麻豆约拍

Rana Mitter talks to Jennifer Egan about her kaleidoscopic 'A Visit from the Goon Squad'. Influenced by Proust's A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu and The Sopranos television series, her book made several top ten lists for 2010 when it was published in America last year. On the eve of its publication here, the writer explains why even though it might look like a novel, it's not a novel, but something else entirely.

Philosopher Julian Baggini goes in search of the self; something that has been eluding philosophers (as well as psychologists and theologians) for thousands of years. In his book The Ego Trip he talks to members of the transgender community, alleged reincarnated Lamas and Dr Brooke Magnanti - better known as Belle de Jour.

Archaeologist Donny George, who has died aged 60, was the key figure who defended the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad from looters, following the 2003 invasion of allied forces. He then led a successful campaign to recover stolen artefacts. Colleagues and friends Elizabeth Stone and Roger John Matthews look back at his life and achievements.

And as the deadline for filling in your census form arrives, Danny Dorling's new book 'So You Think You Know About Britain' reveals empirical evidence that contradicts many common assumptions about British society. He talks about what we should really be asking every person in Britain.