Sad girl novels: the dubious branding of women’s emotive fiction

When women write complex characters, filled with desire, anger or self-destructive urges, why are their books touted as ‘sad’ and frivolous – unlike those of inward-looking male authors'?

Crystal by Ellen Cranitch review – a devastating insight into drug dependency

The poet’s uncompromising second collection, about her husband’s addiction to crystal meth, is fascinating and troubling

‘I didn’t want to hurt that girl. I just felt this pressure building … ’ The sociopath who learned to behave – and found happiness

Patric Gagne has spent most of her life fighting terrible urges. She is also a loving sister, daughter, mother and wife. She talks about her remarkable journey

The big idea: why going shopping is due a comeback

Bring back raucous changing rooms and friendly smiles – things you can’t buy online

Spring into spring! 17 simple, surprising ways to refresh and renew your life

This is the perfect time to make lasting changes – whether embracing exercise, learning a new language, planting seeds or painting your house

‘I wanted people to laugh not at me, but with me’: Tom Shakespeare

The activist, academic and now novelist explains why, when you use a wheelchair, it’s good to be able to see the funny side. By Donna Ferguson

On my radar: Alison Balsom’s cultural highlights

The classical trumpeter on a complex marital drama, an uncompromising violinist and a garden that feels like stepping back in time

A moment that changed me: my partner drove off and left me – and in solitude I found my self-confidence

When my relationship imploded, I chose to remain alone and isolated. It was the start of a new, much happier life, in which I became the safe place I could always return to

All Things Are Too Small by Becca Rothfeld review – bracing and brilliant essay collection

The iconoclastic US author’s intellectually poised critique of minimalism boasts scintillating writing of breadth and power

‘The little girl in Persepolis has grown up’: Marjane Satrapi on life after her hit graphic novel – and her radical new work

As a new wave of protests sweep Iran, the author explains why she has returned to drawing. Plus: an extract from her new collection of protest cartoons

My mother, the monster – and how I came to understand and forgive her

Mother’s Day can trigger painful memories for some, but a traumatic upbringing need not define us

‘You’re gay, sir, innit?’: As a teacher, I kept my sexuality a secret – until I couldn’t

Would coming out to my pupils start a useful conversation – or spark chaos?

‘Ageing isn’t inevitable’: The 100-Year-Life co-author on how to live well for longer

Andrew Scott says we can stop one of humanity’s biggest achievements turning into a dystopian near-future

Iris Apfel obituary

American interior designer, collector and stylist regarded as one of the great exotics of 20th-century fashion

I’ve done some shameful things to sell my books. But there’s a line even I can’t cross

Loitering in a bookshop, I was presented with an unmissable opportunity to gain a new reader. To my shock, I discovered a scruple, writes Nell Frizzell