John Lanchester, author I find it hard to read contemporary fiction while I’m in the middle of writing a novel, so I use the time after finishing as an opportunity to catch... Read more »
Paul, Guardian reader I’ve been reading a very short book by Claire Baglin, translated by Jordan Stump, On the Clock. Set on the edge of somewhere in Brittany, all run-down blocks, dual... Read more »
Tomasz, Guardian reader Ever since my father presented me with a copy of The Unicorn, beautifully translated into my mother tongue, I have been an ardent admirer of Iris Murdoch’s. I went... Read more »
Geoff Dyer, author I finally got round to Thoreau’s Journal. It is determinedly down-to-earth and soaring, lyrical and belligerent, humane and cantankerous. Walt Whitman thought Thoreau suffered from “a very aggravated case... Read more »
Benjamin Myers, writer Erik Satie Three Piece Suite by Ian Penman is a daring and endlessly inventive portrait of the iconoclastic composer. Penman’s skill lies in his total disregard for tired cliches... Read more »
Rachel Clarke, author and physician I’ve just mainlined Rebecca Solnit’s latest collection of essays, No Straight Road Takes You There, in two sittings. It’s such a stirring, sinewy antidote to despair that... Read more »
Charlotte Wood, author Lioness, the latest from New Zealander Emily Perkins, is about social aspiration and the traps lying in wait for women when money and marriage menacingly collide. Perkins is one... Read more »
Matt Lloyd-Rose, author Having worked as a carer, primary school teacher and volunteer police officer, I’m always on the lookout for literary non-fiction that explores big social questions: searing, lyrical books like... Read more »