Books

Crime novels account for a huge proportion of the book industry and they are widely considered to be the most popular genre. From authors such as Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, here are the top 10 best crime novels of all time as selected by the Crime Writers’ Association. 10. …

I used to work in a bookshop — these are my five favourite books of all time (Image: Getty) There is nothing better than getting stuck into a good book. I’ve lost hours to reading and have never regretted it. However, spending hours glued to Netflix can sometimes feel like …

Every story needs a great baddie, but which is the most infamous across book fiction? Kindle Storyteller Award, a £20,000 literary prize celebrating the UK’s best self-published story, has polled 2000 British novel lovers to find out. And it turned out that crazed serial killer Hannibal Lecter came out on …

Just like art, whether a book is any good or not is subjective. Unsurprisingly, authors of books which enjoy huge commerical success often find themselves in the firing line on unwanted rankings. It doesn’t take long for their obscene popularity to become a stick to beat them with. From vampire …

Autobiographies are one of the most popular genres of books. They give the public unparalleled insight to the lives of sports stars, celebrities and leading politicians. Unlike memoirs, autobiographies generally tend to focus on the broader scope of the author’s life instead of specific moments. The works of Anne Frank …

The literary fusion of fantasy and romance, aptly called ‘Romantasy’, has been stealing readers’ hearts lately. Soaring in demand and dominating social media platforms like TikTok, where enthusiasts are affectionately termed #BookTok, this genre is having its moment under the spotlight. Romancing the Data, a romance-focused analytics site, sifted through …

Sir David Attenborough has generously donated more than 1,000 copies of his new book about oceans to school libraries to celebrate his 99th birthday today and encourage the next generation of young naturalists. Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness, co-written with long-time collaborator Colin Butfield and published today, is the story of …

Helen Fielding, the acclaimed author renowned for her Bridget Jones novels, has certainly made her mark in the literary world. Her iconic series kicked off with Bridget Jones’s Diary in 1996, which later took the film industry by storm in 2001. This year saw the return of Bridget to cinemas …

Do you enjoy a romantic novel? They aren’t for everyone. For some, they offer escapism but for others – they are the worst. Fans of the genre will know that sometimes the romantic novel can become a bit too unrealistic and turn almost into a parody. Avid readers over on …

In 2017, Kate Garraway listed Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong as her “all-time favourite” novel. The heartbreaking story, published in 1993, is the British author’s fourth, and is considered “one of the greatest war novels in the English language.” Birdsong, which forms the loose The French (Charles Hartmann) Trilogy with 1989’s The …