Picture books for young children: there’s a buzz about the place
Insects have invaded this season's picture books, from a jubilant fly to Speckle, the dancing spider, says Kate Kellaway
The Frugal Superpower: America’s Global Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era by Michael Mandelbaum
The USA's ageing population and huge national debt will restrict its involvement in global affairs. But, wonders George Walden, who will fill the gap?
In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works by John Lennon
Nicholas Lezard on the best books written by a pop star
How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian by Stewart Lee
One of Britain's most trenchant comics offers a fascinating insight into creating comedy, writes Natalie Haynes
Room by Emma Donoghue
Inspired by the Josef Fritzl case, Emma Donoghue's much-hyped seventh novel is a gem, says Nicola Barr
The Inordinately Strange Life of Dyce Sombre by Michael H Fisher
William Dalrymple marvels at the tragic and extraordinary life of David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, Britain's first Anglo-Indian MP
Thérèse Raquin by Emile Zola
Zola's 1867 tale of murderous lovers is a work of enduring fascination, says Anna Winter
The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker's novel about a failed poet is a delight, writes Killian Fox
Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott
Jo Shapcott's enigmatic poems fight shy of referring directly to her battle with cancer, writes Kate Kellaway
My Life in Pieces by Simon Callow
Simon Callow's collection of his journalism and other writing displays a lust for life both infectious and exhausting, says Michael Coveney
A Rusty Gun by Noel ‘Razor’ Smith
An ex-violent offender offers a provocative – often funny – account of prison group therapy, writes Andrew Anthony
Capitalism 4.0 by Anatole Kaletsky
Anatole Kaletsky's theory for the next stage of capitalism is easy to read but hard to follow, says Peter Preston
In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
This tale of ill-fated journeys through Greece, Africa and India shows Damon Galgut at a superb new high, says William Skidelsky
Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia by Robert Lacey
This account of post-70s Saudi Arabia offers a glimpse into a secretive kingdom, says Daniel Metcalf
Duchess of Death: The Unauthorised Biography of Agatha Christie by Richard Hack
A life of Agatha Christie is character assassination most foul, writes Olivia Laing