The Great Indoors: At Home in the Modern British House by Ben Highmore – review
This trawl through the living rooms and kitchens of the past century is an amusing piece of nostalgia, but it's short on social analysis, writes Lucy Lethbridge
Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas – review
The author of The Slap wins round a sceptical Edward Docx with a resonant follow-up set in the world of Olympic swimming
The Fateful Year: England 1914 by Mark Bostridge – review
Moments of levity sit uneasily alongside the portentous and the poignant in Mark Bostridge's account of England in 1914, writes Rachel Cooke
How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis – review
Cathy Earnshaw, Scarlett O'Hara, Sylvia Plath, Scheherazade – this charming memoir describes a life of trying on literary personalities for size, writes Viv Groskop
Ghost Moth by Michèle Forbes – review
An Irish actor’s delicately written debut novel impresses Claire Kilroy
The Virtues of the Table: How to Eat and Think by Julian Baggini – review
Is food the key to what makes us human? And should we spend even more time thinking about it? By Steven Poole
More Dynamite: Collected Essays 1990-2012 by Craig Raine; Cristina and Her Double: Selected Essays by Herta Müller – review
Craig Raine's essays straddle the divide between high and low culture, while the Romanian-born Herta Müller deftly describes the horrors of Ceausescu's rule, writes Ian Thomson
Happy City by Charles Montgomery – review
Charles Montgomery remakes forcefully the urgent thesis that suburban life is bad for us, writes Rowan Moore
The Mystery of Princess Louise: Queen Victoria’s Rebellious Daughter by Lucinda Hawksley – review
Rachel Cooke is enthralled by the life of a spirited princess who thrived despite her upbringing
The Beast by Oscar Martínez; Midnight in Mexico by Alfredo Corchado – reviews
Ed Vulliamy: Raw testimony and vivid memoir bring the drug cartels and Mexico's tragedy into sharp focus
Bending Adversity by David Pilling – review
An authoritative explanation of Japan's history, culture and curious charms entertains John Kampfner
Dear Life by Alice Munro – review
The Nobel prizewinner's short stories are concise, subtle and masterly, says Kate Kellaway
Reading ahead: 2014 non-fiction preview
From the first world war to fascinating memoirs and an enthralling study of amphibians, the coming year promises much, writes Rachel Cooke
Empire by Jon Tonks – review
Photographer Jon Tonks investigates four far-flung outposts where the British empire lives on – at least in spirit, writes Sean O'Hagan
Reading ahead: 2014 fiction preview
From a welcome new novel by EL Doctorow to the year's likely bestsellers, Tim Adams picks the literary highlights of 2014