America, the unknown
John McDonald The Art Gallery of NSW's summer blockbuster is a sprawling collection from the United States spanning more than two centuries.
No need to get in a froth, people, it's only a beverage
RICHARD GLOVER This week has been declared Australian Coffee Week - a period in which, presumably, the coffee enthusiasts among us can be even more insufferable than usual, banging on about their barista and how he achieves the perfect "grind", and oh, oh, oh, don't even start them on his tamping.
Bill Nighy
'I've just been extremely fortunate': Bill Nighy is having the time of his life
STEPHANIE BUNBURY At 60, Bill Nighy is having the time of his life – in no small part because he has finally accepted that he acts for a living.
A novel situation
Stephanie Bunbury Both literary purists and anti-elitists are finding plenty to admire about this year's Booker Prize shortlist.
Diana
Naomi Watts' right royal challenge in Diana
Stephanie Bunbury Naomi Watts faced the daunting task of playing the world's most famous woman in Diana.
Mystery Road review: A sinister landscape
SANDRA HALL Mystery Road's links to the classic Hollywood western are as obvious as its hero's cowboy boots and white hat but they do nothing to diminish its Australianness.
Barometer of torment
Morag Fraser The son of a World War II veteran, the acclaimed novelist superbly brings the story of Australian soldiers' imprisonment to the page.
Broken dreams and home truths
Andrew Taylor Past guests of Grand Designs won't get off lightly in host Kevin McCloud's stage show.
Fear and menace flourish in dementia's unreliable world
Louise Swinn In the days when Mick Jagger, at 70, still makes a galah of himself touring the world, dotage is not what it once was. But while age does not always bring a breakneck decline, the general population is ageing and instances of dementia grow. It lurks, as does the fear of it.
Five of the best
Under duress, former AGNSW director Edmund Capon chooses his favourite Australian artworks (for now).
Mortal enemies, best of friends
Simon Caterson Amid the unfathomable brutality and futile slaughter there were expressions of empathy and even love.
Multiple choice
Paula Goodyer Despite their popularity there is little clear proof multivitamins are beneficial.
Oranges and lemons
Ruth Ritchie You have to be prepared to hunt around in the wee small channels to find the funniest TV.
Portrait of an elusive magnate
Ross Fitzgerald The life and times of newly minted politician Clive Palmer.
Practice makes perfect
Stephen Lacey Fearless and forthright, architect Philip Cox marks a milestone.
Patty Griffin's hidden gem surfaces
Bernard Zuel With killer ballads, on Silver Bell Griffin was still happy to offer some tough, Bonnie Raitt-like songs.
Lightning Bolt review: Pearl Jam as good as ever
The grunge generation is entering middle age, and while the commemorative 20-year anniversary releases are starting to appear, Pearl Jam are enjoying their third decade together with a renewed commitment that isn't just invigorating but is remarkably free of nostalgia.
Prisoners review: Staring down the barrel
PAUL BYRNES Hugh Jackman's latest role poses some confronting questions.
More than a bread roll
Frank Camorra A Spanish favourite, the boccadillo is best filled with big flavours.
The only way is up
Cheryl Maddocks Climbing plants can provide colour, privacy and a stylish distraction.
Interview: Tim Winton
Jason Steger The master of landscape turns his eye on a city and a man, both showing the ravages of age.
Undercover: Book News
Susan Wyndham Here are five words you would not expect to see in one cosy sentence: Keyser Trad, Philip Ruddock and poetry.
Need vitamins?
Should you be taking a daily multivitamin pill?
Paula Goodyer Despite their popularity there is little proof multivitamins are beneficial.
Chart-topper
Lorde: pop's newest aristocrat
GEORGE PALATHINGAL She's not Miley Cyrus, she's not Katy Perry, she's not different because she's on YouTube. But she sure stands out.
After the apocalypse: despair, hope, and all things between
Alison Ravenscroft Can it be said that all indigenous texts after 1788 are post-apocalyptic? If so, then Alexis Wright's The Swan Book, set a century or two in the future, tells not only of the apocalypse of climate change still to come but of the apocalypse already arrived for Aboriginal Australia.
Interview: Alex Miller
Jane Sullivan Acclaimed author Alex Miller finds the voice for his new novel in his experiences as a young stockman in outback Australia.
An uphill battle
Paula Goodyer Exercise is essential for the seriously overweight, but programs need to be tailored for individual needs.
Verdi's The Complete Works review: Plenty to be discovered
Barney Zwartz This magnificent 75-CD set, honouring the bicentenary of Verdi's birth on Thursday, is a boon for which I have been waiting a
Chronicle of haunted dreams
Gerard Windsor David Marr paints a devastating portrait of a powerbroker he sees as the enemy.
Enlightened times
John McDonald Although the politics of many works on show may be muted, the Russian capital is a thrilling and edgy setting for an exhibition.
Far from cut and dried
Haircuts shouldn't be so hard. James Walker pines for the lost stylist he can't replace.
Rush review
Rush review: Hell on wheels
PAUL BYRNES Two men, one prize, a rivalry to the death: Rush is a missed opportunity driven by cynicism.
Introspective Drake seeks answers
As hip-hop evolves into a mature art form, comfortably mainstream and marketable, it's not just splintering at the edges to reveal fascinating threads, it's evolving at the very centre.
Lessons from the Bard
Elissa Blake Presenting Hamlet is another semester in Shakespeare's school of life.
Life, inverted
Katrina Lobley An old photographic trick morphs modern hotel rooms into otherworldly spaces.
Gravity review
Gravity review: Mission accomplished
SANDRA HALL A new space odyssey is filled with wonder and suspense.
Of plots, puns and paranoia
Don Anderson In Pynchon's New York, a mother enters the labyrinth of the internet carrying a Beretta.
Once cherished - now lurking in the shadows
RICHARD GLOVER Magazines often feature stories on the famous celebrities of the past. ''Whatever happened to...?'' they ask, before describing a modest flat up the coast and a man trying to deal with his loss of fame.
The Blacklist
Playing sleazy's just so easy
Ruth Ritchie James Spader shows in Blacklist that he can play a character who is capable of almost anything.
Pure Heroine review: Lorde lives up to the hype
Bernard Zuel That the debut album from a New Zealand teenager has been among the most anticipated records of the year is
Underneath the sails
TIM ELLIOTT As the Sydney Opera House enters its fifth decade as an arts hub, Tim Elliott finds out what it takes to keep the icon humming.
We happy campers
Mandy Sayer The Australian nation was indeed born in a tent, tens of thousands of tents. Is this why we have a tendency to leave doors open?
Frank Camorra's pub grub at home
FRANK CAMORRA A great parmigiana needs top quality ingredients, no skimping.
