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Classics cornerFictionMy Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin – reviewMiles Franklin's 1901 debut novel remains an insightful exploration of class, gender and youthful frustration"Why do I write? Why does anyone write?" asks the teenage Sybylla, who dreams of pursuing a brilliant career as a writer, but, as she pens a book on "purloined paper", faces heartrending obstacles in 1890s rural Australia, from her family's poverty to societal misogyny. This impassioned debut novel by Miles Franklin – who bequeathed funds to establish the country's most prestigious writing prize, the Miles Franklin literary award – was written when its author was only 16 and glistens with precocious wisdom.

UK newsOno's image of naked breast offends LiverpudliansThirty-five years on from her famous Bed-In, Yoko Ono's gift for shocking people remains intact. This time, though, she may have chosen the wrong audience. Residents of Liverpool - the city that bred her late husband, John Lennon - lodged complaints about her photograph of a naked woman hanging from a war memorial, which have now been taken down. The giant banner depicting a naked breast was put up on the former St Luke's church as part of the Liverpool biennial modern art festival.

Technology blogTechnology startupsPownce sells up, closes downMessaging startup finds solace with blogging company Six Apart in face of tough competitionJust a few weeks ago blog developers SixApart laid off 16 workers, but now it's all smiles as they're out hiring again - or, more accurately, buying the team and technology behind messaging startup Pownce. Developers Leah Culver (something of a starlet in a startup world notoriously devoid of female coders) and Mike Malone will be joining SixApart later this month - and closing down the service as a result:

AlabamaAlarm as Alabama man to be executed via gas method rejected by veterinariansDeath row prisoner Kenneth Smith, 58, to be killed via nitrogen-gas procedure animal scientists have ruled out for ethical reasons Alabama is preparing to execute a death row inmate using nitrogen gas, an experimental method that veterinarians in the US and across Europe have deemed unacceptable as a form of euthanasia for most animals. Barring last-minute appeals, Kenneth Smith, 58, is scheduled to be judicially killed on 25 January using a previously untested technique.

If onlyFashion This article is more than 16 years oldConnery's hairpieceThis article is more than 16 years oldJohn PattersonIf only... Goldfinger had made life less hairy for 007. John Patterson thinks a bolder Bond could've done wonders for male-pattern baldnessI think we can all agree that among the Sean Connery Bond movies, Goldfinger represents some kind of pinnacle. After the slightly unsteady and uncertain first steps that were Dr No and From Russia With Love, by the third film in what was definitely now a franchise all the soon-to-be-familiar elements were firmly in place.

BooksIn her new book Blood Money, Kathleen McLaughlin uses a personal lens to examine an industry that rewards mass plasma donation “The backs of both my hands are a spider web of tiny white and pink scars,” writes Kathleen McLaughlin, “a roadmap showing where dozens of nurses in several cities on both sides of the Pacific have punctured the thin skin with a needle, leaving inside the vein a tiny plastic tube that allows medication to flow directly into my bloodstream.

Rupert MurdochA new exhibition about the media mogul's war with the print unions in 1986 throws up some fascinating historical parallelsThe police were plainly on his side. Lawyers helped, too, with a letter he used to justify his strategy. And of course the government of the day bent over backwards to ensure nothing would stand in the way of the media baron's ambitions. All three of those statements might apply to the scandal that this month engulfed Rupert Murdoch's News International, as the scale of illegal phone hacking at News of the World – and of police inaction, and government complacency – became clear.

The CureInterviewThe Cure's Robert Smith: 'I was very optimistic when I was young – now I'm the opposite'Dorian LynskeyThe singer and songwriter has been curating the Meltdown festival, and is planning to record the first Cure album in 10 years. But will it be fuelled by magic mushroom tea? The first thing Robert Smith does is apologise for the makeup. He hasn’t worn it since his last concert with the Cure, in December 2016, but he has a photoshoot today at the Royal Festival Hall and thinks his features are too indistinct without it.

OpinionLanguage This article is more than 4 years oldWhy is everyone suddenly using the C-word?This article is more than 4 years oldStan CareyFrom viral videos about Tommy Robinson to Game of Thrones, there are signs the taboo is lessening – for someA journalist from Canada recently shared a video on Twitter in which she asked people in Manchester their opinion of Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon). Two young people – one male, one female – replied immediately with the word “cunt”.