A Wood of One’s Own – captivating and grounded
Ruth Pavey’s unassuming memoir celebrates the imperfections of rural life and the virtues of spontaneity
The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks review – ‘a lifetime of wisdom’
Oliver Sacks’s posthumous essays make for a marvellous series of meditations on his scientific heroes, from Freud to Darwin
Uncommon Type: Some Stories review – Hanks, but no thanks
With one exception, Tom Hanks’s stories could be the work of Forrest Gump himself
The Snowman review – lukewarm serial-killer thriller
Michael Fassbender stars in a disappointing Jo Nesbø adaptation that’s short on subtlety and suspense
The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume I: 1940-1956 – review
This hefty first volume of Sylvia Plath’s letters barely hints at her inner life or blossoming talent
Wines for a Sunday night supper
Rosie Sykes’s new book, The Sunday Night Book, is full of delicious feasts to round off the weekend. These three wines will match the recipes extracted in the Observer this week
The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson review – a new understanding of global history?
Don’t leave networks to conspiracy theorists, argues the prolific historian in a book that ranges from the Illuminati to Brexit and Trump
Tamed by Alice Roberts review – 10 species that changed our world
The story of how dogs, horses, cattle, apples, rice and other species were domesticated proves an excellent perspective on deep human history
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai review – an enchantingly light touch
The human rights campaigner strikes just the right balance in her first picture book, which relates the story of her childhood with a magical optimism
Human Nature by Lucas Foglia review – into the wild
Man’s impact on the planet is revealed in Foglia’s dramatic portraits of people interacting with the natural world
The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young – review
Ever wondered if cows bore a grudge? This may be the book for you
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine – review
Lindsey Fitzharris’s story of Lister’s battle to introduce hygiene to the operating theatre makes compelling reading
The 100 best nonfiction books: No 88 – A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (1729)
The satirist’s jaw-dropping solution to the plight of the Irish poor is among the most powerful tracts in the English language
Origin by Dan Brown – a Nostradamus for our muddled times
Machines with synthetic brains pose a danger to mankind in Brown’s latest dotty apocalyptic thriller
The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler review – a bibliophile’s treat
A lively, diligent guide to more than 100 authors who are not as well-known as perhaps they should be