Be Safe I Love You review – Cara Hoffman’s tale of a female Iraq veteran
A returning female US soldier's demons are roused in this affecting story of the impact of war on family life, says Anita Sethi
Barbarians review – Tim Glencross’s lively, parochial debut
Tim Glencross captures the north London elite at work and play but his first novel may baffle those beyond Islington's borders, writes Frances Perraudin
The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life review
Andy Miller's 12-month-long immersion in the classics renewed his zest for life – and produced an inimitable memoir, says Peter Conrad
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys review – Viv Albertine on the thrill of being a Slit
The all-girl punk band's guitarist confesses all – with searing honesty, writes Sean O'Hagan
The Deluge review – Adam Tooze’s bold analysis of the Great War
Ben Shephard on Adam Tooze's excellent analysis of America's role in the global convulsion that was the first world war
Free Thinking: PJ O’Rourke, Steven D Levitt, Stephen J Dubner; Today – review
A trio of great minds hit the stage together while Clive James proved an engaging, kindly and moving presence, writes Miranda Sawyer
The Empathy Exams: Essays by Leslie Jamison – review
'All the ways a women can hurt': this collection by a young journalist and novelist excels when it focuses on the female body and pain, writes Brian Dillon
A Farewell to Arms (1932) review – dated, yet bracingly modern war epic
In spite of his era, Frank Borzage's version of Hemingway includes some great avant-garde touches, even if the heroine (Helen Hayes) is a foot shorter than her hero (Gary Cooper), writes Steve Rose
The best books on North Korea
From first hand accounts of gulag survivors to memoirs of defectors once part of the top echelons of government, here’s our pick of the best books on the secretive kingdom
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys – review
'All underarm hair and knickers showing' - this frank, feminist memoir from the Slits guitarist captures the importance of punk, says Suzanne Moore
The Cigar That Fell in Love With a Pipe review – David Camus and Nick Abadzis revisit Welles and Hayworth
Rachel Cooke enjoys a beguiling fairy tale that blends the glamour of Hollywood's golden age with the sultry rituals of cigar smoking
Dear Leader review – a telling account of the madness of North Korea
Jonathan Fenby: A poet allowed into North Korea's inner circle has a riveting, bizarre tale to tell
The 100 best novels: No 36 – The Golden Bowl by Henry James (1904)
American literature contains nothing else quite like Henry James's amazing, labyrinthine and claustrophic novel, writes Robert McCrum
The Ballad of Martha Brown review – tale of ‘Marshwood murderess’ is quietly enjoyable
This retelling of the story of the last woman to be publically hanged in Dorset has some lovely elements, but leaves its characters underdeveloped, says Lyn Gardner
The Trip to Echo Spring: Why Writers Drink review – Olivia Laing’s elegant study of alcohol’s place in literature
This portrait of six literary greats combines biography, science and superb prose to illuminate the effects of alcohol on their writing, says Sophia Martelli