‘Read this and you will be happier’: experts pick the self-help books that really work

From finding love to becoming a better parent … Philippa Perry, Paul Dolan, Orna Guralnik and others reveal the books that will change your life

The Guardian view on living more creatively: a daily dose of art

Editorial: It can make us healthier, happier and live longer. Engaging in culture should be encouraged like good diet and exercise

Art could save your life! Five creative ways to make 2026 happier, healthier and more hopeful

Engaging in creativity can reduce depression, improve immunity and delay ageing – all while you’re having fun

Australian books to look forward to in 2026: from a 278-page sentence to a memoir about a ‘cursed vagina’

It promises to be a marvellous year ahead for OzLit, with new books from the likes of Kate Grenville, Siang Lu, Antoinette Lattouf, Shaun Micallef, Judith Lucy and more

As a student, he was involved in a drunk-driving incident that killed a cyclist. Years later he would become expert in the healing powers of guilt

Psychologist Chris Moore saw first-hand how powerful and complex an emotion it is

From squirrel picnics to penpals, karaoke to crochet: 43 easy ways to lift your spirits

Guardian writers and readers share the simple tricks they use to bring a bit of joy into their lives

The Divided Mind by Edward Bullmore review – do we finally know what causes schizophrenia?

A brilliant history of psychiatric ideas suggests we are on the cusp of a transformation in our understanding of severe mental illness

Magazine Dreams review – powerful bodybuilding drama dogged by star Jonathan Majors’ assault conviction

The actor was convicted in 2023 leaving this a film maudit, and though he is convincing, it only draws uncomfortable parallels with his own life

Does ‘laziness’ start in the brain?

Understanding the surprising mechanism behind apathy can help unlock scientific ways to boost your motivation

‘I tried to capture her inner world – but couldn’t’: Tom de Freston on painting his wife pregnant and nude

The artist and his wife, novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave, lost seven pregnancies before their daughter was born. They explain how his nude paintings of her helped them process their grief – and eventual joy