Your holiday reading list: chosen by Zadie Smith, David Nicholls and more
Leading authors including Bernardine Evaristo, Armistead Maupin and Alice Roberts recommend books to read this summer
January 2024
Audiobook of the week
Good Material by Dolly Alderton audiobook review – a funny account of millennial love
Doctor Who’s Arthur Darvill and Napoleon’s Vanessa Kirby narrate a warm, witty portrait of thirtysomething middle-class life
November 2023
Went to London, Took the Dog by Nina Stibbe review – more larks in London
Nina Stibbe on menopause and HRT: ‘I was glad to note that my friend was much worse than me, weeing herself-wise’
October 2023
‘We didn’t half have a laugh’: writers Nina Stibbe and Deborah Moggach on living together, breakups and needy cockapoos
Stibbe’s warm and witty new book describes the year she lodged with Moggach, the author of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
April 2023
Audiobook of the week
One Day I Shall Astonish the World by Nina Stibbe audiobook review – friendship in little England
Stibbe evokes the interior thoughts of female friends in a portrait of a small town enlivened by Joanna Scanlan’s narration
April 2022
The best original photographs from the Observer
Original Observer Photography
The best original photographs from the Observer
One Day I Shall Astonish the World by Nina Stibbe review – a droll take on female friendship
The Love, Nina author’s new novel has all its predecessors’ gossipy bookishness and quirky charm
My mother was a ruthless ditcher of friends – should I dump my most annoying mates?
One Day I Shall Astonish the World by Nina Stibbe review – everyday comedy
Observer New Review Q&A
Nina Stibbe: ‘In fiction, female friendships are either ridiculously saintly or psychopathic’
December 2021
A Christmas that changed me
No tree, no presents and now no TV – was this going to be our worst Christmas ever?
We had been looking forward to watching unlimited television, but the set was on the blink. Then came a knock at the door …
May 2021
Dreaming of a better future? Ali Smith, Malcolm Gladwell and more on books to inspire change
As our thoughts turn to life after the pandemic, authors from this year’s Hay festival choose books that have inspired lasting change in them
November 2020
Lockdown culture
Culture to cheer you up during the second lockdown: part one
As parts of the UK enters another month – at least – of being stuck indoors, our critics pick out top music, games, books, TV, dance and art fixes to lift your spirits
September 2020
'Men still say women aren't funny': Nina Stibbe wins Comedy women in print prize
Reasons to Be Cheerful wins award set up to correct ‘sexist imbalance’ in Wodehouse prize, having also won that honour in 2019
May 2020
Top 10s
Top 10 books about nursing
For Florence Nightingale’s bicentenary, books by authors from Mary Seacole to Nina Stibbe show how far the role has evolved
April 2020
Reading group
Nina Stibbe webchat – your questions answered on comedy, Alan Bennett and amateur dentistry
Reading group
How Nina Stibbe found her voice
Reading group
Reasons to Be Cheerful delivers laughs with real tenderness
Reading group
Reading group: Nina Stibbe's Reasons to be Cheerful is our book for April
