The Best of Guardian Books
20+ most popular Guardian Books articles, as voted by our community.
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The big idea: should you blame yourself for your bad habits?
Our ability to resist temptation is increasingly shaped by forces beyond our control
How the World Made the West by Josephine Quinn review
A radical new history of the ancient world that challenges modern chauvinism
‘End of the world vibes’: why culture can’t stop thinking about apocalypse
Are we living through the end times? Dorian Lynskey contemplates the books and films that turn our fears into entertainment, and asks why each generation is so drawn to the idea that they will be the…
Literary Theory for Robots by Dennis Yi Tenen review
A secret history of machine intelligence, from 14th-century horoscopes to 1930s ‘plot genies’ for coming up with storylines
‘I’d love a scathing review’: novelist Percival Everett on American Fiction and rewriting Huckleberry Finn
His work triumphed at the Oscars, but the Booker-shortlisted author isn’t interested in acclaim. He talks to the Guardian about race, taking on Mark Twain and why there’s nothing worse than preaching…
Guardian Books on Books
Can ‘smart thinking’ books really give you the edge?
Trust your gut, boost your memory, de-bias your decision making… can we train our brains to perform better?
«A decade ago, the fashion was to be pessimistic about the prospects of improving our thinking, and even about the value of thinking at all.»
The big idea: does true kindness have to be selfless?
It feels great to give at Christmas. But does that pleasure detract from the good deed?
Guardian Books on Comics
Art Spiegelman: golden age superheroes were shaped by the rise of fascism
Created in New York by Jewish immigrants, the first comic book superheroes were mythic saviours who could combat the Nazi threat. They speak to the dark politics of out times
‘I envy writers who suffer from no self‑doubts’: inside the world of graphic novelist Chris Ware
The mind behind Jimmy Corrigan on casting himself as a ‘jerk’ in his new book Rusty Brown, childhood nostalgia and discovering his distinctive style
Guardian Books on Feminism
Fighting the tyranny of ‘niceness’: why we need difficult women
Today’s thumbs-up, thumbs-down approach to feminism is boring and reductive. It is time to embrace complexity
The crisis in modern masculinity
Around the world, luridly retro ideas of what it means to be a man have caused a rush of testosterone – from Bollywood bodybuilding to nuclear brinkmanship
Guardian Books on Fiction
The 100 best books of the 21st century
Dazzling debut novels, searing polemics, the history of humanity and trailblazing memoirs ... Read our pick of the best books since 2000
Lost chapter of world's first novel found in Japanese storeroom
A fifth part of The Tale of Genji, which was completed around 1010 by a woman later named Murasaki Shikibu, has been found in a house in Tokyo
Guardian Books on History
Rutger Bregman: 'Our secret superpower is our ability to cooperate'
The historian offers a hopeful view of human nature in his latest book, Humankind. It couldn’t have come at a better time
Blood on the Snow: The Russian Revolution 1914-1924 by Robert Service
This work of a lifetime presents high-octane, high-politcal drama – and attempts to rehabilitate the ‘bourgeois’ provisional government that preceded the Bolsheviks
Guardian Books on Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb review
Hawkish politicians and reckless bankers never face the consequences of their actions – but they should, according to this arresting but flawed book
Guardian Books on Nature
Being Human by Lewis Dartnell review
From ‘proactive aggression’ to our ‘predilection’ for polygamy, an engaging study of the traits that have influenced civilisation
Four Ways of Thinking by David Sumpter review
A mathematician tries to make sense of the world through different lenses in this surprisingly original book
Guardian Books on Philosophy
Think yourself better: 10 rules of philosophy to live by
From Aristotle to Iris Murdoch: what the greatest minds of the past 2,500 years have to tell us about the good life
«we should employ the principle of charity. This requires us to consider the best, strongest version of an opponent’s argument, not only the worst»
Living for Pleasure by Emily A Austin
A timely guide to the Greek philosopher – and rival to the Stoics – who saw freedom from anxiety as the ultimate goal
«Unnatural and unnecessary desires, such as for wealth, power, fame or eternal life, are considered “corrosive”, to be avoided like the plague.»
Guardian Books on Poetry
Poem of the week: 7th Nerve by Rhiannon Hooson
A hi-tech medical exam draws its subject back to a more archaic, essential experience
When Milton met Shakespeare: poet's notes on Bard appear to have been found
Hailed as one of the most significant archival discoveries of modern times, text seems to show the Paradise Lost poet making careful annotations on his edition of Shakespeare’s plays
Guardian Books on Religion
How Religion Evolved by Robin Dunbar review
The Oxford psychology professor traces the evolutionary advantages, or otherwise, of faith
«Those who sign up to religions, he points out, “can incur serious costs in terms of self-imposed pain, celibacy and even self-sacrifice”.»
This Life and Outgrowing God review – heaven, atheism and what gives life meaning
Our lives are finite – but do we keep that in mind and spend our time well? The latest attack on religion by Richard Dawkins and Martin Hägglund’s argument for ‘secular faith’
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These are some all-time favorites with Refind users.
Breaking Through Depression; The Balanced Brain
Last year, research cast doubt on the dominant ‘chemical imbalance’ theory of depression. Now two persuasive books by scientists Philip Gold and Camilla Nord offer very different causes of the illness…
«psilocybin docks into the same receptors as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that promotes the growth and rewiring of neurons»
The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months
When a group of schoolboys were marooned on an island in 1965, it turned out very differently to William Golding’s bestseller, writes Rutger Bregman
The big idea: are we living in a simulation?
Could the universe be an elaborate game constructed by bored aliens?
The end of capitalism has begun
Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. At the heart of further change to come is information technology, new ways of working and the sharing economy. The old ways will take a long while to disappear, but it’s time to be utopian
The big idea: why colour is in the eye of the beholder
We might think the sky is blue and trees are green, but the truth is rather stranger
«Many people today think of blue as masculine and pink as feminine, but only a hundred years ago baby boys were dressed in pink and girls in blue.»
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