The one change that worked: I tried all the hobbies I thought I’d hate – and found friendship and escape

I was in a work-commute-collapse cycle and didn’t know what to do. Then I began sampling activities I’d previously dismissed – book clubs, line dancing, chess – and it became oddly addictive

‘Thank you for tweeting about our butts!’: seven things you need to know about Heated Rivalry’s sudden superstars

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have gone from waiting tables to ‘One Direction-level’ fame in a matter of months, upstaging A-listers at the Golden Globes last week. What’s next?

How to read more: 12 book-ish things to help clear your to-read list

From the right e-reader to a book subscription, here are my favorite ways (some free, some vibe-setting) to read a lot

Art could save your life! Five creative ways to make 2026 happier, healthier and more hopeful

Engaging in creativity can reduce depression, improve immunity and delay ageing – all while you’re having fun

Actor and writer Paterson Joseph: ‘Tilda Swinton asked me a question that changed everything that came next’

Joseph on sussing the school system at the age of four, an awkward audition for the National Youth Theatre, and why he loves his ‘horrible’ Peep Show character

As a student, he was involved in a drunk-driving incident that killed a cyclist. Years later he would become expert in the healing powers of guilt

Psychologist Chris Moore saw first-hand how powerful and complex an emotion it is

At the turn of the year, I’m facing a pivot point. Midlife crisis? No thanks

At 50, I find myself in a gazing-up-at-trees phase. What does it all mean? It’s not completely clear – but it’s certainly bothering my kids, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes

‘Lunch could last all day – and night’: inside Coco Chanel’s sun-kissed sanctum for art’s superstars

The French fashion designer’s lavish Mediterranean villa was frequented by everyone from Dalí to Garbo to Stravinsky to Churchill. It has now been lovingly restored – with a thrillingly bolstered library

The Christmas gifts you love the most, from cosy hand warmers to personalised chocolate

Whether it’s hair rollers, giant ice cubes or beer mats, your festive favourites make one thing clear: it’s party time

‘He’s the new Daniel Day-Lewis’: Margot Robbie defends Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights

Robbie addresses backlash to casting Elordi as a character described by Brontë as ‘dark-skinned’, while Fennell praises her female star’s ‘big dick energy’

My son is a voracious reader, but he judges books by their covers. How can I help him see past them?

When you make art proof of virtue, you can make it feel like a drag, advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes. Instead, encourage him to develop his own sensibility

Scott Galloway on the masculinity crisis: ‘I worry we are evolving a new breed of asexual, asocial males’

When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and the rise of Donald Trump

Does ‘laziness’ start in the brain?

Understanding the surprising mechanism behind apathy can help unlock scientific ways to boost your motivation

Can you have a community without craic? Scholars of Ireland’s pubs warn of declining numbers

Two new books analyse what makes the ‘perfect pub’ and both come to a sobering conclusion: Irish pubs are in trouble

The 23 most unique and thoughtful gifts under $10 in the US

These presents punch above their price point, making them perfect for Secret Santas, White Elephants or stocking stuffers