Why minimalist living can be bad for your health
A new novel warns against surgically minimalist decor, says Hannah Booth. Do you have obsessive cleaning and de-cluttering tendencies, or do you prefer a lived-in home?Tidy house? Pristine walls? Polished wooden floors? Be warned – theymight be bad f...
Library lending figures: what’s the top book?
Which books do people borrow? Which authors are the most popular? Find out• Get the data• Top authors• Top books• Last year's dataWhat was the most popular book borrowed from libraries last year? We have the top 250 books according to book lend...
The power of paper in a digital era | Robert McCrum
As more and more archives are digitised, with many benefits, it's worth being reminded of the value of traditional recordsThis was supposed to be the paper-free generation. But what do we find? Sometimes, it seems as if we are like Shakespeare's school...
Book festival wants authors, not celebrities
Some literature festivals focus on stars first and books second, says Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh international book festivalA book festival is about books, and should not be driven by stars and celebrities, Scotland's leading literary festi...
How the Gruffalo was made
Did you know that the Gruffalo was originally much more frightening? Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler reveal how they created their classic creature"My original Gruffalo was scarier, with smaller eyes and bigger teeth and claws," says Axel Scheffler...
Scottish independence won’t cut off British literature
English and Scottish literature have always been complicated hybrids, and separating the nations won't change thatJust before Alex Salmond gave the Hugo Young lecture, I received an email from the Scottish government announcing their plan to make it co...
Oscars’ big winners will be books
Literary adaptations look set to sweep the board in Hollywood this yearSix of the nine nominations announced this week for Best Picture are based on books, reflecting a recent pattern in which the Oscar lists have consistently and gratifyingly affirmed...
The future of books, today
There is much talk of bright tomorrows for publishing at New York's Digital Book World expo, but how optimistic are readers?While we've all been thinking about Andrew Miller and the Costa's new enthusiasm short stories and Rushdie's troubles in Jaipur,...
Refused honours: who were the people who said no? (And help us find out)
277 people said no to the honours list. Download the full list - and help us crowdsource who they were• Get the dataWho refuses honours? Well, authors Roald Dahl and Graham Green, and artist Lucian Freud are among more than 250 people who turned down...
Don’t call me Sir: why do artists snub royal honours?
From Lucian Freud to Roald Dahl, creative talents have long been rejecting honours from the Queen. But why? Maybe they just don't want to be part of an elite gang of Fred GoodwinsWhy are creative people so deeply sceptical of Britain's honours system? ...
Ebook sales are being driven by downmarket genre fiction