It was the worst of times. Yes, definitely the worst of times. But what was the best literature in another otherwise abysmal year?
Neil Stewart surveys the scene in his favourite foodie city
Dark and comedic, Doomocracy comes to deepest Brooklyn
"The soup is the flavour equivalent of wrapping a blanket over your shoulders as autumn starts to bite. I could eat it, as they say round our way, to a band playing"
"There aren’t many authors who could compel me to read a five-page essay on the actor Russell Crowe, much less to read that essay twice"
"These miniatures are less doll’s house than haunted house"
London's unusual and exciting new bookshops
A new novel from the onetime bad girl of American letters is disarmingly big-hearted, empathetic and moving – and haunted by past fictions
"Marc Newson’s Skybed is a rare opportunity to enjoy a design classic at 30,000 feet - but certain details on the flight I took could have used some tuning up "
Neil Stewart reviews Grant Achatz's radical reopened Alinea in Chicago
