May 18, 2013 The End: The Human Experience of Death is enlightening, in the best possible way, about something that is such a fundamental part of life, most of us choose to avoid dwelling on it. An accomplished science journalist, Bianca Nogrady has covered every base in her investigation of the phenomena of death - philosophy, medicine, science, ethics and culture. Her starting point, in each of these areas, is the assumption that the more we know about death - the more we understand the mechanics of our own obsolescence - the less we have to fear from it.

May 18, 2013 The first pages of this novel are disconcerting. It opens with a mystery, and the cruel experiences of Ivan, ''the last of the Vostyachs'', as he stumbles out of a gulag into the forest of the Arctic Circle.

May 18, 2013 Anna Krien is, as a footballer might say, playing what is in front of her.

May 18, 2013 This is very much a book of interiors, both literal and metaphoric.

May 18, 2013 From her own books to seeking author equality, Kate Mosse has a flair for drama.

May 18, 2013 A rape trial opens the exploration of a dark and often under-reported side of professional sport.

May 18, 2013 Much of the book involves debunking myths that cling to popular ideas about death.

May 18, 2013 Sussex-based author Kate Mosse leads something of a double life in the Pyrenees while penning her historical fiction, Linda Morris writes.

May 18, 2013 What makes a human life worth living? Now there's a question that would, to quote the short poem Days by English writer Philip Larkin (1922-1985), bring ''the priest and the doctor / in their long coats / running over the fields''.

May 18, 2013 Persson's novels are complex and unusual, sardonic and satirical.