It was a chance to finally get around to Tolstoy or Proust, but the charts tell a different story. Which books did we actually turn to in the lockdowns? • Let us know in the comments what you were reading Back in spring 2020, when it became clear that coronavirus wasn’t going away, book lovers spied an opportunity for a rare, government-mandated reading holiday. Here, at last, was a chance to have a go at Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Robert Macfarlane reported that he was working his way through the great Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. Ali Smith urged readers towards Boccaccio’s Decameron. Diana Evans’s thoughts turned “heavenwards” by way of Homer’s Odyssey. I downloaded 27 hours of The Brothers Karamazov audiobook in anticipation.All lovely ideas. With 20 months of hindsight, however, which books did we actually end up turning to? The bestseller lists from the three different lockdowns may not tell you the contents of Britain’s soul, but then again, the numbers do not lie. We read: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Sophie Hinchliffe’s Mrs Hinch: The Little Book of Lists. Lots of David Walliams, who topped the Lockdown 1 and Lockdown 2 charts with Slime and Code Name Bananas respectively. JK Rowling: the first three Harry Potter books steadily rose up the charts through the pandemic. Joe Wicks. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. A Pinch of Nom, plus spin-offs. Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-12-11 09:00:06 UTC ]
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Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg hit back against Tim Cook, calling the Apple Inc. CEO's criticism of the social-media giant "extremely glib."Cook was asked about Facebook's privacy crisis last month and called for stronger regulation of user data. A day after, Cook said he... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2018-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is there anything Star Trek writers can’t predict? Eight years before the first iPhone was released in 2007, science fiction writer David Gerrold was asked to write a column on the future of computing for a now-defunct magazine called Sm@rt Reseller. His description sounds eerily similar to the... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2018-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A quartet of new and upcoming books extol the virtues of delving into great writing, whether aloud with the family or alone to quietly savor the words. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Katherine Rundell has been sold into 25 languages, with agency RCW chalking up six new territories for the Costa Children’s Book Award-winner in the run-up to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unicorn food—glittery, multicolored dishes—has taken over social media recently. It's now made its way into cookbooks, too. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mitchell Beazley has acquired the Jim Beam Bourbon Cookbook, marketed as "the perfect book for any bourbon fan". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taking audiences behind the scenes of the editorial process, publishing house editors at the recent Kbh Reads festival showed how they handle their work—and an author's. The post At Copenhagen’s Literary Festival Kbh Reads, Consumers See and Hear Editors at Work appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A crowdfunded illustrated anthology of remarkable women throughout history has begun a publishing trend—but is Good Night Stories entirely a good news story? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A crop of new cookbooks are updating heirloom recipes for a modern age (and for modern kitchens), bringing dishes like Steak Diane and Oysters Rockefeller back into the spotlight. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors have hit back at writer Will Self's assertion that the novel is “doomed to become a marginal cultural form”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two more publishers are wading into the market for books educating the public about plastic’s ruinous impact on the environment and what humanity can do to help clean up its act. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man-bear love in Saddam Hussein's romance novel, Vladimir Putin's judo manual, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Susan B. Neuman shares her research into the effect of library programming on parent behavior and engagement. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has a new way to reel you into Audible now that smart speakers are a big deal: give you a freebie just by asking. As of this week, anyone who's new to Audible can ask an Echo speaker to read a full audiobook at no cost. You don't have to be pi... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2018-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A magical adaptation of a prussian fairytale, beautifully packaged and illustrated, draws on tales from its author’s childhood—and comes with the approval of her own children, too. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On the back of the success of his latest book Drawn Out: A Seriously Funny Memoir veteran cartoonist, political journalist and all-round dyslexic polymath Tom Scott will be the subject of a "roast" on Sunday where a group of writers, theatre makers and Wellington personalities will haul the... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'We want a new library of 100 great books by women' says Hay Festival founder Peter Florence, as Cambridge University Press opens this year's selection of free-to-read International Women's Day content. The post International Women’s Day: Hay Kicks Off #Vote100Books, Cambridge Offers Free... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Fletcher and Shane Devries’s World Book Day title Brain Freeze (Puffin) has nipped into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, leapfrogging three-week wonder Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Harper), with 37,879 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the breakout first novels of 2018 has been aided by a creative, targeted and persistent campaign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oneworld’s literary crime imprint Point Blank has signed a trilogy from Helen Sedgwick beginning with an "atmospheric" murder investigation entitled In Whitehorn Cave. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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