A forest of incense sticks and football in Gaza: photos of the day

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Female, Nude by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett review

Tensions simmer when a struggling artist joins her wealthy friends for a hen week on an exotic Greek island

The pet I’ll never forget: Mishka, the surly but beloved raccoon

She hated water, attacked our Christmas tree, destroyed our wallpaper – but everyone who met her was won over

Literary Theory

Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.

Mum loved warm weather, I loved winter, and the space where we met was our veranda

Since my mum died, I've taken solace in recalling the times we could sit together and be content as mother and daughter

Tim Dowling: I’ve already used up all my optimism for the year. What now?

The misery of the English winter has made me homesick for extreme US weather. I hate to miss a hurricane