The book I got for Christmas: ‘An emotional bootcamp of sorts’

Continuing our series of Guardian writers revealing their most memorable gift books, Rebecca Liu recalls being given a stack of dating guides as an 18-year-old whose ‘lessons’ were hard to unlearn

Why did I build myself a walking desk? Because I could

What kills exercise for me is the knowing you are doing it, and the waiting for it to end. My pandemic project changed that

Rambling with Dolly Parton and meditative strolls: the best podcasts for walks

From a trip down memory lane with celebs to adventures in remote Scotland: if you’re looking for company on your next walk, there’s a podcast for that

Most people flee the suburbs, but nowhere land is the perfect backdrop for my novels

Suburbia is neither glamorous nor picturesque. But this is precisely what makes it rich terrain for my books

The Sweet Spot by Paul Bloom review – the pleasure of pain

An intriguing scientific investigation into why suffering, from mountaineering to BDSM, so often leads to satisfaction

Glennon Doyle: ‘So many women feel caged by gender, sexuality, religion’

Glennon Doyle’s memoir inspired Adele – but do we all need to be ‘untamed’?

Goop’s sex therapist on her radical approach to sexual pleasure

Avila’s work, illegal in every US state except California, helps her clients ‘experience genuine arousal, desire and pleasure’

Five of the best podcasts: sleep-inducing sounds and stories

Crashing bores, perfectly dreary reads – and a natural soundscape that hits all the right night-time notes

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 through my childhood

The big idea: Is it your personality, or a disorder?

Psychological diagnoses offer an easy way in to understanding character – but our habit of using them comes at a cost