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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"I think 'The Easter Parade' is an inadvertent feminist classic, a woman’s book in the best possible meaning of that fraught term." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus has won at auction three books in a new Yorkshire-set "cosy crime" series by author Helen Cox. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Country Doctor’s Commonplace Book by Philip Rhys Evans is on its way to be this year’s novelty bestsellerAfter a long career as a Suffolk GP, Dr Philip Rhys Evans may well be astonished to find himself lined up as a surprise literary hit this winter. But a short book compiled by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Seattle-based indie comics press has ordered the largest second printing in its 40-year history for Emil Ferris' literary graphic novel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrew Hilleman, author of the thrilling new western "World, Chase Me Down," picks 10 diamonds in the rough. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are accelerating the development cycle for licensed tie-ins to satisfy consumer demand. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trapeze has signed a "cosy crime" debut from Tilly Bagshawe, writing under the pen-name M B Shaw. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hercule Poirot and Miss Marples are among golden age sleuths giving new inspiration to a genre tired of alcoholic divorcees and goth hackersForget domestic noir and put down all those books with “Girl” in the title. Crime fiction is turning back the clock to its golden age with a host of books... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Whether you come away from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice thrilled or disgusted, there are always more (and often better) stories about DC's icons in your neighbourhood comic book store. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterhouse Press, which published the bestselling 12-book erotica series that 'USA Today' just touted as the next Fifty Shades of Grey, is taking a numbers-driven approach to cracking the bestseller list. So far, it seems to be working. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Patterson has jumped to the top of the UK Top 50 chart this week with 14th Deadly Sin (Arrow)—his 21st individual title to reach the summit since Nielsen BookScan’s records began. However, Swedish author Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin has scored a surprise hit with his picture book The Rabbit... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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He’s not a thug, he doesn’t trust his celebrity friends, and he’s definitely not a pornographer. Over a cigar delivered on a silver platter, the self-appointed king of Express Newspapers lays into scruffy booksellers and sets the record straightRichard Desmond held a party at Claridge’s in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In March 2015, British singer Sam Smith took to Instagram to tell his 3.6 million followers that one woman, Amelia Freer, had changed his life with her book, "Eat. Nourish. Glow.," which he credited with his recent weight loss. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading science fiction, chick lit and fantasy novels by people of colour for a year brought home to me just how white my reading world wasIn 2014, I managed to read 25 novels. All of them were written by people of colour. That was the result of a small challenge I set myself: not to read books... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A New York City blogger hosted dinner parties throughout the U.S., in hopes to raise money for her self-published, debut cookbook. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has bought a Finnish detective series, described as a “Nordic take on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple”. Natasha Harding acquired world English rights to the books, to be called The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency in the UK, by Minna Lindgren from the Elina Ahlback Literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Boston publisher has gone back to press for a second printing of a book by furniture maker Peter Korn that combines the personal with creative practice. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Constable & Robinson has launched a website dedicated to the "cosy crime" genre as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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