Vincent Cassel: ‘You can’t escape from what you are’
The actor, trained ballet dancer, and husband of Monica Bellucci is a man of hidden depths. In his latest role, he plays an anarchic disciple of Sigmund Freud. So, asks Elizabeth Day, did he get to the bottom of why he's drawn to the dark side?Vincent ...
My father the superhero
A first marathon attempt at 58 years old wasn't enough. He had to run the entire distance wearing a cape. Then again, Michael Cox has never done things by halves"DO YOU WANT TO WATCH ME RUN AROUND THE FIELD?" said my dad (who is in the top 10 loudest m...
Ann Thwaite: Why I was happy when my parents died
After watching her father and mother suffer the effects of debilitating illness, the author Ann Thwaite explains why she rejoiced at news of her parents' deathsHave you ever been asked to admit to the happiest moment in your life? I think it is su...
Unlikely animal friendships – in pictures
From a monkey cuddling a dove to a sheep spending time with an elephant, a new book shows the remarkable friendships that can exist between wildly different animals
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...
Sex fixer to the stars lifts lid on scandal in Hollywood’s golden age
Scotty Bowers has kept quiet for 60 years but now, at 88, he's talking about bedding the biggest screen icons of the daySpencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn had just one thing in common – apart from being movie superstars.But that one thing wasn't the...
Free audiobook download: The Power of Positive Thinking
The final in our series of inspiring self-help audiobooks is Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. Mobile users – please visit the desktop site.
Free audiobook download: Sophie’s World
The third in our series of inspiring self-help audiobooks is the bestseller Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. Look out for The Power of Positive Thinking only in tomorrow's Guardian.Mobile users – please visit the desktop site.
Edmund de Waal on the potter Emmanuel Cooper, ‘a true democrat’
Emmanuel Cooper (obituary, 31 January) was a true democrat. He simply refused to see hierarchies that others thought were significant, bringing a motorbike into conjunction with a bowl by Lucie Rie as his examples of good craftsmanship for a 1982 exhib...
Free audiobook download: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The second in our series of inspiring self-help audiobooks is the classic bestseller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. Look out tomorrow for Sophie's World.Mobile users – please visit the desktop site.
Women writers turn to the horror story
Jeanette Winterson and Helen Dunmore among famous names venturing into the horror genre this yearAs an icy wind blows in from the east, the grip of a good horror story is tightening its hold on many of Britain's leading literary talents. Terrifying new...
