But what about the fact you’re here at all?
  • Truman Capote.

    Where to start with
    Where to start with: Truman Capote

    Want to get stuck in to the work of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s author? Here are some good ways in
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You may have missed

  • illustration of crime scene

    Feature
    ‘The facts of the case were so disturbing’: Kate Summerscale on our obsession with true crime

  • Hilary Mantel.

    Books
    Hilary Mantel was my mentor. Here are seven things she taught me about writing – and life

    Katie Ward
  • The Booker prize shortlisted authors, clockwise from left: Yael van der Wouden, Rachel Kushner, Charlotte Wood, Samantha Harvey, Anne Michaels and Percival Everett.

    Booker prize
    Each of the six Booker novels does something unique

    Justine Jordan
  • Jacqueline Wilson.

    Jacqueline Wilson
    ‘These books captured our hearts’: Jacqueline Wilson’s Girls series is back – and millennials are rejoicing

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