Gospel truths
Canongate claimed the Good Book for literature with a divided edition of the Bible. Introductions to the books of the Old and New Testaments from Nick Cave, Bono, the Dalai Lama and others are collected in Revelations.
Wandering star
In Ramblin' Man, Ed Cray tells how Woody Guthrie was a mystery to everyone, including himself, says Mike Marqusee.
What’s the buzz?
Steven Poole takes an ear-awakening trip through the world of electronic sound art in Haunted Weather by David Toop.
The day my music died
Novelist Tim Lott was in love with records; they were his addiction. Then the relationship turned sour and he binned them. He tells how he got his life - and collection - back together.
Bittersweet symphonies
Long before he won the Booker prize, DBC Pierre was dodging bailiffs and battling depression. Suicide seemed the only way out - until he discovered Brahms, Elgar and Rachmaninov ...
The fast show
Berlin is abuzz with a scene that mixes music with fashion, art and - in some cases - porn. Maddy Costa spends a day in the company of its leading lights, Chicks on Speed.
Finding oneself in pieces
Lucasta Miller takes hard lessons in playing the piano from some literary heroines
Not fading away
The pout has lost its clout, but still the Stones' myth grows. They chart their journey from satanic majesties to pillars of the rock'n'roll establishment in According to the Rolling Stones
The softer side of Pulp
Mark Sturdy's account of the Jarvis Cocker story, Truth & Beauty, would benefit from some muck-raking and less minutiae
Outrageous fortune
Gertrude gets to a nunnery and Hamlet is crowned king. Tim Ashley on a remarkable reworking of Shakespeare.
Sound and fury
After a lifetime of frustration at her tone-deafness, Margaret Drabble has, thanks to Brahms, experienced a musical miracle
For God and Gilead
Margaret Atwood was surprised when a composer suggested making an opera of The Handmaid's Tale, her dystopian vision of America under a theocracy. Now she's dazzled by the work's power and prescience
Mr Peepology
Gilad Atzmon's A Guide to the Perplexed is a debut novel with an excess of style and smut, says Darren King
Pop’s first space invader
For a mere £295 you can witness the birth of Ziggy Stardust in Moonage Daydream, a limited edition coffee-table book signed by David Bowie and Mick Rock