Cold comfort
Re-writing in a frigid flat is no fun, but at least I had the consolation of higher education to keep my intellectual circulation going
Afghan schoolbooks teach their students little of value or relevance
Nushin Arbabzadah: The books reflect the education ministry's intellectual poverty and cultural parochialism, and are an insult to Afghan literature
The Ministry of Stories opens for children who want to write
One of the first volunteers to work with children at Nick Hornby's new writing centre was Frances Booth
Students wave placards and I’m haunted by the ghosts of demos past
Fielding remembers when teachers – inspired by Allen Ginsberg, RD Laing and Jimi Hendrix – were going to change the world and save the working class
Mohammed Arkoun obituary
Influential Islamic scholar who explored Enlightenment ideals
Mumbai University drops Rohinton Mistry novel after extremists complain
• Author decries 'threats and intimidation' by Shiv Sena• Such a Long Journey insults leader Bal Thackeray – grandson
Children’s authors in schools: literature’s road warriors
School visits are increasingly accepted as a vital foundation for inspiring new generations of readers
Young Critics competition unearths serious reviewers
Young critics in our annual competition showed themselves to be serious readers with plenty to say
Swindon provides a new sanctuary for Bodleian Library’s treasures
Oxford's Bodleian Library is moving some of its huge collection to the Swindon Book Storage Facility, reports Vanessa Thorpe
Great literature will always be relevant
Tom Sperlinger: Is it really so ridiculous for Michael Gove to suggest that classic British literature be at the heart of school life?
There’s nowt wrong with slang
Belinda Webb: Emma Thompson of all people ought to appreciate that Shakespeare's slang became part of our everyday language
Philosophy: an urban pursuit?
Clare Carlisle: Liverpool's Philosophy in the City festival is aiming to bring philosophical research out of academia and into urban life
The rhyme and reason of reading to dementia patients
Reading groups for dementia patients have inspired a new anthology, designed to be read aloud
Mum, Dad – I need my old room back!
Katie Crouch had a glamorous job in advertising and a moneyed lifestyle to go with it. Then the recession hit. At 30, she found herself broke, desperate and humiliated on her parents' doorstep, asking to move back in
Mildred Blaxter obituary
Sociologist who shed new light on the causes of deprivation