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 ]
David Walliams and Tony Ross' Megamonster (HarperCollins) notched up a fifth week in the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, selling 19,799 copies through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-27 10:03:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The digital arm of Lindhardt & Ringhof, Saga Egmont further expands its efforts to penetrate the Spanish-language audiobook market. The post Audiobooks: Denmark’s Saga Egmont Partners With Spain’s Roca Editorial appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-14 17:45:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Public sympathy for the defeated England striker has sent sales rocketing for his inspirational life guide for kidsMarcus Rashford’s children’s book You Are a Champion has shot to the top of the charts in the days after England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy.A guide for young people in which... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-14 16:27:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Wole Soyinka and Sally Rooney will headline the Southbank Centre’s autumn season, while the organisation has also announced its London Literature Festival, which this year takes its theme and title from Rooney’s novel Conversations with Friends (Faber). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-11 16:29:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this
#LoveAudio, the Publishers Association's annual audiobook campaign, will return for a fifth year this month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-10 01:47:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
No matter if it is Austen or Atwood, the Brontës or Booker winners, data shows men are reluctant to read women – and this has real world implicationsThe byline at the top of this piece reads MA Sieghart, not Mary Ann. Why? Because I really want men to read it too. Female authors through the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-09 07:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
HarperCollins is releasing a new unabridged audiobook of J R R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in three parts in September, read by Andy Serkis, who starred as Gollum in the blockbuster movies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-07 11:53:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams and Tony Ross' Megamonster (HarperCollins) has made its debut in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 52,919 copies in its first three days on sale. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-29 16:42:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Richard Osman, Detransition Baby author Torrey Peters and Bernardine Evaristo are some of the headliners appearing at this year’s Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival in October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-29 08:56:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Ashland, Ore.–based independent audiobook publisher is seeing double-digit growth for CDs and MP3-CDs thanks to new partnerships, even as other publishers abandon the formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club (Penguin) has scored a fifth week as the UK Official Top 50 number one, selling 29,953 copies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-22 10:54:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this
J K Rowling's Cormoran Strike series, written under the name Robert Galbraith, have hit an audiobook milestone for Little, Brown ahead of the fifth novel's paperback release. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-21 11:49:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishing houses in Romania are working together to produce the Echo audiobook subscription platform, a first in its market. The post Beat Technology Is Developing Romania’s First Audiobook Program appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-06-14 04:05:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In every skirmish in the ‘culture war’, be it fought in universities, Twitter or Parliament, there’s an inevitable reference to Harry Potter. The Potter references can seem like a joke; the perpetual furore around the politics of a ‘mere’ children’s author more so. But it is no laughing matter.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-10 22:19:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
With help from Harry Potter, the Magic School Bus and the Baby-Sitters Club, he created the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:45:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bookwire, the international e-book and audiobook distribution platform, is launching its services in the U.S. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Harry Potter publisher issues third profit upgrade of 2021 after sales increase to £185mCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLockdown reading has helped the Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury to its third profit upgrade of the year after a 22% surge in annual pre-tax... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-06-02 08:20:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In 2020, the Audio Publishers Association sales report finds more than 71,000 audiobooks were published in the US, up 39 percent over 2019. The post Audio Publishers Association Cites 12-Percent 2020 US Audiobook Revenue Growth appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-06-01 13:14:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Audio Publishers Association’s annual review of the audiobook market found another year of double-digit sales increases as well as a profound shift in listening habits. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Sally Rooney, Lauren Groff, and Atticus Lish were among the authors whose upcoming works of literary fiction were highlighted during this Editors' Picks panel hosted by 'PW' reviews editor David Varno. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this