Autobiography and memoirReviewLight’s rich account of her marriage to the historian Raphael Samuel offers insights into radical London and a progressive way of living Most memoirs are not really very memorable – like most lives. We live, we do what little we must do, and then we die and are soon forgotten. Even if we achieve great things, or think great thoughts, or are somehow great people, there is no guarantee that our accounting of our great deeds and thoughts will in any way be remarkable.

Reading American citiesBooksThe Pacific Northwestern city offers a range of reads, from jazz era tales to bleak portrayals of modern American life. Here are some of our readers’ favourites Jon Raymond introduces the literature of Portland The “idea” of Portland only entered the popular imagination in recent years, chiefly thanks to the comedy TV show Portlandia, as Jon Raymond wrote recently. But this city, known as a haven for vegans, iced latte lovers (yes, flat white fever hasn’t conquered America – yet), beards, fixed-gear bike worshippers and any other hipster stereotype you want to invoke, is more interesting and surprising than this suggests.

The ObserverMarks & Spencer This article is more than 2 years oldThis article is more than 2 years oldM&S and Aldi are at loggerheads over a cake. What’s at stake and what’s behind Britain’s love affair with the confection? Colin the Caterpillar first darkened M&S’s shelves in the autumn of 1990, mere weeks before Margaret Thatcher stood down as prime minister. It’s too simple to put the timing down to coincidence.

OpinionA-levels This article is more than 5 months oldThe Guardian view on England’s class of ’23: failed by the governmentThis article is more than 5 months oldEditorialThe Whitehall decision to return to pre-pandemic grading was premature, and unfair on a cohort whose education was defined by Covid The students who this week collected their A-level results overcame a formidable set of challenges. The class of 2023 were plunged into their first formal examinations only this summer, having been awarded their GCSEs by teacher assessment due to the pandemic.

OpinionFilmThe loss of actor Lee Sun-kyun casts a chill shadow over Korea’s film worldPeter BradshawLee, who has died aged 48, was a homegrown star who graduated to global fame in the multi-award-winning Parasite Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead in Seoul K-class, K-prestige and K-artistry found their apogee in the movies with Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning 2019 smash Parasite – and this colossally successful South Korean social satire certainly found a place for one of that country’s biggest stars.