Cosy crime, cookbooks and a surprise hit: what we’ve really read in the pandemic

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 ]
News tagged with: #lost time #diana evans #richard osman #mrs hinch #david walliams #jk rowling #joe wicks #sally rooney #normal people #reni eddo-lodge #longer talking #white people #harry potter #bestseller lists #audiobook

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Cosy crime, cookbooks and a surprise hit: what we’ve really read in the pandemic'


YotaPhone update lets you read more ebooks and documents on its energy-saving E Ink display

Much as we admired the potential of the YotaPhone in our recent review, we just couldn't overlook its lack of support for popular e-reading platforms like Amazon Kindle and Google Books. That problem hasn't been solved just yet, but things are ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ink display #amazon kindle #google books


HMH Has Hit With Scratch, Sniff Wine

A "grocery" as opposed to a "luxury" is how Houghton Mifflin Harcourt refers to wine on the cover of its inventive, playful, and now popular, new book, The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The "Netflix For Books" Business Model, And How It'll Change The Way You Read

Mark Coker of Smashwords, which recently inked a major content deal with Scribd, weighs in on how the all-you-can-read model changes the way we read, how authors make creative choices, and how everyone gets paid.Is a "Netflix for ebooks" nearing viability? Yesterday, Smashwords, the largest... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published ebooks #business model #ll change #mark coker #largest distributor #e-reading service


French a laureate for good fun reading

If Jackie French gets her way the nation's children's books will be a lot stickier and messier.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The publishers' year: hits and misses of 2013

Publishers choose their books of the year, and the ones that got awayRobin Robertson Deputy publishing director, Jonathan CapeThe book that made my year: Many years ago, I was sitting in Blake's bar in Enniskillen with John McGahern and he recommended an American novel from the 60s, written by... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annie proulx #eimear mcbride


E-Reads Reissues Harlan Ellison Backlist

The books will be reissued in both trade paperback and ebook formats, and will feature updated interiors and new cover treatments. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade paperback #ebook formats #cover treatments


I wrote the Anarchist Cookbook in 1969. Now I see its premise as flawed | William Powell

When I penned the book, I was angry and alienated. Today I realize that violence can't be used to prevent violenceForty-four years ago this month, in December 1969, I quit my job as a manager of a bookstore in New York City's Greenwich Village and began to write the Anarchist Cookbook. My... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #great deal #young adults


Crime writers fundraise with OxCrimes

Following OxTales (2009) and OxTravels (2011), Profile Books will publish fundraising collection... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #profile books


Greenwich crime series for Old Street

Old Street Publishing has bought two titles from former journalist Murray Davies. Ben Yarde-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #street publishing


There's lots to like at Upworthy, but not much to read

The fast-growing news-feature website leads the league in approvals. Is that because it publishes less rather than more?The driving belief for news websites is that more (that's more stories, features, videos, blogs) equals more hits and thus more money. But what if less can also equal more... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trinity mirror #bottom line


10 grammar books to read before you die of boredom | Mind your language

A seasonal selection of new (and not so new) books about language that are anything but dullBooks about English fall into various categories, mostly offputting ones: the academic, rarely of much interest, and often incomprehensible, to the general reader; the lament for a (mythical) golden age... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kings place


What authors are reading in 2013

Australian authors and critics sift through the piles of books they read in 2013 to highlight the treasures they found.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #australian authors #critics sift


Reading the New York Times Magazine isn't what it used to be | Michael Wolff

The magazine was once the most hotly anticipated Sunday read. Now it's been eclipsed by the showy T style publicationTwo magazines, both published by the New York Times, arrived in my house over the weekend, one thin, the other thick.The thin one, The New York Times Magazine, is largely about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad revenues #media business


Publishers, Book Fair Help Revive Cambodia’s Love of Reading

Under the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia's reading culture was destroyed, but over the past five years it has returned with the help of a revitalized publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading culture #book fair


In Taiwan Reading is Cool, But Lukewarm on Ebooks

Despite being digitally savvy Taiwanese readers are dedicated to print and ebooks remain just 2% of the market — though change is afoot. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebooks remain


Bill Gates: Here Are the Books I Read When Out on the Road

I read while traveling, waiting for meetings, in the evening, and especially on vacation. As you can see, I'm still pretty much an old-school print guy, because I like to jot notes in the margins, but I assume I'll move over to ebooks when annotation features get better.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bill gates #ll move


The E-Reading Software That's Better Than Kindle or iBooks

A new deal with Penguin UK means a greater variety of books for the insurgent platform.     Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #greater variety


'Gone Girl' Finally Hits Paperback

With more than 6 million copies sold, and 71 weeks spent on the New York Times's hardcover bestseller list, Gillian Flynn's thriller, Gone Girl, is coming to paperback. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gillian flynn


ALA 2014 Preview: Getting Ready to Read

The conversation about the Common Core standards will be a hot topic at this year’s ALA Midwinter Meeting, as many public librarians make efforts to reach their patrons and community members—as well as form partnerships with school librarians—to provide information on the standards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hot topic #form partnerships #provide information


James Carol crime debut gets TV series

Sprout Pictures, the independent film and TV company run by Stephen Fry, has optioned James... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv series #sprout pictures #stephen fry