* Five storms that shaped history - The current bad weather in the south of the UK prompted a discussion about moments in history shaped by storms. Historian Dan Snow recalls five of the most significant. 1. In 480 BC the emperor of the mighty Persian Empire, Xerxes, led a massive combined force to conquer the troublesome Greeks.
* 10 old letter-writing tips that work for emails - Before email, letter-writing guides were best sellers, the faddy self-help books of their day. There are still many things that we can learn from them before pressing "send", says Simon Garfield. 1. Keep it brief, make it simple. This advice first appeared in a Latin tract somewhere between the 4th Century BC and 4th Century AD.
* The teenager who saved a man with an SS tattoo - In 1996, a black teenager protected a white man from an angry mob who thought he supported the racist Klu Klux Klan. It was an act of extraordinary courage and kindness - and is still inspiring people today. Keshia Thomas was 18 when the Klu Klux Klan, the white supremacist organisation, held a rally in her home town in Michigan.
* Big storms compared: 1987 and 2013 - The storm that battered parts of the UK on Sunday night and the early hours of Monday was one of the most powerful to hit Britain in recent years, with a maximum gust of nearly 100 mph recorded in the Isle of Wight.
* The 'real books vs. ebooks' debate needs to end - Is there any reason to own paper books beside showing off?
* 11 Words That Will Make You Sound Super Smart - When someone constantly uses the filler word "like," you probably think they don't sound so smart. But have you ever met someone who's babbling "like" after "like," and then suddenly inserts a zinger of a vocabulary word such as "sycophant," which means a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage (or "obsequiously," which means full of or exhibiting servile compliance)?
* Edith Head: costume designer and star of Google Doodle - in pictures - Edith Head was an American costume designer who worked for nearly 50 years in Hollywood and amassed eight Academy Awards. We decided to take a look at some of her classic designs
* Halloween costumes and trick or treat: an excuse for mischief - Trick or treating is an ostensibly innocent act. Halloween seems to permit behaviour that would otherwise be unacceptable. This is the only time of the year when it is acceptable for children to accept sweets from strangers, and to play pranks on those who do not oblige.
* Roman eagle rises again in London after 2,000 years - Archaeologists in London have discovered the finest Romano-British sculpture ever unearthed in the capital. The spectacular 65 centimetre tall sculpture of a Roman eagle with a snake in its beak was found at the bottom of an ancient Roman ditch just south of Aldgate station in the eastern part of the City - and will go on show at the Museum of London from Wednesday.
* Martians Invade New Jersey - The famed radio broadcast of HG Wells' War of the Worlds took place on October 30th, 1938. The headline in The New York Times was 'Radio Listeners in Panic, Taking War Drama as Fact'.
* Vampires and Poltergeists - In around 1890, a dead man named Andilaveris was menacing villagers in Messaria, on the Greek island of Kythnos.
* VE Day: This Could Be The Last Time - While all the attention is on next year's sober commemoration of the outbreak of the First World War, we are in danger of neglecting a similarly significant anniversary. May 8th, 2015 will mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day, the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the destruction of Hitler's Third Reich, followed on August 15th by VJ Day.
* Jane Austen banknote portrait 'airbrushed', says biographer - A Jane Austen biographer has criticised the Bank of England for selecting an "airbrushed" portrait of the author for its new £10 note. Oxford University fellow Dr Paula Byrne said the 1870 image was a "makeover" of an earlier portrait composed by the novelist's sister Cassandra.
* How did ancient Greek music sound? - The music of ancient Greece, unheard for thousands of years, is being brought back to life by Armand D'Angour, a musician and tutor in classics at Oxford University. He describes what his research is discovering.
Which history and publishing stories have you enjoyed reading this week?