 | Is there any aspect of modern life left untouched by the unforgiving spotlight of fame? Here is a selection of titles that represents the dazzling, and sometimes dubious, crossover between art and celebrity in the age of both mechanical and digital reproduction. As Andy Warhol once said: ‘Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches.' |
 | This St Valentine's day, why not say it with words? If you're looking for an epic story of romance, the perfect poem for your paramour, tips to drive your partner wild in bed or the lighter side of love, we've got the ideal gift for the apple of your eye. |
 | With the first referendum on Scottish independence since the controversial vote in 1979 seeming likely, we've realised a lot of us don't know as much as we should about history and culture north of Hadrian's Wall. So here's our selection of the best Scottish fiction and poetry, along with the finest writing about Scottish history, politics, travel, music and art. |
 | The exciting new BBC4 Drama 'We'll Take Manhattan' explores the wild, unpredictable relationship between visionary photographer David Bailey and unconventional model Jean Shrimpton and how, over the course of one week, this fusion of artist and muse created a cultural impact that changed the world forever. Here is our take on all things sixties-inspired in the world of photography and fashion. |
 | January sees the release of the Best Lesbian Romance 2012 and Best Gay Romance 2012 collections, and we thought this a timely excuse to put together a feature on our favourite LGBT collections -- so dip into our selection of short stories, romance, erotica, comic strips and more, from both contemporary and classic authors. |
 | The ten books that will feature in the new series of The TV Book Club have been revealed, and include the 2011 Man Booker Prize shortlisted, The Sisters Brothers, and Galaxy National Book Award winner, Before I Go to Sleep. |
 | The latest, expanded issue of NOBROW comes out this November, bringing us a luxurious mix of illustration and narrative art around the theme of the double: doppelgangers, duplicates, twins, shadows, reflections... We were so taken with the topic that we've pooled some of our favourite literary, artistic and cinematic doubles — from uncanny likenesses such as Edgar Allen Poe's William Wilson to familial twins like those in Dead Ringers. So have a look through and pick up a treat to indulge the peculiar thrill of having your very individuality undermined... |
 | Wonderful though he is, there's far more to Japanese literature than Haruki Murakami. We've picked out some of the finest novels available in translation to give you a taste of what Japanese writers have to offer, from tales of traditional Japan by Yukio Mishimi and Murasaki Shikibu to the surrealism of Kobo Abe and Banana Yoshimoto. |
 | From 9th November to 5th February, the National Gallery is holding the most complete display of Leonardo da Vinci's rare surviving paintings ever held. We've put together some of our favourite books on perhaps the greatest genius humanity has ever produced and his fellow artists from Italy's fertile Renaissance. |
 | We were so inspired by QUODLIBET, a wonderfully colourful collection of q-words from Nobrow press -- that we put together a miscellany of our own. From a novel devoid of the letter e to hand-drawn fonts and the development of typography, we've gathered a selection of books to celebrate that most playful of characters -- the alphabet. |
 | Whether the Victorian era makes you think of corsets and chastity belts or clandestine decadence in the city streets, questions of sex and sexuality continue to permeate our understanding of the time. We've collected a few histories considering what it must have been like (and a few imaginings of what it might have been like) to be a man or a woman, gay or straight, or anything else -- and Victorian to boot. So sit back, and read of England as it was (or might have been) during the nineteenth century... |
 | The secretive world of espionage is irresistibly intriguing. Writers such as John le Carre and Philip Kerr have introduced us to such fictional spies as George Smiley and Bernie Gunther, while their real-life counterparts feature in fascinating non-fiction such as Christopher Andrew's The Mitrokhin Archive and Sinclair McKay's The Secret Life of Bletchley Park. |
 | We have always been fascinated by the dichotomy of the parallel lives of the aristocracy and their servants. Explore how the other half lives with novels such as Denis Diderot's Jacques the Fatalist and Julian Fellowes' Past Imperfect, and non-fiction such as Margaret Powell’s maid’s memoir, Below Stairs, and Pamela Sambrook’s history of domestic service, Keeping Their Place. |
 | Oxford-based publisher, Shire, have a half-century history of publishing books celebrating the beauty, heritage and traditions of ordinary Britain. We've selected some of our favourites, offering you thoughtful and well- illustrated paperback guides to all things British, such as pub signs, gramophones, Scalextric sets and allotments. |
 | Treasure maps marked with Xs, pieces of eight, wooden legs and shoulder-borne parrots abound in our selection of the very best children's pirate books, a perennial favourite with young readers. |
 | Driven by the breath-taking remains of countless classical sites, the crumbling stonework and ivy-trailing walls of ruined buildings have an irresistible allure. Here's our selection of great books on the derelict and decaying, in fact and fiction, from the Walpole's original Gothic creation of the Castle of Otranto to the faded relics of London's historical past. |
 | The use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter in the recent riots has brought into new focus something that has rapidly become a major part of our lives. They've become a rallying point for campaigners, an invaluable marketing tool for business and a convenient way of keeping in touch with friends and family. We've put together the most insightful books on this remarkable phenomenon, from those for the obsessive tweeter to those simply wondering why so many of us are now glued to our smartphones. |
 | Throughout literary history, many writers have published under names other than their own, for reasons of politics or privacy. Here's our selection of the very best fiction penned by pen-names, including Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie), David Cornwell (John le Carré) and Howard Allen Frances O'Brien (Anne Rice). |
 | The News of the World phone hacking scandal has revealed to us quite how much power journalists have over politicians and public opinion. If you want to know more about how the fourth estate works and who's been pulling everyone's strings, we recommend any of these titles as an excellent place to start. |
 | Vintage at Southbank Centre (29th-31st July) is a three-day celebration of the best in style from the 1920s to the 1980s. Whatever floats your boat, from clothes and hairstyles to interior and graphic design, you'll find a lovingly assembled collection of style favourites from every era of the twentieth century. |
 | Responsible journalism, despite the evidence of recent events, is not yet a dying art. The world of news reporting has long been distinguished by some of the most intrepid and insightful reporting from around the world, including Peter Robb in Brazil, Ryszard Kapuscinski in former Abyssinia and Martha Gellhorn wherever conflict broke out. |
 | The sea, in all its beauty and all its menace, has provided inspiration for countless generations of writers. You'll find romantic voyages, seaside holidays, looming icebergs, monstrous fish, stately galleons and intrepid coracles in our selection of ocean-going fact and fiction: perfect holiday reading, wherever you're headed. |
 | The Tate Britain is currently hosting an exhibition of the best of the Vorticists, the avant-garde group headed by Wyndham Lewis in 1914. This is our selection of the very best titles on the artists at the heart of this short-lived movement, which sprang out of Cubism, Futurism and the writings of the Bloomsbury Group. |
 | Intended as a much-needed pick-me-up during the grey post-war years, the Festival of Britain comprised a new world of futuristic attractions, celebrating the very best our nation had to offer. We're marking its 60th anniversary Foyles-style by celebrating Britain's people and artists: the most interesting, iconic and, most importantly, British characters from fiction and life. |
 | Picking a gift for Father's Day is a very individual experience, so we thought the most useful thing we could do to help was to tell you some of the books that our fathers are getting this year. There are the usual thrillers, sport and military history titles, but some quirkier suggestions too - something for (almost) everyone. |
 | The homes we make with our families are the bedrock of our lives, and our domestic arrangements are perhaps the greatest force shaping our lives. There are some fascinating books on the topic, such as Julie Myerson's investigation of the families who'd lived in her house in previous decades, Jackie Kay's memoir of adoption and tracking down her Nigerian father, and many more. |
 | While few poets make good novelists (and vice versa), those that do tend to write memorably beautiful prose. Amongst those who bridged the divide in style are Booker-shortlisted Gerard Woodward and Adam Foulds, Anne Michael's elegaic story of the relocation of some of Egypt's ancient monuments and John Burnside's menacing modern folk-tale The Devil's Footprints. |
 | New technology and techniques are bringing about remarkable leaps in our understanding of the mysteries of the brain. Neuroscientists such as Daniel Dennett, Oliver Sacks and Daniel Levitin have exposed the biochemical activity that governs so much of our behaviour, while novelists such as Siri Hustvedt, in her recent memoir, and the ever cutting-edge Richard Powers have brought new insights across literary spectrum. Here are some of the very best journeys to the centre of the nervous system. |
 | In the wake of the posthumous publication of David Foster Wallace's unfinished novel The Pale King, we've turned our minds to other books brought to a premature halt. Books that have attained classic status range from Plato's story of Atlantis, Critias, to Irene Nemirovsky's recently unearthed Suite Francaise, and include acknowledged classics such as Kafka's The Castle and Jane Austen's Sanditon. |
 | From Coleridge's opium-induced visions to James Frey's frantic consumption of any substance he could find, from Elizabeth Wurtzel's prescription drug nightmare to Ernest Hemingway's legendary boozing, writers have always dabbled with drugs, both legal and illegal, to their detriment or for inspiration. Our selection of addiction fiction and reefer madness will show you how high they got and how low they stooped - we think you'll be hooked. |
 | A recent poll suggested that the job most Britons would ideally like is that of a writer. And while few of us will ever be in contention for the Booker, there are plenty of helpful guides out there to help you make the most of your writing skills, be it fiction, poetry, a children's book, a memoir, journalism or just a heartfelt letter. Here are the books we recommend to any budding author still staring at a blank page. |
 | Packaged with exquisite designs taken from food-related items in the Victoria & Albert Museum, Penguin's Great Food series presents the finest in food writing from the last 400 years. Featured writers include the original domestic goddess, Hannah Glasse, MFK Fisher and his celebration of food as the heart of good living and Pellegrino Artusi, the capo di tutti capi of Italian cookery. |
 | Russia, Churchill's 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma' is a country with a remarkable history and a rich literary heritage. It's also the Market Focus of this year's London International Book Fair, so we've put together some of the very best books by and about Russians and their homeland. Wonder at the defiant poetry of Anna Akhmatova, take a frozen journey beyond the Urals with Dervla Murphy or explore a sinister possible future with Dymitry Bykov's Living Souls. |
 | The Royal Wedding will be a spectacle the like of which most children will never have seen before, so here are some suggestions to help them get the most out of Will and Kate's big day. They can help dress the bride and groom with the William and Kate Dress-Up Dolly Book, colour in Little Miss Princess and the Very Special Wedding or delve into the past fairytale romances with Royal Weddings: A Very Peculiar History. |
 | With the Easter break approaching, you might be thinking of spreading your wings and seeing the sights of somewhere new, if only for a weekend or so. Time Out's City Break guides are the perfect accompaniment, with information on sightseeing, restaurants, shopping, nightlife and entertainment for everywhere from Brighton to Barcelona and Krakow to Kyoto. |
 | The day: 29th April 2011. The place: Westminster Abbey (and the streets of Britain). The occasion: Will and Kate's wedding. Yes, the countdown to the royal wedding is well underway, but we thought you might like an alternative to traditional memorabilia: we've got Will & Kate fiction. No, the happy couple haven't started writing novels - there are lots of great authors called Will or Kate already. Amongst the line-up for Will's team we have Faulkner, Boyd, Gaddis, Gibson and Trevor; the Kates include Atkinson, Stockett, Grenville, Dunn and Mansfield. |
 | Admit it, you've given your mother a hard time. If giving birth to you wasn't stressful enough, there was your coming home at all hours, the endless skivvying while you were out having fun, the scraped knees and broken hearts tended. A card bought from the station the night before just isn't going to cut it for Mother's Day. Treat her to something special, something she'll want to keep. Here are some of the books we'll be buying our mums for Sunday April 3rd. |
 | To mark the 50th anniversary of their silver-liveried Modern Classics series, Penguin have published 50 Mini Modern Classics, showcasing the short fiction of some of the 20th century's finest writers. These elegant, pocket-sized paperbacks span the globe, rounding up writers as diverse as Angela Carter and Raymond Chandler, H P Lovecraft and R K Narayan, Franz Kafka and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. |
 | This year's International Women's Day, on March 8th, is the 100th anniversary of a day originally devised to support women workers' rights. To mark the occasion, we've put together a selection of books by and about women who have left an indelible mark on the world. They include the autobiography of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai,Vanessa Collingridge's book on fearsome warrior queen Boudica and Claire Wilcox's appreciation of the work of fashion doyenne, Vivienne Westwood. |
 | Travelling by train has always had an air of civilised glamour, as the track cuts precise swathes through all terrains. The bringing together of souls journeying together with diverse purposes also makes the railway an ideal setting for fiction. So climb aboard with our selection of the very best railway reads, including implacable opposition to the Nazis in Closely Observed Trains, obsession and murder in Strangers on a Train and, of course, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. |
 | At first glance, Wales would seem to have a less obvious literary heritage than the other nations of the United Kingdom, so to mark St David's Day (which always falls on March 1st), we thought we'd redress the balance by highlighting some of the finest writing from Welsh authors. Lorna Sage's award-winning memoir Bad Blood follows three generations growing up on the border with Shropshire; in Rachel Tresize's Sixteen Shades of Crazy an isolated village gets desperate for entertainment when the local police crack down on drugs; and Dylan Thomas successfully transfers the spirit of Joyce's The Dubliners to Wales in The Portrait of An Artist as a Young Dog. We've got Harry Potter in Welsh too! |
 | The uprisings in Egypt have returned the focus of world attention to volatile regions of north-eastern Africa and the Arabian nations. The politics and culture mix of the region is complex, so we offer you some guidance in both fiction and non-fiction. See relationships from the perspective of nine Iranian women in Embroideries, join Amitav Ghosh in his discovery of the ancient history of Indian slavery in Egypt or learn of the all-pervading powers of state in Gaddafi's Libya. |
 | As part of BBC TV's year of book-related programming, bestselling novelist Sebastian Faulks presents a four-part documentary on the history of the British novel. From Clarissa, Samuel Richardson's gauntlet to future generations of writers, to the modern dilemmas of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, via Thackeray, Austen, Dickens, Lawrence, Orwell, Lessing and many more, Faulks leads us through the thrilling evolution of British fiction. |
 | Whether you're 'the one' or just a secret admirer, if you want to touch someone's heart on St Valentine's Day, a well-chosen book shows how much you care. Share life's journey through The Alphabet of the Human Heart, add rhyme to romance with the Poet Laureate's Love Poems or share your yearnings with lonely hearts throughout history in Shapely Ankle Preferr'd. |
 | In Spain the St Valentine's Day tradition is for men to give flowers and for women to give books, so we thought we'd combine the two with our selection of florally-titled fiction. Voyage across a Sea of Poppies in Amitav Ghosh's tale of India's opium fields; see a young woman blossom despite hardship and abuse in Janet Fitch's White Oleander and catch Tulip Fever with Deborah Moggach in the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic. |
 | 'For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep/Seeming and savour all the winter long' (The Winter's Tale, IV.ii). But if you prefer your comforts in the cold weather more verbal than herbal, we’ve got some great fiction to curl up with: breathe the rarified air of Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, explore the frozen wastelands of Anna Kavan's Ice or shelter from the Turkish blizzards in Orhan Pamuk's Snow. |
 | Summing up an entire decade of literature in just a handful of books is a tricky task, but we've put together a list of that books that really seem to have caught the public imagination since the millennium. Amongst our choices are Roberto Bolano's posthumous masterpiece, 2666, Zadie Smith's colourful cavalcade of images and ideas, White Teeth and Marjane Satrapi's ground-breaking graphic novel of Iran's Islamic revolution, Persepolis. And best of all, they’re all available at a massive saving of 40%. |
 | The New Year is a time for a new you. Whether you want to get fit, lose weight or detox, find a new career, a new partner or a new skill, we've got the book you need. Feel the Fear and Do It Anywaywith Susan Jeffers, lose weight the French way with The Dukan Diet, Alain de Botton shows how to overcome your Status Anxiety and Dale Carnegie tells you How to Win Friends and Influence People: it's all possible with advice from the experts. |
 | The multi-award winning Bookaboo is back for a second series on Mini CiTV weekdays and on ITV1 on Sundays. Aimed at three to six year olds and their parents or carers, its mission is to encourage more grown-ups and children to share books together, and it boasts a host of stars reading their chosen books, including Lorraine Kelly, Johnny Vegas, Myleene Klass and Emilia Fox. To celebrate, we’ve put together a selection of Bookaboo-related books and activity books as well as all the titles featured in the current series. And you can watch a special Bookaboo videohere. |
 | The Royal Academy of Arts presents the first major exhibition in London for over 40 years to celebrate the achievement of the Glasgow Boys, the loosely knit group of young painters who created a stir at home and abroad in the final decades of the 19th century. The exhibition, which runs until 23 January, will feature over 80 oil paintings, watercolours and pastels from public and private collections by such artists as Guthrie, Lavery, Melville, Crawhall, Walton, Henry and Hornel. To celebrate Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys, the Royal Academy and Foyles are offering the chance to win a break for two staying at Glasgow’s luxury Grand Central Hotel, including breakfast and champagne afternoon tea and return flights from London City courtesy of British Airways. For more information or to enter the competition, visit www.royalacademy.org.uk/foyles. |
 | Nick Lane's book on the ingenuity of evolution, Life Ascending, has won the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books, but lack of sponsorship means that he may be the last winner of this award. We look back at the Prize's 22-year history by selecting some of our favourite winners and shortlisted titles from previous years. |
 | It was a decade that began with the election of a former movie cowboy to the White House and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In between came Zimbabwean independence, democracy in much of Latin America, Live Aid and the horrors of shoulder pads. It was a fantastic time for fiction: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale presented a classic of dystopian fiction, In Anthills of the Savannah Chinua Achebe exposed the dark heart of new African democracy and Kenzaburo Oe's The Silent Cry questioned the rigidity of Japanese family traditions. |
 | Mystery writer Stanley Ellin once said 'The way he plays chess demonstrates a man's whole nature', and indeed any game of skill requires a modicum of guile. So whether it's the subtle gambit of Vladmir Nabokov's Luzhin Defense, the bravado of Walter Tevis'pool-playing Hustler or the peculiar appeal of 'Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?' in Philip K Dick's Time out of Joint, you'll find some fascinating battles of wits in this selection. So, make your choice: the game's afoot! |
 | Virago was set up in 1973 by Carmen Callil to promote new books and neglected classics by women writers, and has gone on to become one of the most admired imprints in British publishing. We have undertaken the tricky task of picking out some of our fiction and non-fiction favourites from their illustrious roll-call of authors to give you a taste. |
 | The intimacy of the social microcosm that is the school or university campus makes for fertile ground for fiction, as students gain a first taste of freedom without the quotidian burdens of adult responsibility. In Alan Warner's The Sopranos, a school choir goes on an alcopop-pop fuelled spree, Eleanor Catton's The Rehearsal offers two takes on the same scandal and, in Mary McCarthy's The Group, privileged graduates consider sex and motherhood in 1930s Manhattan. |
 | Jonathan Franzen's Freedom is the latest candidate for that elusive accolade, the Great American Novel. It's certainly the novel that got everyone talking, but we think there are a lot more great US writers who've remained stubbornly beneath the radar this side of the pond. So here are some of our favourites, including EL Doctorow's magical evocation of the era of Henry Ford and Harry Houdini and Walter Percy's discovery of spirituality in movies. |
 | The 1970s were an unsettled decade that began with the waning of the hippy movement and ended with the Iranian Revolution and the election of Margaret Thatcher. In between came the death of Mao Zedong, the oil crisis and the birth of punk. Thomas Pynchon's Gravity Rainbow defied all literary conventions, Nadine Gordimer's The Conservationist depicted the increased isolation of apartheid South Africa and Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden reflected the repercussions of a fractured society. |
 | There is perhaps no more famous name in the world of art publishing than Taschen. Originally established to make books on art affordable and accessible, they now produce everything from handy pocket guides to deluxe limited edition volumes. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, we're picked some of our favourite Taschen titles, from monographs of greats such as Matisse and Klimt to collections of the world's finest chairs and Islamic architecture. |
 | To mark the 20th anniversary of the death of the 20th century's greatest children's storyteller, Roald Dahl, and the publication of Donald Sturrock's wonderful new biography of him, we've got a whipple-scrumptious special offer on his finest books, including The BFG, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a host of audio books and gifts. (You can hear Donald Sturrock and Dahl's legendary illustrator Quentin Blake discuss the man and his work at our event on 11th October.) |
 | Rivers: they run through caverns measureless to man, they just keep rollin' along and wherever they're going, we're going their way. Those dynamic ribbons of water have provided inspiration to many a writer, so here's a selection of fluvial fiction and non-fiction. Witness the last days of an idyllic river valley in Haweswater, discover the mixed blessings of a riverfront location in A House by the Thames or let Agatha Christie entertain you with a good, old-fashioned Death on the Nile. |
 | Behind the hyperbole of the headlines often lie more complex truths. Writers dedicated to the art of reportage offer us a more unvarnished take on events. Philip Gourevitch revealed the full horror of the Rwandan massacres, Michael Herr exposed the banal horror of combat in Vietnam and Anna Politkovskaya bravely, and fatally, took on corruption in Putin's Russia. See further than the news bulletins with our selection of the finest documentary writing. |
 | First established in 1917 to provide American readers with inexpensive reprints of European modernist titles and selected contemporary American fiction, the Modern Library series gradually evolved into an impressive collection of some of literature's finest classics. These paperback editions are distinguished by introductions from eminent critics and the use of quality papers. |
 | The 60s saw the rise of counterculture and social revolution on an unprecedented scale. Edna O'Brien charted the first resistance to Catholic values in rural Ireland in The Country Girls, Anthony Burgess portrayed youth culture run wild in A Clockwork Orange and Len Deighton's The Ipcress File revealed that the reality of Cold War espionage was far removed from the glamour of Fleming's Bond. |
 | The popular image of the world of espionage is one of gadgets, guns and girls and, while real spies may not lead quite such glamorous lives, there's more adventure and intrigue involved than most of us experience in our jobs. Whether it's the gentleman spy in John Buchan's novels or Jack Higgins' master of disguise Sean Dillon or the ubiquitous eyes of Communist regimes behind the Iron Curtain in Hedi Kaddour's Waltenberg, get the inside track on covert operations with our espionage special. |
 | Audiobooks are great for those on the move or needing to unwind, and they're also perfect for developing children's listening skills. So here are some of our favourite short stories, a generous helping of Wodehouse, some great classics you might not have got round to trying and some kids' books that you might find surprisingly entertaining. |
 | 'The most important and most ordinary city miracle is its capacity to transform the greenhorn into just another face in the crowd. He will learn the language, make his way, become a citizen. The very hay-chewing oddity of his appearance at the outset is a tribute to the city's power to change us all...' Jonathan Raban, Soft City. Explore the transformative power of the city in our selection of urban fiction. |
 | For some people, having their luggage lost at Heathrow just doesn't make for a sufficiently taxing trip. So, for a real adventure, they explore the more remote and intemperate regions of the Earth. Now you can share in their intrepidity from the safety of your armchair with our selection of extreme travel writing. |
 | It's sheer Moomin madness at Foyles: those adorable white, furry Finnish trolls are everywhere. There's something for everyone: the Moomin Cookbook is the first book to be found in any respectable Moominvalley kitchen, nostalgic fans can indulge in Tove Jansson's complete comic strip in five volumes and younger readers can combine fun and learning with Moomin's Little Book of Numbers and Little Book of Words. |
 | The road trip dates back to Homer's Odyssey, and fiction has been on the road ever since. American Purgatorio sees a man looking for his wife, who simply vanished when they stopped for petrol, The Ice Age indulges two travellers with no particular place to go and The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim highlights the dangers of getting too intimate with your sat nav. Hit the road this summer with a good book in your knapsack. |
 | Whether it's the exhilaration of coasting down a country lane, the challenge of topping an Alp in the Tour de France, Boris's new cycling scheme or the satisfaction of dodging the crowds when commuting, cycling makes a wonderfully natural combination of man and machine. If the weather is tempting you to take to two wheels, we have a selection of cycling titles to inspire, entertain and guide you. |