FROM THE DESK ...

There’s a saying: the best things in life aren’t things at all. I’d agree, except I’d argue that books don’t belong in the “things” category. Books, glorious books. This week it’s all about books. They are my go- to gift for pretty much everyone. Apologies in advance if you wanted a plastic dinosaur. They don’t clog landfills, plus they enrich and enlighten and entertain. Books editor Dionne Christian has corralled our regular reviewers who have compiled their best- ofs. No matter what your preference is — literary fiction, picture books, art or food — there’s plenty of inspiration in these pages.

Tom Hanks sails into London to promote his new book, Uncommon Type, and Matt Suddain writes an hilarious account of hero worship, breathless publicists and emcees losing their shit at celebrity book launches (” Everyone’s type”, page 17). And if you really loathe books, we have celebrity cache by the Champagne bucketload this week. In an exclusive, former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown discusses breaking ground in the way she featured celebs in the magazine. She talks with Aimie Cronin about her latest book in “Stories beyond the cover” ( pages 14 and 15).

And finally: timing is everything. This month, Kiran Dass wrote a splendid article for Weekend on the 25th annual Literary Review Bad Sex Awards. The Review kindly timed the announcement of the winner with our books issue. It was revealed yesterday that the winner is an American. Take a bow Christopher Bollen, for spectacular ickiness in The Destroyers. Google it. Or not.

Have a lovely weekend.