The Blur bassist, farmer and writer chooses his favourite books. His account of the band's 2023 reunion tour, "Over the Rainbow: Tales from an Unexpected Year", is out now.
Moonraker
Nicholas Shakespeare's recent biography of Fleming is a mind-blower that left me wondering how one man could have changed the world so much. He's really hitting his stride as a novelist in this third "Bond" novel. The description of drink, drugs and dining at M's club Blades is the finest food writing I've ever read.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Vines in a Cold Climate
Henry Jeffreys, 2023
British Cheese Explosion. Now we're into The Champagne Supernova years. This book tells the incredible story of commercial British winemaking since its beginnings in the 1990s. There was simply no English wine commercially available then; now our sparkling wines rank among the world's best.
Love Triangle
Matt Parker, 2024
Parker's videos on YouTube take geekery to new levels. I've spent countless hours watching them, and his books are even better. Move over Euclid. This latest bestseller is a blissful blend of pure science and pure merriment.
Flying Colours
C.S. Forester, 1938
I started reading Forester recently when I found out that he discovered Roald Dahl, my first favourite author. He's probably best known for the "Hornblower" series about the Napoleonic Wars, taking you to another world as complete and as fantastical as Middle Earth. This sees our man Hornblower and his principal thugs, Bush and Brown, mount a thrilling escape from the firing squad.
The Secret Hours
Mick Herron, 2023
This "Slow Horses" spin-off fills in the backstory of wheelchair-user Molly. Sean Barrett, who narrates the audiobooks, apparently often has to pause when recording Jackson Lamb's lines because he can't stop laughing. So funny it actually hurts. So sad, it hurts, too.
-
Will there be peace before Christmas in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Discussions over the weekend could see a unified set of proposals from EU, UK and US to present to Moscow
-
Quiz of The Week: 6 – 12 DecemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A man's best friend, the elephants in the room, and more
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Week Recommends Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
‘Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right’ by Laura K. Field and ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare’ by Daniel SwiftFeature An insider’s POV on the GOP and the untold story of Shakespeare’s first theater
-
Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secretsfeature Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, through Feb. 22
-
Homes with great fireplacesFeature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Washington and two-sided Parisian fireplace in Florida
-
Film reviews: ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Zootopia 2’Feature A Brazilian man living in a brutal era seeks answers and survival and Judy and Nick fight again for animal justice
