If Iraq and Afghanistan are the first things that spring to mind, you’d be largely mistaken. Despite a couple of overtly ‘political’ pieces, the majority of contributors return to that perennial favourite literary subject-matter: love. Or, rather, that even more perennial favourite: what to do when it all goes wrong.

The best pieces tended to have a kind of nonchalance; an appealingly offhand quality. Claire Messud’s account of her father’s death and John Barth’s vignette contemplating the end of his writing career (in writing, of course). Issue 118 is also – as usual – an beautiful physical object, gorgeously illustrated (and featuring a poignant photo essay by Stancy Kranitz – charting the fates of a forgotten community for whom there seem to be no viable exit strategies in the face of rising sea-levels).

One of the best things about Granta is its placement of Big Names – Adrienne Rich, Alice Munro, Anne Tyler – alongside new voices; challenging ideas about reputation and ‘importance’. The necessarily fragmented nature of the magazine format thankfully repays the kind of disjointed reading that the harassed (or hyper) student relies on. An expert exit strategist when it concentration, I appreciate a form that's not too clingy, and doesn't insist on monogamous commitment right away. Reading the pieces in contrast to one another, being interrupted, having another cup of coffee, resuming, finishing one item and flicking through for another one that looks good – this is all part of the pleasure of journal reading. You don’t have to feel guilty about not having time to read – because how much time can a five-page story take?

Granta Books, £12.99, paperback (or subscribe and get free stuff)