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 ]

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


Read Harder: An Audiobook of Poetry

Here are some recommendations of audiobooks of poetry—in contemporary poetry, classic poetry, and novels in verse—for the Read Harder 2020 task. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-13 11:33:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Walliams versus Pinch of Nom in the race to Christmas number one

David Walliams look set to achieve a third Christmas number one with The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) racking up three straight weeks of sales above 100,000 copies—yet Pinch of Nom sequel Everyday Light could potentially cause an upset. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-12 11:53:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Audible scoops Mucha audiobook on attachment theory

Audible has scooped an original audiobook from Love Factually (Bloomsbury Sigma) author Laura Mucha on attachment theory, following a group of people over the course of a year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-12 08:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Voicing a revolution

In the last of three pieces on the audiobook sector in the run-up to FutureBook Live, W F Howes’ Dominic White looks at the future of the format Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-12 00:45:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon Charts: Beast of Buckingham Palace takes the crown

David Walliams has once again claimed the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction number one, with The Beast of Buckingham Palace Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-11 04:47:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


World Book Night grows audiobook offer in 2020

World Book Night will expand its audiobook offering in 2020, after a successful pilot with John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down in 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-10 07:35:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Here are some of the most expensive books sold in 2019.

AbeBooks has published a list of the most expensive books they sold this year, with The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, which sold for $40,000, at the top. Better luck next year, signed Harry Potter deluxe set ($38,560)! A first edition of The Maltese Falcon and Mark Twain’s complete writings... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-09 21:14:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


20 of the Best Harry Potter Earrings

Christmas is coming up, so consider gifting the Potterhead in your life (if that’s you, treat yourself!) some of these gorgeous Harry Potter earrings. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-05 11:36:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this


What we're listening to: Sturgill Simpson and 'Chase Darkness with Me'

In this installment of our audio IRL, senior editor Andrew Tarantola's affinity for anime leads him to an unlikely musical discovery. Senior editor Jessica Conditt is addicted to true crime podcasts, but her recommendation is an audiobook with podcas... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-12-03 14:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Walliams smashes personal best as The Beast reigns again

David Walliams’ The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has racked up record single-week sales for the author, selling 130,073 copies for £886,333 through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM in its first full week on sale. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-02 20:19:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nine black Hermiones, and 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' still won't talk race

As the Harry Potter play officially opens in San Francisco on Sunday, the production continues to sidestep a deeper discussion about casting. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-12-01 23:54:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Your Ultimate Guide To Harry Potter Goods at Target

What could be better than Harry Potter or Target? The answer is, of course, Harry Potter at Target. Over the ... Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-11-29 11:32:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon Charts: Walliams and Kinney grapple for the top

David Walliams and Tony Ross' The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has held the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top spot for a second week, over the same week it ascended to the UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan with 100,899 copies sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-27 01:37:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Walliams reigns supreme as Beast of Buckingham Palace takes the crown

David Walliams and Tony Ross’ The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has ascended to the UK Official Top 50 number one spot without breaking a sweat, selling 100,899 copies in its first week on sale. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-26 14:52:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


More From FutureBook Live: Harris on Audio, Espiner on Management

In UK audiobook statistics, Harris Interactive sees younger, higher salaried men leading listeners. Orion's Katie Espiner talks about women in publishing. The post More From FutureBook Live: Harris on Audio, Espiner on Management appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-11-26 09:30:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Traditional publishers missing out on romance and sci-fi sales

Publishers are missing out on audiobook listeners who want sci-fi and romance titles, statistics on sales show. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-25 14:46:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this


5 Small Press Audiobooks To Give As Gifts This Year

For book lovers, Small Business Saturday means a trip to the local independent bookstore, many of which invite local authors to hang out and make recommendations. If you’re an audiobook lover you can still support small businesses, and I don’t mean purchasing your audiobooks on compact disc. Ask... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-25 09:48:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Eight Audiobook Classics Written, and Narrated, by Women

Contemporary recordings breathe new life into such books as “To the Lighthouse,” “Jane Eyre” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-11-22 17:06:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Walliams hits £100m earned through BookScan

David Walliams has surpassed the £100m mark through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market, a week ahead of The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) hitting the charts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-20 22:12:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ordinary Girls: Jaquira Díaz on Growing Up in Miami Beach

That winter, the year Boogie turned 14, we got it in our heads that we could run away, leave Miami Beach and never come back. For months, I’d spent every night lost in a book, read whatever the librarian put in my hands, which usually meant books written by white men, about white people, for […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-20 09:47:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this