The Latest Breaking News on Books

The author confronts her own mortality with candour and crisp humour in this thoughtful exploration of bullfighting

An Arbitrary Light Bulb by Ian Duhig; What the Earth Seemed to Say by Marie Howe; Collected Poems by Mimi Khalvati; Ceremony for the Nameless by Theresa Lola; Girl by Ruth Padel

Every time the names of products or microcelebrities appear in a book, they prick us like a targeted ad

The novelist on why he can’t read JRR Tolkien anymore, being hooked on Muriel Spark and obsessed with James Joyce

Burnt out by the London rat race, the writer retreats to the countryside where a chance encounter changes her life

"I'm holding an illustrated book of cheeses," says a delighted Tomoyo Ozumi, a customer at a growing kind of bookshop in Japan where anyone wanting to sell their tomes can rent a shelf.

Authors, critics and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month

“See what a simple line, a visible mark of the utmost simplicity and cheapness, can do to a populace?” In Ali Smith’s new novel, Gliff, that line is painted in crude bright red around the houses of those the state has deemed “unverified”. It means ostracisation, re-education and worse. It…

‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Succession’ stars join the cast for the new episodes of the BBC One historical drama

African book publishing is in a rare moment of transformation, according to a new report. It’s an industry that has historically survived at the mercy of multinational publishing houses and donor funding. These arrangements, subject to the dictates of capitalism or aid, have not been sustainable.

Exclusive: The Marvel actor, who executive produced the show, also opens up on the "strange similarities" between her MI6 agent and Redmayne's assassin