Magnificent Octopus

Having a regular job, I find, is really cutting into my personal time. But millions of people do this, right? Hold jobs and have families an...

1. That we watch far too much Doctor Who and that Helena has developed a crush: Helena tells me her dream the other morning, that she was at...

The introduction by DJ Taylor to a single-volume reprint of Patrick Hamilton's Gorse trilogy to be published by Black Spring next month ...

I thoroughly enjoyed The Pesthouse , by Jim Crace (but then, in this household any apocalypse and its aftermath is a source of fascination)....

We know Bill Clinton is good at crossword puzzles; he's pretty good at writing them too. His first set of clues appeared in the New York...

Preamble: I'd written most of what follows days ago, and I'll let it stand without the further elaboration I'd intended, but it ...

The Victorian Chaise Longue , by Marghanita Laski, is a very odd little story, with more than meets the eye. It's ultimately quite terri...

It's been some time since I finished reading Cynthia Ozick's The Messiah of Stockholm , and I wanted to get a couple thoughts down b...

Helena found my Calvin and Hobbes treasury. Some weekends she totes it about with her constantly. She curls up on the sofa, or amid pillows ...

I was disappointed, upset even, that I wouldn't be able to attend any of the Blue Met — I had particular designs on attending the launc...

So I suggest to J-F, given our newly promised financial security, that maybe we should consider indulging in the extravagance of concert ti...

The Book Marketing Society in association with The Guardian has launched a nationwide (UK) promotion to find the book that best defines the ...

Helena's taste in films I find a bit odd. But there's no doubt that tastes and interests are guided by exposure : When our nephew wa...

"The stone can migrate to more unusual areas, such as the region of the iliopsoas." From an article on postoperative abdominal com...

Over a week ago I received a surprise package in the mail. Enclosed was this card with its lovely sentiment: "Nobody minds having what ...

Helena says her drawing is of a spectacle , putting herself on the stage and describing the view, reminiscent of Harold's purple-crayon ...

Panic, work-related, I: One hundred thousand words, not yet fully edited, with several deadlines for various pieces of it at different stage...

Pierre Foglia notices the chains. First in the book he was reading, We Need to Talk about Kevin , by Lionel Shriver. Then in the world, on ...

The Guardian books blog toasts Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton is coming back into favour, and his books are coming back into print. The Gorse T...