As the new government faces an economy, society and political system in despair, there is no shortage of prescriptions to put things right
It’s an essential part of growing up, yet the number of kids who read purely for pleasure is at an all-time low
From politics, economics and history to art, food and, of course, fiction — FT writers and critics choose their favourite reads of the year so far
Irvine Welsh’s Ray Lennox confronts trauma again; puzzling happenings in Dubai and Tokyo; plus echoes of Marple and Ripley
A collection of contemporary short stories offers a refreshing range of responses to the absurdist nature of modern life
A story of gender, consumerism and the female pioneers who defied the patriarchy and helped shape the American dream
A wealthy family’s life is upturned by a kidnapping in Taffy Brodesser-Ackner’s fine follow-up to ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’
Andrzej Tichý’s stories of lives blighted by poverty are told with an unnerving command of structure and narrative
A novelist who survived one of eastern Europe’s most vicious tyrannies and drew comparisons with Kafka and Orwell
Can Britain be mended?; the women who shaped the American dream; Albania and Serbia — two histories of Balkan neighbours; refrigeration’s chilling impact on global food supply systems; a thriller-like account of the US military getting up-to-date with tech; a kidnapping in a wealthy Long Island milieu; short stories with a fresh take on life’s Kafkaesque absurdity — plus Adam LeBor’s round-up of the best spy and war thrillers
Raj M Shah and Christopher Kirchhoff’s thriller-like book reveals how the Pentagon came up to technological speed
Two impressive new histories about the Balkan neighbours show how the traumas of the past have left deep traces in the present
Part memoir, part science, part history, the Tasmanian novelist’s latest book rejoices in resisting definition
Displays at the former home of the French father of science fiction mix the mundane with the imaginary
The writer and celebrated gardener loves begonias, Botticelli’s Primavera and birds of paradise
A tour of the Greek island where books, beatniks and buzz collide
The dark side of 1930s Europe, a mysterious brothel in present-day Belgravia — plus a topical Syrian-set story from a ‘Spiral’ screenwriter
Paolo Zannoni’s history of how today’s monetary system evolved
Nicola Twilley explores how refrigeration turned the global food supply system into an unsustainable ‘cryosphere’
Books editors Fred Studemann and Laura Battle field summer scenarios and tell us the books they’d read
A family history that exposes China’s authoritarian regime and an era of repression
Harald Jähner’s vivid history depicts Germany’s dizzying era of change — and its catastrophic finale
Jane Robinson chronicles the achievements and taboo-busting life of 19th-century campaigner Barbara Bodichon
This engaging chronology by the legendary drummer Questlove also functions as a memoir of his life from hip-hop fan to successful musician
After a 13-year hiatus, the author returns with a tender novella about the possibilities of an imagined life
Lauren Elkin explores questions of feminism and fidelity in a time-hopping tale of two marriages
From Joan Didion to Toni Morrison: writers emerge most clearly in the memoirs of fellow authors
With ageing populations, falling birth rates and fewer workers to pay tax, the author calls for bold experiments to cope with the dizzying changes already upon us
A posthumous and seamless completion of a volcano thriller that the ‘Jurassic Park’ writer left unfinished after his death in 2008
We asked you to share with us your favourite reads of the year so far — and here is what you told us
A hunt for the next Lionel Messi, love on the run in Montana — plus Richard Flanagan’s moving meditation on life, family and chance
FT Weekend’s book columnist Nilanjana Roy on what to read if you’re in the dumps about an election near you
Gideon Rachman selects his best mid-year reads
Why has the ambitious, multilingual young writer of superlative letters been dismissed as nothing more than the mother of Byron’s child?
FT editors, columnists and specialists share the titles that have inspired them
Barry Forshaw selects his best mid-year reads
Suzi Feay selects her best mid-year reads
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