What is the best British novel since the war?

Charlotte Higgins: Philip Roth thought it was John Le Carré's A Perfect Spy. I'm not so sure

Tesco sets up film studio to adapt hit novels

Chain will base movies on books by authors including Jackie Collins, Philip Pullman and Dick Francis

The Road review – respectful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic tale

As a father and son journey across a desolate America, this loses some of its power by swerving the novel's more shocking aspects

What were your worst books of the decade?

Sam Jordison: It's all very well to make lists of the decade's best books, but surely the worst books would give future generations a truer glimpse of the noughties. Let's name and shame

Angels & Demons: the Swansea connection

How do you make a bottle to store antimatter in? Don't ask Dan Brown; ask Professor Mike Charlton of Swansea University, who is researching the complex world of particle theory, in Cern

Lionel Davidson obituary

Obituary: Award-winning writer renowned for thrillers such as The Rose of Tibet and The Chelsea Murders

Mark Gatiss to star in The First Men in the Moon

League of Gentlemen actor plays Professor Cavor in his own BBC4 adaptation of HG Wells's science fiction comedy thriller. By Tara Conlan

True confession: I don’t hate Dan Brown

Jean Hannah Edelstein: In fact, I feel more than a little empathy with the literary world's most reviled man

What the blogosphere is saying about Dan Brown

Alison Flood: There's a mixed first reaction to Dan Brown's latest, The Lost Symbol, on the blogosphere and Twitterverse

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol: the first two chapters

Can't bear to wait until Tuesday? Fear not: the Mail on Sunday is on hand with the first two chapters (plus prologue!) of Dan Brown's latest masterpiece

Two-Faced by Mandasue Heller

Heller is the frontrunner in a burgeoning subgenre which might loosely be described as Martina Cole-lite, says Laura Wilson

Venice film festival: The Road

Review: Starring Viggo Mortensen, John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel is a slice of powerful horror well worth the wait

Dick Francis – a family business

When Dick Francis turned his hand from horses to writing bestselling thrillers, he enlisted the help of his family – and now his son Felix is co-author.