Cal Flyn, Deputy Editor

India has a thriving literary community working in 22 official languages plus English, says Rana Dasgupta, the literary director of the JCB Prize: a major award for the best new novel by an Indian author. Here, he talks us through their 2019 shortlist.

From All The Pretty Horses to Blood Meridian to The Road, American novelist Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023) was a titan of literary fiction for his philosophical, violent, often deeply moving novels. Cormac McCarthy expert Stacey Peebles introduces us to the author’s oeuvre—and tells us that despite its apocalyptic bleakness, The Road is actually McCarthy’s “happiest book.”

What do you think about when you’re training at the gym, or on the tennis court? And what should you think about, if your goal is maximizing performance and results? Seasoned sports psychologist Bill Cole, coach for numerous Olympic teams and top-level international athletes, reveals that the number one road block to athletic performance often isn’t physical—it’s overthinking.

If you feel like you lose whole days to procrastination or indecision—or simply have too much to do!—you probably want advice on how improve your productivity. We spoke to David Allen, creator of the perennial bestseller Getting Things Done, about the best books on the subject: why we waste time, and what we can change to be more productive.

There’s more to criminal psychology than Mindhunter and Silence of the Lambs would have you believe, says the offender profiling pioneer David Canter. Here, he selects five of the best books on forensic psychology.

Interested in science fiction, but not sure where to begin? Sceptical of spaceships, but never really given them a chance? We asked Nicholas Whyte, administrator of the World Science Fiction Society’s renowned annual Hugo Awards, to recommend five of the best sci fi books that should appeal to readers new to the genre

Halitosis, happy hour and bumming a cigarette: all concepts invented by marketers. Marketing is all about manipulating emotions—and this is a dark art that can be used for both good and evil, says the bestselling author and marketing guru Seth Godin as he selects five of the best books on his specialist subject.

Clinical psychologists look at how we feel, how that affects how we behave, and whether we can change. Here, the Oxford academic and clinician Susan Llewelyn discusses five key books in the field of clinical psychology, why clinicians must keep their minds open to new approaches, and why aspiring psychologists should read as many novels as they can.

Good writing offers readers an invitation to explore and engage with the world around them, says Dan Richards—author of Outpost and Climbing Days—as he recommends five brilliant books that exemplify the skill of landscape writing.

Bettany Hughes, author of Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities and chair of this year’s Booker International Prize judging panel, talks us through the six books they have shortlisted for the title of best novel in translation.