The ObserverJames JoyceThe group in Venice, California, started the difficult James Joyce book in 1995. They reached its final page in October For a quarter century, Gerry Fialka, an experimental film-maker from Venice, California, has hosted a book club devoted to a single text: James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, one of the most famously difficult texts in literary history. Where to start with: James JoyceRead moreStarting in 1995, between 10 and 30 people would show up to monthly meetings at a local library.

The ObserverBiography booksReviewThe real Kenny Everett remains obscured in this cliched, sanitised life storyWhen I was a teenager, The Kenny Everett Television Show was required viewing. It wasn't remotely funny – or at least, not to me – but, if you missed it, you were in trouble; everyone watched it, and everyone talked about it the next day at school. Gizzard Puke, the unfeasibly stupid punk; Cupid Stunt, the American actress with the unfeasibly large breasts; Reg Prescott, the unfeasibly short-sighted handyman: Everett played them all, and with weirdly urgent gusto.

The G2 interviewPatricia CornwellInterview‘I lived in a state of terror’: Patricia Cornwell on childhood trauma, her new novel and the search for BigfootEmine SanerAs pathologist Kay Scarpetta makes her 28th appearance in print, her creator recalls what it’s really like to conduct a postmortem – and a very odd encounter in the Virginia woods A mysterious footprint is found at the crime scene. Nothing unusual about that. Except this print may or may not have been left by … Bigfoot.

Mad Men: notes from the break roomMad MenMad Men: season four, episode eightDon faces up to reality by writing down his feelings – and even grows up a bit along the waySPOILER ALERT: This blog is for those who are watching season four of Mad Men on BBC4. Don't read on if you haven't seen episode eight – and if you've seen more of the series, please be aware that many UK viewers have not done so…

My Bloody Valentine This article is more than 2 years oldMy Bloody Valentine criticise Spotify for showing ‘fake’ lyrics to their songsThis article is more than 2 years oldThe band, who are famously cryptic about their songs, called the inaccurate lyrics ‘completely incorrect and insulting’ My Bloody Valentine have criticised Spotify for showing “fake lyrics” to the shoegaze band’s famously cryptic songs. In November 2021, Spotify launched a feature allowing users to read along to the lyrics while they listen to any song.

The ObserverBelgiumBelgium doesn't exist, only Flanders and Wallonia as Dutch and French communites live apart. By Ian Traynor in BrusselsTwenty minutes north of Brussels, in Belgium's medieval royal seat of Mechelen, there's a science playground, just the place for the kids on a boring, wet Sunday afternoon. Technopolis is stuffed with interactive gadgets and games, making education fun. There is also another message. When entering the complex, the paving stones are inscribed with a simple, direct statement.

World newsThe murder that shook MexicoA grief-striken nation wants to know why its prime-time TV host was shot. Burhan Wazir in Miami reportsThe public assassination was flagrant in its audacity, even by Mexican standards. Until Monday afternoon, Francisco 'Paco' Stanley, 56, was perhaps Mexico's most loved television host, noted for his apolitical prankishness. His daytime variety show and late-night comedy programmes regularly drew audiences of millions. His murder last week - and subsequent allegations of his drug-taking and of police ineptitude amid unchecked crime - now threaten to destabilise an already fragile political machine.

History booksReviewJanice Hadlow has written a fascinating, story-filled account of a claustrophobic and dysfunctional home life – in the palaceIn 1812, Princess Charlotte, the granddaughter of George III, told her best friend: "No family was ever composed of such odd people, I believe ... there have happened such extraordinary things, that in any other family, public or private, are never heard of before." Yet George III's chief aim, as Janice Hadlow shows in her fascinating, story‑filled account, was to make his family life "

Tim Cahill This article is more than 8 years oldTim Cahill leaves New York Red Bulls by mutual consentThis article is more than 8 years oldBrings end to successful spell at MLS clubComes during time of flux at Red Bulls Tim Cahill has joined the off-season exodus from New York Red Bulls, electing to end his spell at the club. “This decision was not made lightly, and it is the result of many conversations between our staff, Tim, and his agent,” said the Red Bulls sporting director, Ali Curtis.

Ask Molly RingwaldLife and style‘The real betrayal is that of your best friend. Honesty and trust are the foundations of friendship and she has effectively trashed both’I split up with my ex a year ago and quickly started dating. I met someone nice, but within weeks I discovered that my ex and my best friend had started a relationship. When I found out, I felt a rage I had never experienced.