Book Reviews Photo by Dominik Scythe / Unsplash A new book by a Nobel laureate and Booker award-winning author always brings with it a sense of trepidation. Will the new novel live up to the already established high expectations? Klara and the Sun (Knopf, 2021) is particularly tricky because it revisits questions about life in posthuman futures, explored partly in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (2005). However, Ishiguro’s new novel and its nonhuman narrator, Klara, weave a spell on the reader from the opening pages that continues to be all-absorbing. We forget that the narrator is a robot and remain involved in the vicissitudes of her life, till the final pages when she is waiting for an end to her powers by the slow decline of her electronic circuitry. As we are immersed in the trajectory of Klara’s life, Ishiguro invites us to explore the question of what it is that constitutes us as human. To what extent can machines approximate the qualities of a human, and is there anything unique in the human mind in a world where artificial intelligence is increasingly powerful? The novel begins with Klara being displayed in the window of a store selling AI “friends” to children. Klara is very observant and records her perceptions in her memories for future use. She forms an instantaneous bond with Josie when she comes in to check out AI friends and then waits for many weeks for Josie to come back and take her home as promised.... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-03-01 21:50:34 UTC ]
John Francisconi, the general manager of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn., is finishing up a three-week residency at Otherwise Bookshop in Rome and reflects on the experience for PW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Edinburgh's latest indie The Portobello Bookshop has opened its doors to the public, with customers queuing to get in on its first day of trading. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-29 21:32:06 UTC ]
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Pablo Cartaya is an award-winning author whose books have been reviewed by The New York Times, featured in The Washington Post, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal, as well as been among the Best Books of the Year for Amazon, Chicago... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-26 08:46:36 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Dipika Mukherjee A writer travels from Chicago to a residency in rural Malaysia, where part of her novel-in-progress is set. While encountering the many living creatures who surround her and making progress on her work, she... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-23 13:14:38 UTC ]
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Indie press Open Pen and Newham Bookshop are joining forces to host a fundraiser for the homeless in East London. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-22 07:47:05 UTC ]
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We talk to Galway institution Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, which will celebrating its 30th birthday in October, and Nibbies Children’s Bookseller of the Year shortlistee, The Blessington Book Store. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-18 23:52:32 UTC ]
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Foyles bookshop has joined forces with indie publisher Jacaranda for its Twenty in 2020 initiative, celebrating black British writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-17 20:34:16 UTC ]
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Gardners Books has joined forces with ecommerce firm Monwell Ltd in a new partnership that will see the wholesalers take over the Guardian Bookshop account from Bertrams. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-16 23:50:20 UTC ]
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Electric Monkey has snapped up two more books from award-winning author Laura Steven. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-14 16:29:46 UTC ]
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National Book Award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates will bring his new book tour to Los Angeles in October, where he'll be joined by a special guest: "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-07-10 10:00:02 UTC ]
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National Book Award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates will bring his new book tour to Los Angeles in October, where he'll be joined by a special guest: "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler. Coates is scheduled to discuss his forthcoming novel, "The Water Dancer," with Coogler at the West... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-07-10 00:15:00 UTC ]
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The owner of New York's Book Culture bookshops says the business's four stores are in danger of closing unless they receive help from the city. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-25 02:20:48 UTC ]
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Independent bookshop Travelling Through has shut down following five years of trade, as Booksellers Association m.d. Meryl Halls says the closure has highlighted how "fragile our high streets are". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-25 00:29:42 UTC ]
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An author recommends thinking outside the bookshop when throwing a book launch party. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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During Independent Bookshop Week, author Clare Mackintosh pens a letter in praise of bookshops and booksellers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-19 07:08:54 UTC ]
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Independent Bookshop Week is in full swing with events up and down the country as Booksellers Association research reveals 82% of indie booksellers had a different career prior to owning or working in their bookshop. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-17 02:50:48 UTC ]
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Read a brand-new story from the award-winning author of Karen Memory, Ancestral Night, and The Red-Stained Wings. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-05-25 11:00:08 UTC ]
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The Monte-Cristo Literary Prize, a new program based in a prison class in France, names its first award-winning author. The post France’s Prix Monte-Cristo’s Inmate Jury Awards Its First Honor appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shortlist for the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction was announced today at the El-Hakawati Palestinian National Theatre in East Jerusalem. The IPAF - often referred to as the ‘Arabic Booker’ - is an annual literary prize for prose fiction, which encourages the readership of... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-02-05 16:33:45 UTC ]
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Tana French, award-winning author of the Dublin Murder Squad series, has moved from Hodder to Viking for a standalone novel. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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