“Rolling Stone began in November 1967, with a photo of John Lennon on the first page and a subscription offer that included a roach clip. In his biography of its founder, Jann Wenner, Joe Hagan writes that the first issue “arrived on newsstands like a handshake”. Fifty years later, as the magazine industry continues to shrink, this excellent biography arrives like a eulogy – not for Wenner, who is 71 and still at it – but for the days when magazine journalism was adventurous and irreverent, muscular and confident rather than plagued by evidence of its own doom.”

“An absolute tour de force about old age and dying” – Linda Grant picks Margaret Drabble’s The Dark Flood Rises as one of the best books of the year in the Guardian.

“Terrifically smart and full of anecdotes that anyone remotely interested in rock and roll, publishing, or the legacy of the nineteen-sixties will find engrossing.”

“This novel captivates, despite the grimness of its preoccupations. Weiner has a knack for writing sentences that grab and grip, and he knows a lot about pacing and structure. Although it has none of Mad Men’s surface glamour, Heather, the Totality offers its readers a not dissimilar pleasure: that of an addictive, even thrilling, nihilism.”

“The relationship between biographer and subject can be notoriously tricky, filled with undefined expectations. But rarely does it come apart as dramatically as it has between Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner and the writer of his life, Joe Hagan… Sticky Fingers offers a fascinating insight into the relationship between Wenner, his writers and some of the most storied musicians and celebrities of the late 20th century.”

“Jann Wenner and his biographer are no longer on speaking terms… The comprehensive biography describes Mr. Wenner’s rise to moguldom, his symbiotic relationships with pop-culture legends and the evolution of Rolling Stone from scrappy underground rag to shiny entertainment-industry bible. It also excavates Mr. Wenner’s personal life, including his complicated homosexuality, drug use, sexual escapades, familial friction and frequent feuds…”

“We have work lives and love lives, but we also have looking lives.” With The Story of Looking about to come out, Mark Cousins writes in the Observer about our inner photo albums: the visual memories that linger with us.

“An evocative allegory about the endless contest between good and evil… As in his first novel, Taduno’s Song, Atogun has combined folkloric elements with a strong central character to create a haunting and unusual narrative.”

“Despite appearances, innovations don’t come from nowhere. They are the latest branches on the family tree of invention.” An extract from The Runaway Species on how technology (and creativity) work: by building on what’s come before.