Longer Reads Worth Your Time

Not every article needs to be read in a coffee break. These are the pieces that reward a free hour, a comfortable chair and no particular hurry. Each one goes deeper than a quick guide and leaves you knowing a subject properly.

Screens across Europe

A loose series on how households in different countries have changed the way they watch.

• Home entertainment in the Netherlands: a wide look at how Dutch living rooms moved from the aerial to the internet.
• Devices for internet TV in Sweden: smart TVs, sticks and boxes compared in practical terms.
• Internet TV and cable in Germany: the trade-offs set side by side.
• Sport on screen in France: what changes for viewers who follow the big matches.

The connected home

• Smart homes and TV: how lights, speakers and screens can cooperate rather than compete.
• Converting images into SVG files: a patient explainer on vector graphics for anyone who designs, sketches or prints.

Stories and places

• The players who shaped RCD Espanyol: a club history told through the people on the pitch.
• Celebrations and the food that comes with them: festivals from around the world, one dish at a time.
• Taormina: the Sicilian hill town's past, its theatre and its views.
• Minecraft's secret stories: the lore players have pieced together beneath the blocks.

New and unhurried

Some of our recent guides are long for a reason: they are meant to be followed. How to see the northern lights and how to make a family tree are both worth reading in full before you begin.

Reading them well

Long articles are easier with a little structure. Skim the headings first to see the route, then read straight through without jumping between tabs. If a piece mentions a service or a price, treat that as a snapshot of when it was written and check the current details yourself. And if you only have twenty minutes, read one section properly rather than the whole thing in a hurry.

How we chose these

We picked articles that hold up on a second read, that cover their subject from more than one angle and that a curious reader with no background could follow. The list changes as we add and revise pieces. If you think something belongs here, tell us on the contact page.