Books

A composite of Hannah Neeleman, Caro Claire Burke and Anne Hathaway, with the cover of Yesteryear repeated in the background (Credit: Getty Images/ Harper Collins)

Why 2026's buzziest book is dividing readers

Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear is the book of the season – and quite likely the year, too. Here's why the satirical novel about tradwives and womanhood has everybody talking.

1 day ago

Actor Bill Paterson with grey hair and glasses in a blue shirt and light trousers reads a copy of Tales from the Back Green while sitting in a large, comfortable brown chair. There are books on the shelves behind him and a mug and books on a table beside him.

Bill Paterson brings memoir back to festival after nearly 20 years

The actor is part of the "richly varied menu" being offered at the Wigtown event this year.

1 day ago

Matt Damon, with a long grey beard and wearing a light brown shroud, and Zendaya, whose brown hair is covered by a beige scarf to match her beige dress, portray the hero Odysseus and the goddess Athena in the film The Odyssey

'Mission Impossible' takes ancient Odyssey to stars

Holding the oldest book copy of the text left director Christopher Nolan "very moved", a curator says.

1 day ago

2 days ago

Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Zendaya and Samantha Morton standing in a row in designer outfits in front of a large sign saying "Odyssey" at the premiere in New York on 14 July 2026

The Odyssey film fans inspired to go back to the source

Book sales and audiobook figures for Homer's original poem rise sharply after the film's release.

2 days ago

7 days ago

Helen Oxenbury sits in a chair in a conservatory, she is holding two books with a picture of a bear on the cover.

Bear Hunt artist returns to where her story began

The Ipswich exhibition, Adventures in Childhood, will feature 50 illustrations by Helen Oxenbury.

7 days ago

15 Jul 2026

Police officers load confiscated items into the back of a van

Five arrested after Hong Kong police raid independent bookshops

Officials say they are suspected of selling "seditious" books which incited "hatred" against authorities.

15 Jul 2026

14 Jul 2026

A detail of an artwork depicting medieval priest John Cassian sitting at the entrance of a cave on a clifftop overlooking a view of mountains, buildings, sun and sky. There is a book in his lap (Credit: Alamy)

What the Middle Ages can teach us about burnout

Stress and mental exhaustion aren't new – in medieval times, they were prevalent. And the wisdom of the Middle Ages about how to deal with burnout still rings surprisingly true today.

14 Jul 2026

13 Jul 2026

Left, a woman in dungarees smiles. Right, the pink shopfront of bad girl books.

'I sell spicy books'

Oxford's newly-opened Bad Girl Books provides a home for fans of romantasy in the heart of a literary city.

13 Jul 2026

12 Jul 2026

Amelia Lord is a white woman in her late 20s. She has shoulder length brown hair partly pulled back in a ponytail with frontpieces either side of her face. She has defined eyebrows and is wearing makeup, has a central nose ring and earrings, and is smiling at the camera. She wears a sleeveless black top. She is holding a pair of books and stands in front of a bookshelf with collections of books on it, including titles by Rebecca Yarros and the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.

I'm dyslexic and avoided reading until BookTok got me hooked - now I run a book club

Romance novels are enjoying a boom and even their own dedicated bookshops.

12 Jul 2026