From biscuits to plants: 20 easy gifts so good we buy them on repeat
Need a generic but thoughtful gift? Here’s our inspiring list of affordable, and often useful, failsafe presents we buy time and again
‘Gentlemen shared their tattoos over dinner’: how our taste for tattoos started with the rich
Highly decorated skin is everywhere these days, but tattoos have a more elevated pedigree than you may think. A new book aims to make us think differently about Victorian aristocrats … and bank managers
That Christmas review – seasonal Richard Curtis yarn is kid-friendly but short on ho-ho-hos
There’s a nice nod to Love Actually, but this tale of a seaside town hit by a blizzard may still leave you cold
Not quite religion, not quite self-help: welcome to the Jordan Peterson age of nonsense
Unintelligible as it is, new book is part of a ‘manifesting’ trend offering the young and spiritually lost an illusion of control
Charlie and Lola author Lauren Child: ‘My greatest achievement is adopting my daughter’
The author on the power of having regrets, striving to adopt her daughter, why she changed her name – and why she gave up gymnastics
Eve Babitz and Joan Didion may be dead. But their feud isn’t
A new book on the Los Angeles authors leaves no petty stone unturned as it explores their fraught friendship
The big idea: why we should take teenage love more seriously
Adolescent passions shape our future selves, and can be every bit as powerful – and perilous – as adult relationships
Readers reply: Why are nursery rhymes and fairytales so dark?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts
My Beloved Monster by Caleb Carr review – love letter to an adored companion
The troubled US author found acceptance with Masha, a wild Siberian, and his memoir about their time together may be the most effusive paean to cat love ever written
Why are nursery rhymes and fairytales so dark?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts
One of the many agonies of pain is that you can’t describe it
Garth Greenwell’s new novel gets as close as one can to evoking the very real indignity and physicality of being in hospital
Remote islands free the imagination – but they also stir up fear
Bestselling author Paula Hawkins set her new book on a fictional tidal island. Here she examines the power and appeal of islands
On my radar: Monty Don’s cultural highlights
The Gardeners’ World presenter on being a sucker for spy stories, pub nights in the early 70s, and having his prejudices challenged by a gigantic floral dog
Poem of the week: My husband falling by Robert Hamberger
A minor tumble in the street gives a small indication of the larger risks a couple face and the consolations of mutual support
Readers reply: Which works of fiction have an optimistic view of the future?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts