A Short History of Cahiers du cinéma by Emilie Bickerton
Philip French salutes a study of the pioneering French film magazine
61 Hours by Lee Child
Just when thriller addicts thought they had seen the last of the great heroes, Jack Reacher strikes again, writes Euan Ferguson
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson's blockbuster crime thriller is brought successfully to the screen, writes Philip French
Subversion of the natural order
Mary Fitzgerald on Where the Serpent Lives by Ruth Padel, The Temple-goers by Aatish Taseer and Lovetown by Michal Witkowski
Fun Inc: Why Games Are the 21st Century’s Most Serious Business by Tom Chatfield
Steven Poole on why videogamers have everything to play for
Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom
Anita Sethi applauds a collection of stories in which love triumphs over failings of the flesh
The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble
The pieces of Margaret Drabble's memoir don't all fit together, but they paint a compelling picture of family life, says Rachel Cooke
Beswitched by Kate Saunders
Geraldine Brennan enjoys a winning combination of girls' boarding school, spells and time travel
Major Farran’s Hat by David Cesarani
British attempts to counter Jewish terrorists in 1947 were all too often ill-conceived and brutal, discovers Jonathan Beckman
The Greatest Trade Ever: How John Paulson Bet Against the Markets and Made $20 Billion by Gregory Zuckerman
The story of one man's refusal to believe in the health of the housing boom tells us a great deal about the financial crisis but is not a gripping general read, says Heather Stewart
American Rust by Philipp Meyer
This tale of an accidental murder is a cliche-free examination of white America's dispossessed, says Mary Fitzgerald
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro
Ishiguro moves from farce to melancholy but still delivers a harmonious debut collection of short stories, says Tom Fleming
The Canterbury Tales
New Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeRobust and a bit rude – Northern Broadsides's production of The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer at his most memorable, but this is also more than the sum of its entendres, writes Alfred Hickling
The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
Statistical links between health and income equality appear strong, and disturbing, says Richard Reeves
Walking the Dog by David Hughes
A man's strolls with his pooch prompt all manner of engaging reflections in this innovative book, writes Rachel Cooke