The Fall of Language in the Age of English, by the Japanese novelist and scholar Minae Mizumura, has all the ingredients of a rage-read. Indeed, when it was published in Japan in 2008, it infuriated commentators, who dismissed Mizumura as “reactionary,” “jingoistic,” or “elitist” and swarmed across Amazon deleting positive reviews. More than 65,000 copies have sold since then—which suggests the slender work’s declinist soothsaying continues to touch a nerve. The book appears this month in English (enemy territory!), where—if we Yanks could be trusted to read something first penned in a non-Western tongue—it would likely inspire more umbrage, more name-calling, more amorphous unease. The book’s basic premise, developed in a sinuous line through seven chapters, is that every language creates and nourishes untranslatable truths. Dominant languages infuse their verities into the wider world, crowding out alternative visions from more minor tongues. Linguistic asymmetry isn’t new—over the past two centuries, Latin, classical Chinese, and French each took a turn in the sun—but never has one language so completely eclipsed the rest, Mizumura says, as today, in the age of the Internet, with English. Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Movie posters have always had a space on walls. Why not also add some rad book cover posters, too? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-11-11 11:37:00 UTC ]
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New online retailer Bookshop.org secured sales of around £65,000 in its first day, making £16,000 for indies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-02 12:21:42 UTC ]
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Dujiangyan Zhongshuge is the latest bookstore designed by X+Living, and it’s stunning. The very best books transport you to another world, and the most magical bookstores help make that a reality. Chinese bookseller Zhongshuge is renowned for its stunning bookstores, and its latest outpost, in... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-11-02 08:00:34 UTC ]
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Muswell Press has acquired world rights for My Name is Jensen by BBC Radio 4 short story writer Heidi Amsinck, for publication in August 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-27 06:05:04 UTC ]
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To close out October’s theme of beauty privilege, Kendra and Sumaiyya discuss Say Hello by Carly Findlay and If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha. From the episode: Sumaiyya: My discussion pick is If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha, which is set in Seoul, South Korea. This looks at four young women... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-21 08:47:55 UTC ]
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SUSANNA CLARKE FIRST BURST on the scene with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in 2004 on a wave of publicity partly fueled by comparisons with Harry Potter. However, while both stories are set in England and concern magic, the similarities end there: Jonathan Strange presents a complex, dark,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-10-18 17:00:59 UTC ]
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Customers have reported days of disruption to the Nook e-reader service, as well as other systems that the company said have since been restored. After users reported issues with Nook e-reader book access for days, with Barnes & Noble saying Monday that a “system failure” was interrupting... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-10-14 17:46:15 UTC ]
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It’s Amazon Prime Day, so unsurprisingly the company’s own hardware is on sale. One of the more noteworthy deals is on Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite, which is selling for $80, down from the usual $130. The Kindle Paperwhite has been our favorite e-reade... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-10-13 10:00:23 UTC ]
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When Amazon’s Prime Day starts Tuesday, October 13 at 12 a.m. Pacific, you’ll need to be a Prime member to partake of the deals. Prime is Amazon’s $119 per year service that provides two-day shipping on all orders, as well as a ton of extras like the Kindle lending library and Prime... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2020-10-13 06:35:00 UTC ]
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Those who have a Kindle on their holiday shopping list are in luck. Amazon’s running an early Prime Day deal that knocks up to $70 off a couple of Kindle Essential bundles, which include the e-reader, a case and a power adapter. Prime members can gra... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-10-06 20:39:29 UTC ]
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From memoir to young adult, there is a little bit of something for everyone on this list of audiobooks by Indigenous authors. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-10-06 10:31:00 UTC ]
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A new monthly book club and greater outreach to public and school libraries are among the World Book Day plans for 2021, the charity’s c.e.o. has revealed at this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-28 19:52:05 UTC ]
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Well, beautiful might not exactly be the word—perhaps disquietingly arresting? Chinese architecture firm x+living seems to be channeling the synaptic afterimages of Borges’s brain in their dizzying design for a bookstore in the city of Dujiangyan, in the southwest of China. The almost manic use... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-23 13:51:18 UTC ]
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Macmillan Trade US president Don Weisberg said Thursday was "definitely a very tough day" for Macmillan employees following the surprise announcement that CEO John Sargent will leave the company at the end of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ahead of the 20th National Book Festival, Laura Bush, Scott Turow, Michael Beschloss and others look back at the event’s storied beginning. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
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National Poetry Day is holding a mass 24-hour "share-a-poem" festival alongside hundreds of mini events to celebrate poetry on Thursday 1st October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 10:46:22 UTC ]
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Our own Thomas Beckwith takes a look at the notable books publishing this week. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Clarke, Akhtar, Nemerever, and More appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-09-15 09:59:58 UTC ]
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More than 600 stores participated in this year’s event on August 29, held months after its usual date due to the pandemic, and saw booksellers, largely unable to host in-store events, finding creative ways to connect with their communities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow, August 29th, is Independent Bookstore Day. This year, the festivities will be both online and in-person at 600+ local bookstores around the country, starting tonight with a conversation between Mary Norris and Ann Goldstein about Elena Ferrante’s The Lying... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-28 17:01:59 UTC ]
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Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day 2020 with a host of online events, including author panels and drawing demonstrations. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-27 10:40:00 UTC ]
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