3 d. ago We have more data on ourselves than ever before. But can we really track our way into happiness? | Samantha Floreani

Self-tracking is regularly promoted as a way toward self-improvement. But life is not a mathematical problem waiting to be solvedInspired by a curiosity to factcheck my own feelings, I’ve been tracking my mood: Far too often a bad day can feel like a permanent state rather than a passing experience. As it turns out, observing the little coloured emojis on my mood chart, one bad day does not, in fact, mean I am doomed to live a blue crying-face life forever. Thank goodness.Others track themselves in different ways: monitoring daily step counts, tracking sleep cycles and bodily functions, counting calories, logging meals and so on. Digital technologies, wearable devices and an array of platforms make this easier than ever. Many people set reading targets and log books read on Goodreads or films watched on Letterboxd. Some track daily outfits online with the goal of perfecting personal style. Self-tracking is regularly promoted as a way toward self-improvement.Samantha Floreani is a di...

Politics

3 d. ago 'I was one of first to read Emily Henry's Great Big Beautiful Life – here's my verdict'

Senior Social News Reporter Danielle Kate Wroe was given the opportunity to read Emily Henry's new book – Great Big Beautiful Life – before it was released to the general public

Politics

6 d. ago ‘Did you stand up?’: read part of Cory Booker’s blockbuster 25

I rise tonight because silence at this moment of national crisis would be a betrayal of some of the greatest heroes of our nationEditor’s note: the following is an excerpt from Cory Booker’s 25-hour marathon speech on the US Senate floorTonight, I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.Cory Booker is a US senator from New Jersey Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Best new books to read, from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Anne Tyler

Discover debut novelists and immersive page-turners from acclaimed authors

Politics

8 d. ago Coronation Street fans can 'read this like a book' as new 'favourite duo' named

It comes after a tricky time for Betsy Swain in Weatherfield

Politics

8 d. ago Dune star confirms he is returning in third film: ‘If you didn’t read the books, it’s not my fault’

Jason Momoa says he is reprising role as swordmaster Duncan Idaho in third part of sci-fi blockbuster

Culture

9 d. ago REVEALED: The hidden meanings in White Lotus: from the books the characters read to a creepy recurring number and even the role of MONKEYS, the subtle clues that suggest the killer's identity...

With just one episode left, White Lotus fans are on tenterhooks, desperate to discover the identity of the body seen floating in a pool in the first scene of what has been perhaps the darkest season yet.

Events

9 d. ago Martin Tyler ‘really annoyed’ by Man Utd bias claims with Liverpool stance made clear

Martin Tyler spent over three decades as the voice of the Premier League for Sky Sports and has long been accused of favouring Manchester United over Liverpool

Politics

1 week ago Maybe I’m Amazed by John Harris review – a father and his autistic son bond through music

An honest and intensely moving book about the struggle of parenthood and the power of connectionOne of my favourite books growing up was my dad’s copy of The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics. I spent hours flicking through images of an eyeless, trombone-mouthed golden man swallowing naked bodies, and a full-page, black-and-white comic strip by legendary psychedelic artist Rick Griffin. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t yet listened to most of the songs – the surreal visual riffs felt like dispatches from an undiscovered country. Later, the Beatles became my favourite band. I chain-listened to the albums, read endless books, watched the movies and recited Beatles’ lore to anyone within earshot. “Oh dear,” said my mum one morning, as I reeled off an account of how a 40-piece orchestra improvised the rising crescendo in A Day in the Life, “you’ve become a Beatles bore.”Maybe I’m Amazed opens with John Harris’s 15-year-old son, James, ecstatically absorbed in a...

Politics

1 week ago Reading the same bedtime story could be the key to your child's development

Eight out of ten parents say they have had to re-read the same book to their child at least once, with the typical little one asking for the same story to be read to them 416 times a year

Politics

1 week ago 'A superb, surprisingly propulsive novel': The Literary Fiction to read now

Claire Allfree reviews the best literary fiction out now.

Politics

1 week ago 'Compelling and horrifying': The best the Crime novels to read now

Geoffrey Wansell reviews the best Crime novels out now.

Events

2 w. ago Best new books to read, from Anne Tyler to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Discover debut novelists and immersive page-turners from acclaimed authors

Politics

2 w. ago Here's the surprising reason why so many men cheat on their pregnant partners

Read an exclusive extract from psychotherapist Juliet Rosenfeld's new book 'Affairs'.

Politics

2 w. ago Forty minutes after my wife gave birth I slept with another woman

Read an exclusive extract from psychotherapist Juliet Rosenfeld's new book 'Affairs'.

Politics

2 w. ago 'Forty minutes after his wife gave birth he was sleeping with another woman'

Read an exclusive extract from psychotherapist Juliet Rosenfeld's new book 'Affairs'.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘More are published than could ever succeed’: are there too many books?

While some say the rise of the self-publishing model is damaging the industry, others feel it gives authors a fairer dealThe complaint that there are too many books is not a new one. “My son, be warned by them: of making many books there is no end,” reads one line in Ecclesiastes, written at least 2,000 years before the invention of the printing press.Now the bestselling author Bill Bryson has added his voice to the millennia-old chorus. There are 200,000 books published annually in the UK alone, “more books than you could possibly read,” the writer of Notes from a Small Island told the Times. He is not sure that the growth in self-publishing, in particular, is “a healthy development”. He said he gets sent “a lot of self-published books, and most of the time it is just some anonymous person’s life, and it is of no interest.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago 'Atmospheric and assured': The Literary Fiction you should read now

Stephanie Cross reviews the best Literary Fiction out now.

Politics

3 w. ago 'I reversed my social media 'brainrot' after picking up this common hobby'

Are you suffering from 'brainrot'? In a bid to read more books in 2025, I've managed to improve several aspects of my life span in a multitude of unexpected ways

Politics

4 w. ago Torrey Peters on life after writing a hit novel: ‘It had a very chilling effect on my writing’

Author of Detransition, Baby found success and pushback she never anticipated and now returns with a provocative collection of storiesAuthor Torrey Peters’ mind has imagined everything from a future virus that turns everyone trans to a crossdressing fetishist in a poreless silicone suit, but the premise of her new novel, Stag Dance, sounded too bizarre even for her. “If I hadn’t read it in a book I wouldn’t have believed it,” she told me during a lengthy conversation about her life and work. “It’s so over the top. It’s literally an upside down triangle. That’s a little too on the nose.”The triangle Peters refers to is one that is made out of fabric, and that loggers in the early part of the last century used to affix to their crotches in order to denote that they had changed their sex to female for the purposes of dances held deep in the wilderness. This is a fact that Peters uncovered while reading original texts about logging culture while developing the unique lexicon that she em...

Events