London Letter: Over 90% of books are on shelves, offering endless hours of browsing

China is building its first overseas military post in the tiny east Africa nation

A reboot of the fantasy series would no longer hide the Warrior Princess’s sexuality. It’s part of a social shift unthinkable a generation ago

The distinctive green herbal liqueur made by monks is back in vogue

Deborah Cavendish’s personal collection includes a previously unknown painting of Lismore Castle, her Elvis ephemera, and a signed first edition of ‘Brideshead Revisited’

Daniel O’Connell plays a valuable part in the journal’s rich and enduring history

War writing at heart is about the ambivalence of loyalty to class, nation, and friends, and of belief and the business of being human, and more recent Irish writing on the Great War, in reopening a closed chapter in our history, is no different in exploring all those ambiguities

Valentine Lamb: January 21st, 1939 - April 24th, 2015

Peter Carvosso: November 24th, 1947 - January 19th, 2015

‘The Confederation of Kilkenny in the 1640s would be a good subject for a picaresque novel full of spies and skulduggery. But as we say, it’s not my period’

Have fun, make mistakes, don’t try to live up to dreams, accept change and learn when to say ‘no’

The journalist may be 66 and less gonzo than before, but rage still fuels his cutting-edge prose

Irish boss Rhona Murphy will talk mobiles and experiments at Magazines Ireland event

Once, while trying to heal a cruel wound, I wrote to Howard. The reply came as a shock

Paul Howard chats to ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ collaborator Gerry Harrison about Tara Browne (the reputed subject of ‘A Day in the Life’), 1967 and LSD

It can be marvellous to read other people’s letters, as ‘Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life’ illustrates perfectly

After more than 40 books, the prolific professor is asking the wrong questions