theguardian.com / .theguardian-com-books / Page 6

Her rhyming tales have enchanted children and parents the world over - but which is the best? From a busker's cat to a greedy rat, it's time to rate the hits ...

Gifts sent from a loved one abroad at first bring warmth and joy, then grave alarm ...

From Picasso to Joyce, we're hopelessly in thrall to the fallacy of the all-conquering intellect. Or are we?

The acclaimed short-story writer brings her characters vividly to life in this debut novel about a teenage girl's assault and its aftermath ...

Critical details ...

Smartphones offer instant stimulation, but do they silence a deeper message ...

From blackmail to burglary, the events of Spark's life often uncannily echoed those of her novels - no wonder the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie believed she could predict the future ...

Small, huge, camp, Star Trek-themed weddings have changed beyond recognition, but we're still reading out the same old Shakespeare sonnets. What to read at a modern ceremony? Plus, leading poets pick their favourites ...

The Story of a Heart, which won this year's award for nonfiction, tells how one child saved the life of another. The author talks about the amazing families involved, campaigning for a better NHS, and how being a doctor frames the way she writes ...

The winner of this year's fiction prize on growing up as an outsider, why we're all guilty of complicity, and using her acceptance speech to reveal that she is intersex ...