待望のＲ・Ａ・ラファティベスト短篇集《ラファティ・ベスト・コレクション》第一巻の『町かどの穴』が刊行されました。ラファティを愛するラファティアンなあなたも、ラファティのことよく知らないけどなんだかおもしろそう！ なあなたも、どなたでも手に取りやすい短篇集になっております。 ここではＳＦマガジン2021…
The big idea: Should we leave the classroom behind?
The pandemic has driven a great leap forward in digital learning. Is there any point in looking back?My 21-year-old goddaughter, a second-year undergraduate, mentioned in passing that she watches video lectures offline at twice the normal speed. Struck…
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel review – science and misogyny
A cinematic account of toxic masculinity among 1950s DNA researchers – and a celebration of scientist Rosalind FranklinThe first page of Howard Markel’s comprehensive history The Secret of Life reads like the opening scene of a movie. “On February 28, …
Treacle Walker by Alan Garner review – the book of a lifetime
Myth meets modern science in a late masterwork brimming with ideas and imaginationAlan Garner’s novels are usually separated into his wildly successful books aimed at children – The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Elidor, The Owl Service and The Moon of Gom…
The big idea: Is democracy up to the task of climate change?
As elected governments fall short on their pledges, some look approvingly to the authoritarian playbook. Are they right?It’s time to acknowledge a difficult truth: our democracies are failing us on the climate crisis. As world leaders meet for the cruc…
Being an only child made me fascinated by siblings – and means I’ve had to learn to share my life
My debut novel is full of the brothers and sisters who were absent though my childhoodPeople often ask me about my brothers and sisters. They have read my debut novel, Girl A, and they expect to find my own family, encrypted in the fiction. There are s…
Brian Clough and me: ‘If it wasn’t for him, I’d be in prison’
Craig Bromfield was a ‘ragtag’ youngster when the legendary football manager changed his life by inviting him into his family. So what went wrong?• Read an extract from Bromfield’s book hereCraig Bromfield stands on the steps of Sunderland’s Seaburn be…
Original Observer Photography
A succession of actors, environmental activists and some live music – the best photographs commissioned by the Observer in October 2021 Continue reading…
France Moves To Shield Its Book Industry From Amazon
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Sophie Fornairon’s independent bookshop has survived the rise of Amazon thanks to a French law that prohibits price discounting on new books, but she says the e-commerce giant’s ability to undercut on s…
Born in Blackness by Howard W French review – dehumanised in the age of discovery
The scale of the west’s exploitation of Africa and Africans in the pursuit of economic power is laid bare in this painful, passionate retelling of Eurocentric historyThe way we think about history is entirely wrong, says Howard W French at the start of…