When, in 1946, Bobby Troup wrote what became his classic song, Route 66, he could hardly have anticipated how popular it would become.

Geraldine Brooks very nearly missed the inspiration for her latest novel, this month's feature book Caleb's Crossing.

If you haven't already heard quite enough about Rugby World Cup 2011 then this is for you.

Vivienne Plumb's new collection of poetry - beautifully designed by poet and publisher Helen Rickerby - reminds me that poetry books can feel so good in the hand. Plumb's poems have a chance to breathe on the page.

Why, asks Barry Forshaw, are Scandinavian writers winning worldwide acclaim for their crime?

We had the world's politest fight over who got first dibs on the most promising of the new novels on our Fiction Fix hot list this month...

Sarajevo, in Bosnia, was the perfect city for a siege. Nestled in a valley surrounded by hills, the people below became easy targets.

Award-winning Sunday Times columnist Danny Danziger made the inspired decision not to write a book about British soldiers, but to let the soldiers tell their own stories.

Jeffery Deaver tells Stephen Jewell why the new Bond carries an iPhone.

Not a travel book as such but just the sort of book I like taking with me when I'm travelling somewhere ... in this case to Greece.

Kiwi music sensation Ray Columbus recently released his autobiography, The Modfather: life and times of a rock 'n' roll pioneer (Penguin, $42).

Dame Fiona Kidman takes a literary trip through time, writes Nicky Pellegrino.

Though I'm reading non-fiction for this month's book club - and I read a novel based on a true story last month - I prefer pure fiction.

A Middle East-based journalist has penned a book advising travellers how to keep themselves safe in dangerous places.

Lowboy leads us on a dark yet wondrous journey into the strange subterranean world beneath the streets of New York City - and deep inside the chaos of his own unravelling mind.

This haunting, Booker-short-listed novel follows a young South African man identified only as Damon. Yes, just like the author.

The 22 Spanish writers in this entertaining collection were all born in or since 1975, the year General Francisco Franco died after 36 years of repressive rule in Spain.

Once again Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geraldine Brooks takes a simple, barely known historical fact, fattens out and brings it to life so lyrically you feel transported back in time.