Books

‘Amazon doesn’t care about books’: how Barnes & Noble bounced back

Barnes & Noble is the US’s largest remaining book chain but, under James Daunt, each of the 600 stores is meant to run like an independent bookstore

Lauren Aratani in New York

15, Apr, 2023 @4:00 AM

Dubravka Ugrešić: a droll genius with an unwavering devotion to literature

The writer who died last month was a fiercely funny social commentator whose prose always radiated a playful profundity

Matthew Janney

14, Apr, 2023 @3:25 PM

Stormzy’s #Merky Books festival aims to ‘light imaginations’ of young storytellers

Speaker Malorie Blackman says two-day event exists to ‘spark the aspirations’ of those who might not have considered a creative career

Sarah Shaffi

14, Apr, 2023 @3:11 PM

Peter Usborne obituary

Publisher whose eponymous company changed the face of children’s nonfiction with its fact-filled illustrated books

Julia Eccleshare

14, Apr, 2023 @3:02 PM

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff; Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy; Death of a Book Seller by Alice Slater; Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell; The House of Whispers by Anna Mazzola

Laura Wilson

14, Apr, 2023 @11:00 AM

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney audiobook review – a tender memoir about the death of a child

The comedian narrates his book about the gruelling treatment of his young son and the love and grief that enveloped his family

Fiona Sturges

14, Apr, 2023 @11:00 AM

Colson Whitehead: ‘When I read Invisible Man I thought maybe there’s room for a Black weirdo like me’

The Pulitzer prize-winning novelist on discovering Ralph Ellison as a child, his passion for esoteric encyclopedias and why he loves World War Z

Colson Whitehead

14, Apr, 2023 @9:00 AM

Free and Equal by Daniel Chandler review – the road to fairness

A stirring call to make justice and equity a reality by applying the ideas of liberal philosopher John Rawls

Stuart Jeffries

14, Apr, 2023 @6:30 AM

Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas review – a melancholic novel about lives not lived

The Australian author’s quiet debut follows an unnamed narrator who falls for a charming man the same age as her mother, with both older adults competing for her attention

Bec Kavanagh

13, Apr, 2023 @3:00 PM

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller review – trapped in lockdown

Trust breaks down between the survivors of a vaccine trial as they prepare to brave a world wiped out by pandemic

Melissa Harrison

13, Apr, 2023 @10:00 AM

Look at the Lights, My Love by Annie Ernaux review – supermarket blues

The Nobel laureate’s diaristic reflections on retail leave much to be desired

Sukhdev Sandhu

13, Apr, 2023 @8:00 AM

Granta reveals its pick of future star British novelists

The journal’s once-in-a-decade selection of the best fiction writers under 40 has broadened its selection of 20 to include authors who ‘regard the UK as their home’