Flab grab
Raj Patel illuminates the failures of the global food system in Stuffed and Starved, says Felicity Lawrence.
A good feed
On reading John Dickie's Delizia! and Paul Richardson's A Late Dinner, Tom Jaine finds simple peasant fare is not all it's cracked up to be in a culinary tour of Europe.
Home ground
Kathryn Hughes finds that Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver's chronicle of living off the land - is saved from being preachy by glorious wit.
The good life – with Barbara on top…
Barbara Kingsolver extends all her domestic skills as she is 'livin' the vida local', says David Jays.
Cleanliness is next to healthiness
Atul Gawande's Better argues passionately for the need to get back to basics in medicine, says Geraldine Bedell.
Not just a bread-and-butter case of murder
James Fergusson's The Vitamin Murders explores the bloody end of Britain's first foodie, says Paul Levy.
Too busy for sex?
Fear not! The latest clutch of sex guides are full of advice for people with no time to Do It. But who has the time to even read about sex these days? To save you the trouble, Lucy Mangan sifts through Mating in Captivity et al for some top tips.
Bad chemistry
The Vitamin Murders by James Fergusson allows Josh Lacey to examine the shocking and unexpected consequences of a real-life murder.
Their cluck just ran out
Hattie Ellis's compassionate condemnation, Planet Chicken, exposes the atrocious practices of modern poultry farming, says Paul Levy.
How to win the game of life, by Garry Kasparov
Stephen Moss: Gary Kasparov, the former world chess champion is in London promoting his self-help book, How Life Imitates Chess, and has been enticed to the Stowe Centre in Paddington, west London by BBC2's The Culture Show, which is making a programme about inner-city chess.