Interviews Weina Dai Randel burst onto the literary scene a number of years ago with her duology about Empress Wu Zetian, China’s first woman leader. After winning the prestigious Rita Award in 2017 and seeing her novels translated into seven languages, she is back now with a new historical novel set in 1940s Shanghai. Keeping with her love of strong women characters, her new book, The Last Rose of Shanghai, centers on a nightclub owner named Aiyi Shao who falls for a Jewish refugee who had recently escaped Nazi Germany. Through their love of jazz, they develop a forbidden bond set during one of Shanghai’s most volatile and exciting eras. Randel is the first Chinese American author to write about Shanghai Jewish refugees, although there have been dozens of memoirs, narratives, and novels about this phenomenon from Jewish authors. We recently spoke over Zoom about what made Shanghai so special and why it matters now, along with the reasons Jews escaped to Shanghai during World War II and how Chinese and Jewish traditions are so similar. Susan Blumberg-Kason: It seems that the popularity of 1930s and ’40s Shanghai rose both in China and the US about twenty-five years ago. Can you talk about the appeal of this time and why it’s so special, both to people in the US and China? Weina Dai Randel: I think many aspects of Old Shanghai appeal to us today. From the late 1920s to the early 1940s, the period of Old Shanghai was a symbol of... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-20 14:33:49 UTC ]
Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Actress and comedian Rachel Bloom narrates her own memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:46:38 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini anchors a full-cast performance of The Cold Millions, a story that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-28 09:00:55 UTC ]
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Actor Johnny Flynn will narrate the audiobook of The Octopus Man by Jasper Gibson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 17:21:47 UTC ]
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George Saunders’ new book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, is out next month and promises to be a literary master class on the short story. Drawing from his teaching career at Syracuse’s MFA program, Saunders walks readers... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-17 17:00:15 UTC ]
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The Calibre Audio charity for readers who have print disabilities is hoping to add 48 new audiobooks to its library this holiday season. The post Calibre Audiobook Charity Joins the UK’s Big Give Holiday Challenge appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-02 20:32:53 UTC ]
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Here are five books written by BIPOC authors that each detail the intricacies of different complicated families. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-12-01 11:37:00 UTC ]
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HarperNorth has bagged an audiobook about personal development and men's mental health from Paul Mort, UK Mastercoach of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 10:00:16 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Nikki Giovanni’s slightly raspy, slightly sibilant voice draws listeners into Make Me Rain,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-27 11:56:49 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Looking for something to entertain younger listeners—or the whole family? Host Jo Reed and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-27 08:59:06 UTC ]
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Sphere has announced that actor Allan Corduner will narrate the audiobook of Parting Words by 100-year-old human rights lawyer Benjamin Ferencz. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-26 03:14:54 UTC ]
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Red Wheel/Weiser, a publisher of titles on mind-body-spirit and the occult, is joining with Dreamscape Media, an audio book production house and distributor, to launch Red Wheel Audio, a multi-year audiobook program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-24 05:00:00 UTC ]
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“A spoonful of honey makes the medicine go down,” says S. A. Cosby on the appeal of thrillers. The medicine he’s referring to is themes like racism, poverty, and income inequality woven throughout his debut novel, Blacktop Wasteland. “It’s easier to talk about those things,” Cosby says, “if... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-23 09:48:50 UTC ]
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FASCISTS LOVE Dune: Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation was highly anticipated on white nationalist sites such as Counter-Currents and the Daily Stormer. As soon as the trailer dropped, they began poring over it for signs of deviation from their pet interpretations of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-11-19 18:00:46 UTC ]
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Hesitant UK and US publishers need to move into audiobook streaming to stay relevant, and maintain premium pricing in the face of interest from music services such as Spotify, Storytel's c.e.o. Jonas Tellander has warned. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-18 09:52:56 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten share their thoughts on Robert Harris’s latest... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 17:16:17 UTC ]
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The audiobook sector's boom means it will be able to accommodate Spotify's move into the market but publishers are still only just realising the sector's potential, Bookwire's Videl Bar-Kar has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-16 19:16:13 UTC ]
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Printed book sales plunge in first six months of 2020 on back of shop and school closuresSee all our coronavirus coverageSales of digital books by British publishers are set to hit an all-time high this year as the public turns to reading to escape pandemic cabin fever.However, the ebook and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-14 07:00:02 UTC ]
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Tomorrow marks sixty years since civil rights icon, activist and writer Ruby Bridges was the first Black child to integrate a Southern elementary school—and today, Scholastic announced three forthcoming books written by Bridges, which will be released from spring 2022-23. The three new books are... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-13 17:02:57 UTC ]
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What is Chirp? How does it differ from other services like Audible? And, is it worth getting? Learn more in our Chirp audiobooks review! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-11-13 11:34:00 UTC ]
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It was announced earlier today that MGM is teaming with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, and director Kamilah Forbes on a film adaptation of National Book Award-winner Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2019 bestselling novel, The Water Dancer. Coates’ debut novel tells the story of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-11 15:33:22 UTC ]
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