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 ]
From working with grime legends to tackling racism, author Candice Carty-Williams’s new show Champion is landmark TV. Its team talk Shola Ama, pengness – and the greatest group chat everIt’s just after noon in Birmingham and, in the hidden depths of a city centre nightclub, a singer is about to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-23 12:00:37 UTC ]
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From family sagas that span decades to memoirs about chasing the American dream, these 6 AAPI must-reads hit bookshop shelves this May. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-18 13:00:16 UTC ]
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Doppelganger, due out this autumn, examines ‘the wildness of right now’, including personal issues arising from being confused with Naomi Wolf Award-winning author and Guardian columnist Naomi Klein is to publish a book about conspiracy theories, which she has described as a departure and “more... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-17 13:00:30 UTC ]
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At Edmonds Bookshop in the historic town center of Edmonds, Wash., Michelle Bear refers to herself not as the owner but as “the most recent and honored caretaker.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Internet is abuzz over a forthcoming nonfiction book, a 544-page memoir (including 40 full-color photographs) slated to be published by Flatiron on July 9th. Why? Because The Internet thinks it was probably written by Taylor Swift. It all started when the owner of indie bookshop Good... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 16:47:07 UTC ]
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A 57-year-old “self-styled poet” (aren’t they all?) has spent $116,000 of his own money to build a bookstore in a mountaintop village. Oh, and it’s shaped like the number 7 and contains 7,000 books. No, this is not a parable. As Jiang Libo told the South China Morning Post: Before my bookshop... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 15:04:22 UTC ]
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Tracy Deonn, the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award-winning author of “Legendborn” and “Bloodmarked,” recommends a few of her favorite young adult fantasy titles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-06 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Tracy Deonn, the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award-winning author of “Legendborn” and “Bloodmarked,” recommends a few of her favorite young adult fantasy titles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-06 09:00:19 UTC ]
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The owner and operator of the Mysterious Bookshop in Lower Manhattan, the oldest bookstore in the U.S. specializing in mysteries and thrillers, said his duties running Mysterious Press don’t leave him with enough time to interact with customers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Illustration by Krishna Bala Shenoi. Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, and politicians. It’s a podcast where people sound like people. New episodes air every Sunday, distributed by Pushkin Industries. * Live from On Air Fest in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-02 08:54:53 UTC ]
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The award-winning author on how Trump, Covid and anti-Asian rhetoric inspired her latest novel, digging her way out of ‘post-book fatigue’, and learning to touch type using UlyssesCeleste Ng, 42, is the award-winning author of three novels, including Little Fires Everywhere, which was made into... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-22 17:00:15 UTC ]
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The garlanded short story author will release her next collection solely in bookshops and select independent online outlets to coincide with Bookshop DayPrize-winning author Lydia Davis’ new collection of short stories will not be sold on Amazon, with the author saying she does not “believe... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-19 10:05:07 UTC ]
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We talk with Annie Carl, founder of the Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., a community bookstore that focuses on genre titles and children’s and YA. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning author Julie Anne Peters, best known for her groundbreaking YA novels featuring complex LGBTQ+ characters navigating relationships and exploring issues of identity, died on March 21 following a long illness; she was 71. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Joshua Rothes of Sublunary Editions and Phil Bevis of Chatwin Books have formed Asterism Books, a wholesale distribution portal and bookshop for independent small presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Bryan Washington’s latest novel, Family Meal, coming this fall from Riverhead Books. Here’s a bit about the book from the publisher: From the bestselling, award-winning author of Memorial and Lot, an irresistible, intimate novel about two young... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-21 14:00:48 UTC ]
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Lockdown in Literature, by The Editors of WLT Lit Lists [email protected] Mon, 03/20/2023 - 14:39 Photo by Jens Maes / Unsplash There has been plenty of handwringing among some over whether it’s too soon to write pandemic literature, but these... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-03-20 19:39:01 UTC ]
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James Daunt launched his first indie bookshop in London 33 years ago. The Barnes & Noble CEO is now bringing the lessons he learned to the biggest bookseller in America. If you’re strolling down the Marylebone High Street in London, you’ll stumble across a popular bookstore called Daunt... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-02-28 04:30:00 UTC ]
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Small press of the year award shortlists 48 presses that are ‘reaping the rewards from inspirational publishing’, says British book awards chair of judgesSmall presses across the UK and Ireland have had a “year of exceptional sales and profit growth in the face of Brexit and escalating running... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-02-15 09:17:08 UTC ]
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