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The Observer
The best children’s books of 2025

Thu 27 Nov 2025

The best children’s books of 2025
Writers recommend: the best books of 2025

Thu 27 Nov 2025

Writers recommend: the best books of 2025
The Observer
The Observer’s books of the year 2025

Thu 27 Nov 2025

The Observer’s books of the year 2025
Tom Gatti
What to read this week: a Christmas books special

Thu 27 Nov 2025

What to read this week: a Christmas books special
Ellen Peirson-Hagger
Jenny Erpenbeck: ‘I’ve seen a whole system collapse and fade away’

Thu 27 Nov 2025

Jenny Erpenbeck: ‘I’ve seen a whole system collapse and fade away’
Alice Hunt
The double life of George Downing

Sun 23 Nov 2025

The double life of George Downing
Val McDermid
What to read to understand winter

Sun 23 Nov 2025

What to read to understand winter
Imogen Carter
Picture books of the month: where the wild things are

Sat 22 Nov 2025

Picture books of the month: where the wild things are
Howard Jacobson
Milan Kundera in the age of censure

Fri 21 Nov 2025

Milan Kundera in the age of censure
Chris Power
Paperback of the week: On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle

Thu 20 Nov 2025

Paperback of the week: On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle
Kitty Empire
Is Taylor Swift a great poet?

Thu 20 Nov 2025

Is Taylor Swift a great poet?
Alex Clark
Jeanette Winterson’s story factory

Wed 19 Nov 2025

Jeanette Winterson’s story factory
Tom Gatti
What to read this week, from Jeanette Winterson to Taylor Swift

Wed 19 Nov 2025

What to read this week, from Jeanette Winterson to Taylor Swift
Jude Rogers
TS Eliot’s 20th-century nightmare

Tue 18 Nov 2025

TS Eliot’s 20th-century nightmare
Jade Cuttle
Digging for the dead

Sun 16 Nov 2025

Digging for the dead
Anthony Cummins
Confessions of a reluctant bookseller

Sun 16 Nov 2025

Confessions of a reluctant bookseller
Simon Winchester
What to read to understand the weather

Sun 16 Nov 2025

What to read to understand the weather
Rowan Moore
The houses that England built

Sat 15 Nov 2025

The houses that England built
Chris Power
Paperback of the week:  Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu

Sat 15 Nov 2025

Paperback of the week:  Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu
Anthony Cummins
Emmanuel Carrère on 10 years since the Paris attacks

Thu 13 Nov 2025

Emmanuel Carrère on 10 years since the Paris attacks
Marina Wheeler
Lady Hale’s rescue plan for the legal system

Thu 13 Nov 2025

Lady Hale’s rescue plan for the legal system
Anthony Cummins
David Szalay: ‘If you want to be a proper writer, you have to deal with the sordid’

Wed 12 Nov 2025

David Szalay: ‘If you want to be a proper writer, you have to deal with the sordid’
Penelope Lively
Penelope Lively on the best children’s books of all time

Tue 11 Nov 2025

Penelope Lively on the best children’s books of all time
Penelope Lively
Why children’s books matter

Tue 11 Nov 2025

Why children’s books matter
Anthony Cummins
Why David Szalay’s Flesh won the Booker prize

Mon 10 Nov 2025

Why David Szalay’s Flesh won the Booker prize
Erica Wagner
Secrets of a Booker prize judge

Mon 10 Nov 2025

Secrets of a Booker prize judge
Richard Ovenden
How to survive an information crisis

Mon 10 Nov 2025

How to survive an information crisis
Hannah Rose Woods
Ferdinand Mount’s sentimental revolutions

Mon 10 Nov 2025

Ferdinand Mount’s sentimental revolutions
Ann Morgan
What to read to understand quests

Sun 9 Nov 2025

What to read to understand quests
Fiona Noble
Young adult fiction of the month: spellbinding stories

Sat 8 Nov 2025

Young adult fiction of the month: spellbinding stories
Chris Power
Paperback of the week: Dog Days by Emily LaBarge

Sat 8 Nov 2025

Paperback of the week: Dog Days by Emily LaBarge
Lynn Barber
The redemption of Anthony Hopkins

Thu 6 Nov 2025

The redemption of Anthony Hopkins
Olivia Ovenden
The last days of Pasolini

Thu 6 Nov 2025

The last days of Pasolini
Vanessa Thorpe
Helen Garner: ‘Writers need to have their arse kicked around the block’

Wed 5 Nov 2025

Helen Garner: ‘Writers need to have their arse kicked around the block’
Philippe Sands
Inside the mind of Serbia’s ‘Madam War Criminal’

Wed 5 Nov 2025

Inside the mind of Serbia’s ‘Madam War Criminal’
Alex Preston
Pussy Riot’s guide to Putin’s Russia

Tue 4 Nov 2025

Pussy Riot’s guide to Putin’s Russia
Erica Wagner
The book of Margaret Atwood

Sun 2 Nov 2025

The book of Margaret Atwood
Andrew Anthony
Jonathan C Slaght: ‘I don’t like bears. They’re vindictive’

Sat 1 Nov 2025

Jonathan C Slaght: ‘I don’t like bears. They’re vindictive’
Megan Nolan
Zadie Smith and Anne Enright: the art of paying attention

Fri 31 Oct 2025

Zadie Smith and Anne Enright: the art of paying attention
Andrew O’Hagan
What to read to understand friendship

Thu 30 Oct 2025

What to read to understand friendship
Anthony Cummins
Salman Rushdie’s The Eleventh Hour: For once, words fail him

Thu 30 Oct 2025

Salman Rushdie’s The Eleventh Hour: For once, words fail him
Chris Power
Paperback of the week: Driver by Mattia Filice

Thu 30 Oct 2025

Paperback of the week: Driver by Mattia Filice
Olivia Ovenden
Why women keep secrets

Wed 29 Oct 2025

Why women keep secrets
Rowan Williams
Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field: a manifesto for how to be human

Mon 27 Oct 2025

Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field: a manifesto for how to be human
Olivia Ovenden
Mariana Enríquez: ‘The fear of the old female body is out of control’

Sun 26 Oct 2025

Mariana Enríquez: ‘The fear of the old female body is out of control’
Catherine Taylor
Klaus Kinski, misguided messiah

Sat 25 Oct 2025

Klaus Kinski, misguided messiah
Naomi Alderman
What to read to understand the information age

Sat 25 Oct 2025

What to read to understand the information age
Fintan O’Toole
Seamus Heaney’s poems for a darkening age

Fri 24 Oct 2025

Seamus Heaney’s poems for a darkening age
Andrew Glazzard
The hijackers who invented modern terrorism

Thu 23 Oct 2025

The hijackers who invented modern terrorism
Jade Cuttle
Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet

Thu 23 Oct 2025

Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet
Eva Wiseman
How Isabella Burley became fashion’s most influential ‘shop girl’

Wed 22 Oct 2025

How Isabella Burley became fashion’s most influential ‘shop girl’
Kitty Empire
How Ringo Starr made the Beatles

Wed 22 Oct 2025

How Ringo Starr made the Beatles
Stephanie Merritt
The tragedy and courage of Virginia Giuffre

Mon 20 Oct 2025

The tragedy and courage of Virginia Giuffre
K Biswas
Who should pay the debts of slavery?

Sun 19 Oct 2025

Who should pay the debts of slavery?
Mary Roach
What to read to understand the body

Sun 19 Oct 2025

What to read to understand the body
Erica Wagner
Cashing in on Harper Lee

Sat 18 Oct 2025

Cashing in on Harper Lee
Sean O’Hagan
Tangled up in Bob Dylan

Sat 18 Oct 2025

Tangled up in Bob Dylan
Stephen Armstrong
Giuliano da Empoli: ‘I’m the scribe of a dying civilisation’

Thu 16 Oct 2025

Giuliano da Empoli: ‘I’m the scribe of a dying civilisation’
Laurie Bristow
The hotel that tells the story of Kabul

Thu 16 Oct 2025

The hotel that tells the story of Kabul

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