No generation is the best. None is the worst. We are all great. We are all appalling
Alpha, beta, boomers, Joneses: confusion reigns about the ‘gen’ paramaters, never mind which is the greatest
Zadie Smith
Writer
Yes, you should feel bad for not finishing (insert classic novel here)
Donald Clarke: Guilt is an important aspect of life and a vital part of the reading experience
Second-generation Irish: ‘We were outsiders among the English – and the Irish too’
Ian Duhig’s parents emigrated to England in the 1950s in search of a better life. In this essay, he looks at growing up under the influence of Ireland and never feeling quite at home
Latest movies reviewed: All films in cinemas this week rated
The Irish Times what-to-see guide to the movies now in cinemas across Ireland
High Life: Interesting outer-space drama full of oddities
Review: From a ‘Sex Box’ to a brief shot of Six Nations rugby, this sci-fi film makes for interesting viewing
How Mayo writer Sally Rooney became a literary phenomenon in the UK
British bookshops are keeping stashes of ‘Normal People’ behind their counters
The ultimate literary bucket list: ‘1,000 Books to Read Before You Die’
US author James Mustich says the book that took him 14 years to write should be thought of as a kind of imaginary bookshop
100 books by women you have to read
Iris Murdoch, Edna O’Brien, Marian Keyes and Eimear McBride all appear on the list
‘The only message I’ve peddled is that we’re headed for the apocalypse’
Don’t laugh at Edward Aczel’s awkward attempts at comedy – he’s trying not to be funny. But, as his new stand-up show, ‘Is Ed Aczel Infinite?’ proves, anti-comedy can be timeless
Claire Denis: ‘We are normal people. Even though we are French’
The distinguished film-maker continues her experiments in the unpredictable with her latest work – just don’t go asking what it’s like being a female director
Leading authors tell Man Booker to drop American writers
Top Irish writers part of Folio Academy which say prizes should be closed to US novelists
Don’t drink, sleep when you want, get a cat: top 10 writers’ tips on writing
Think you still have that novel in you? Take some writing tips from Leo Tolstoy, Muriel Spark, John Steinbeck and other famous authors
Sally Rooney wins Young Writer of the Year award
Irish writer becomes joint youngest winner of the Sunday Times prize with ‘Conversations With Friends’
Want a Kardashianesque body? It'll cost you
Coping: We augment and adjust our bodies in minor and major ways all the time, doing everything from removing body hair to piercing holes in our flesh
Rusangano Family take tea-based comedy to a new level
Plus: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile (eek: Kurt and Courtney) craft a ramshackle gem
You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine review: Suffering single white females
Alexandra Kleeman’s disturbing dystopia takes on body image and the beauty myth
Obama’s secret to surviving White House: books
Not since Lincoln has there been a president so fundamentally shaped by reading and writing as Barack Obama
New fiction: Among the Ten Thousand Things, by Julia Pierpont
The children of a New York family pick up the pieces of a selfish adult world
Lawrence Osborne’s bad juju and ‘Buddhist plot’ in Cambodia
Interview: The travel journalist and author has set his latest novel, Hunters in the Dark, in Cambodia, after a trip there to cover the genocide trials awakened his interest in the country
George O’Brien: ‘Writing has taught me to be disciplined, to be patient, to persist’
Brought to Book Q&A: Irish author and academic on how he writes and what he reads
Loah: medicine for body and soul
A trip to New York forced Loah to take her music seriously, and now the part-time pharmacist, who has worked with Hozier and Kíla, is about to strike out on her own
Lionel Shriver tale of flirting with death wins BBC short story award
Zadie Smith is runner-up for £15,000 prize
Irish novelist Donal Ryan wins ‘Guardian’ first book award
‘The Spinning Heart’ nets novelist £10,000 prize
Would @WilliamButlerTweets have written worse poetry?
If WB Yeats really could be “all over” YouTube and Twitter, he’d suffer many writers’ greatest problem
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices