At a weekly book club, Elizabeth Day has found that even in an age of social networking, the direct, oral tradition can still reach out to a new audience• Which books do you think are the best ones to be read aloud? Share your favourites in the comme…

The star of The Little Paris Kitchen is refreshingly unfussy on screen – but it’s taken determination and willpower to get there• Rachel Khoo’s picnic tipsWhen Rachel Khoo’s mother first heard that her daughter was going to present a cookery progra…

Fashion’s fairy godmother Lulu Kennedy on ‘fostering’ the next generation of London designersLulu Kennedy is frequently called fashion’s “fairy godmother” for her ability to nurture young, talented designers and catapult them on to the global stage. Am…

After a stroke in 2005 left him almost completely paralysed, Tony Nicklinson has been fighting for the right to end his own life. Here, ahead of a high court ruling, he is interviewed via Twitter by Observer readers and Elizabeth Day, who meets his fam…

Alexandra Shulman tells how she copes with panic attacks and won’t compromise with celebrity powerHer face has launched a thousand magazines and sold even more, but Jennifer Aniston will not be appearing on the cover of Vogue in Britain any time soon.V…

The comedian and his wife Adele both have cerebral palsy, but that doesn’t stop them raising two children while campaigning for disability rightsWhen Laurence Clark tells people he is a comedian, he gets one of two reactions. “Either they assume my act…