Paperbacks

Odd Jobs by John Updike, Penguin pounds 12.99. Updike is as prolific a reviewer as he is a novelist, and his subjects, in this relaxed and rapturous sequence of critical essays, range all the way from St Matthew to Marquez.

Tchaikovsky: To the Crisis & The Years of Fame by David Brown, Gollancz pounds 12.99 each. One of the most detailed and devoted studies of the composer ever written, now compacted from four volumes to two.

Revolution from Within by Gloria Steinem, Corgi pounds 5.99. A shrewd and literate investigation into self-esteem, its moral worth and implications for feminism.

Sick Heart River by John Buchan, B & W pounds 5.99. First published in 1941 and long out of print, this tense adventure tells of Buchan's alter ego Sir Edward Leithen and a desperate manhunt in the Canadian wilderness.