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We prepare for birth - why not prepare for death? A new book on coping with death by Comic Relief founder Jane Tewson aims to aid the grieving process
Kathy Lette: if my convict ancestors could see me now... When Australian novelist Kathy Lette was awarded an honorary degree by a British university last year, she was inspired to explore her family history - and uncovered their part in the moving story of the Botany Bay settlers
Ian McEwan: Criticising Islam is not racist Ian McEwan has insisted that criticising Islam is not racist and blamed left-leaning thinkers for "closing down the debate".
Solar by Ian McEwan: review Lorna Bradbury declares Solar by Ian McEwan, a dark satire about climate change, to be his finest work to date
Molotov's Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History by Rachel Polonsky: review Charlotte Hobson takes a literary journey in the footsteps of Stalin's henchman, reviewing Rachel Polonsky's new book, Molotov's Magic Lantern
Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life by Michael Greenberg Sinclair McKay is highly amused by Beg, Borrow Steal, Michael Greenberg's romantic account of struggling to be a writer in New York
My Animal Life by Maggie Gee: review Maggie Gee vividly shares her memories of post-war Britain in My Animal Life, finds Sinclair McKay
Why Not Me? A Story of Love and Loss by Barbara Want: review Helen Brown admires the honesty of Why Not Me? A Story of Love and Loss, Barbara Want's memoir of bereavement
Back from the Brink: The Inside Story of the Tory Resurrection by Peter Snowdon: review Back from the Brink: the Inside Story of the Tory Resurrection by Peter Snowdon says that the Conservative Party has returned. Robert Colvile assesses the argument.
Sara Paretsky: Interview As her new crime novel hits the streets, Sara Paretsky tells Jake Kerridge about her headstrong heroine, VI Warshawski
What the devil is going on at the Vatican? As the chief exorcist claims the Devil is lurking at the heart of the Catholic Church, Peter Stanford examines the uses of Satan.
Ian McEwan interview: warming to the topic of climate change Ian McEwan's new novel Solar brings humour to the climate change debate - and he is preparing to take some flak.
Pick of the paperbacks An exploration of East London, the life of Peter Cook and what it was really like in the Seventies
Romance novels: reviews Chloe Rhodes dives into new works by Polly Williams, Carole Matthews and Martel Maxwell
An appeal to the better nature of the baby boomers - and Boris Johnson David Willetts says that is the contract between the generations is broken.
Seven Ages of Britain: Let me learn from an expert, not a newsreader It takes a historian to bring history to life, yet TV gives us David Dimbleby, says Harry de Quetteville.
David Sedaris: The humorist with a heart David Sedaris's waspish observations make you want to tell all your friends about him.

New York Times

Books of The Times: Michael Lewis’s ‘Big Short’: Investors Foresaw Meltdown Michael Lewis’s book does not attempt a macro view of the financial crisis, but instead proposes to open a small window on the calamities.


Arts, Briefly: Judi Dench Memoir Is Set for October St. Martin’s Press said it had acquired a memoir from Ms. Dench, called “And Furthermore,” that described her professional and private lives.


Sales of ‘The Coming Insurrection’ Helped by Glenn Beck Sales of “The Coming Insurrection,” which first appeared in France in 2005, surged after Glenn Beck talked about it on his Fox TV show.


Richard Stites, Historian of Russian Culture, Dies at 78 Mr. Stites opened up new territory for historians with a landmark work on the Russian women’s movement.


Books of The Times: Paolo Giordano’s ‘Solitude of Prime Numbers’: Scarred Souls The Italian writer Paolo Giordano has drawn a mesmerizing portrait of a young man and woman whose injured natures draw them together and inevitably pull them apart.


Books of The Times: James Hynes’s ‘Next’: A Job Interview to End All Interviews In James Hynes’s new novel, a middle-aged man on a one-day trip to Austin, Tex., for a job interview comes full to life at long last.


Pellegrino Book Is Pulled and Publishers Ponder Procedures Digital media raises the question of what part the traditional book publisher will play in the future.


Books of The Times: ‘Burning Bright’ by Ron Rash: Shadowy Stories of Appalachia The skill with which Ron Rash’s tales are constructed is apparent in this new book of stories.


Book Review | 'Black Hearts: One Platoon’s Descent Into Madness in Iraq’s Triangle of Death,' by Jim Frederick A riveting account of the flawed leadership, bad luck and virulent personalities that led to the 2006 murder of an entire Iraqi family by American soldiers.


Book Review | 'So Much for That,' by Lionel Shriver Health care and bank accounts loom large in Lionel Shriver’s multifaceted 10th novel, in which plans, relationships and families are changed by illness.


Book Review | 'Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience,' by Stephen S. Hall A science writer addresses the question: What makes a sage?


Comics: The Upside-Down World of Gustave Verbeek - Complete Peanuts - Bloom County Library - Popeye - Plunder Island New collections of classic comics, including “Peanuts,” “Bloom County” and “Popeye.”


New York Times Sunday book review

Book Review | 'Black Hearts: One Platoon’s Descent Into Madness in Iraq’s Triangle of Death,' by Jim Frederick A riveting account of the flawed leadership, bad luck and virulent personalities that led to the 2006 murder of an entire Iraqi family by American soldiers.


Book Review | 'So Much for That,' by Lionel Shriver Health care and bank accounts loom large in Lionel Shriver’s multifaceted 10th novel, in which plans, relationships and families are changed by illness.


Book Review | 'Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience,' by Stephen S. Hall A science writer addresses the question: What makes a sage?


Comics: The Upside-Down World of Gustave Verbeek - Complete Peanuts - Bloom County Library - Popeye - Plunder Island New collections of classic comics, including “Peanuts,” “Bloom County” and “Popeye.”


Book Review | 'The Surrendered,' by Chang-rae Lee As death draws near, Chang-rae Lee’s heroine, a Korean War orphan who now lives in New York, sets off for Europe to look for her wayward son.


Book Review | 'Reality Hunger: A Manifesto,' by David Shields With an assist from others’ quotations, David Shields argues that our deep need for reality is not being met by the old and crumbling models of literature.


Book Review | 'The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage,' by Anthony Brandt The boldness and the folly of the explorers who sought the Northwest Passage.


Book Review | 'Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades,' by Jonathan Phillips This “character driven” account of two centuries of religious combat is the best recent history of the Crusades.


Book Review | 'Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy,' by Melissa Milgrom A journalist’s adventures in the world of taxidermy, where she observes the art of incising, skinning, sculpturing and reassembling.


Book Review | 'The Man From Saigon,' by Marti Leimbach Vietcong guerrillas capture a female reporter in this vivid Vietnam War novel.


Fiction Chronicle - Novels by Dominick Dunne, Sadie Jones, Melanie Benjamin, Brian Hart and Elizabeth Kostova Novels by Dominick Dunne, Sadie Jones, Melanie Benjamin, Brian Hart and Elizabeth Kostova.


Children’s Books: Hidden Meanings A documentary approach to Anne Frank’s life and diary; and a novel about Jewish refugee children during World War II.


Children’s Books: 'Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean,' by Sarah Stewart Taylor An entertaining, graphic-novel style account of Amelia Earhart’s stay in Newfoundland before she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.


Children’s Books: Bookshelf - More Books Reviewed More children’s books reviewed.


Letters: Love and Baseball
Letters: Illegitimate Politics
Hardcover Fiction Top 5 at a Glance
1. HOUSE RULES, by Jodi Picoult
2. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett
3. FANTASY IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb
4. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, by Seth Grahame-Smith
5. WORST CASE, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge


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