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 ]
The Rev. Dan Reehil warned that reading the spells in the J.K. Rowling novels could conjure up actual evil spirits. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2019-09-02 19:47:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Enter to win a a digital audio download of THE FLIGHT GIRLS Audiobook by Noelle Salazar. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-31 10:33:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this
New fiction on China's bestseller lists captures the contemporary sensibilities of young adults in the country's largest cities. The post China Bestsellers for July: An Urban Online Gaming Culture Drives Sales appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-08-30 05:30:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Amazon's audiobook company Audible has agreed to delay parts of its disputed speech-to-text feature until permission and licensing issues are resolved. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-29 22:46:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Ibram X. Kendi opens his latest book with his worst memory as a high school student competing in an oratorical contest. Having spent his short lifetime internalizing negative messages about Black people from Black people, from white people, and from the media and culture at large, Kendi... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-28 11:00:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Independent science fiction and fantasy publisher Baen Books has partnered with audiobook company RBmedia for an audiobook program. Under the agreement, the two companies will publish more than 170 audiobooks over the next three years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Authors Guild is supporting the Association of American Publishers (AAP) as the organisation sues Amazon’s audiobook company Audible over a new speech-to-text feature. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-27 10:51:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Major US publishers have filed a lawsuit against Amazon's audiobook company Audible in a row over a new speech-to-text feature which they say is a violation of copyright law. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-26 15:42:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Actor Hayley Atwell will narrate the audiobook for The Confession by Jessie Burton, as Picador reveals plans for the launch campaign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-22 03:35:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Actor Russell Tovey will read the audiobook for terminally ill playwright Joe Hammond’s forthcoming memoir, A Short History of Falling: Everything I’ve Observed About Love Whilst Dying. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-21 21:12:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Taron Egerton will narrate the audiobook edition of Elton John's forthcoming autobiography, Me. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-21 12:02:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If you are an avid reader, there’s a good chance you’re also a Ravenclaw. But which one are you? Take our quiz to find out! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-21 10:32:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Harlan Coben’s Run Away (Arrow) has ended the seven-week run of David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Teachers (HarperCollins) in the top spot, leaping 42% in volume on its launch week to claim the UK Official Top 50 number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-20 13:20:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Obsessed with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter? Categorized by each member, here are 12 YA books for Marauders fans and fans of the Harry Potter books. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-20 10:35:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams and Greg James are among the children's authors recognised by the Laugh Out Loud Awards, as judge Michael Rosen hails the 12-strong shortlist that will make you "giggle and laugh over and over again". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-18 23:10:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I was about 21, riding a scooter on my way home from work, when I noticed a shadow over my ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-16 10:35:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Audible's push into original content now includes a team-up with a company best-known for its comic books and TV shows. The Amazon-owned audiobook service has struck a deal with Skybound, the team behind The Walking Dead, to create multiple Audible... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-08-13 18:43:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Teachers (HarperCollins) has once again claimed the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 16,713 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-13 17:45:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I was a passionate Harry Potter fan as a kid (and teenager…and adult). I obsessed over the plots and characters, ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-13 10:35:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this
French publisher Editions de Fallois has announced that it will publish a collection of novellas and short stories by Marcel Proust, who you might remember from his very long, seven-volume À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time). Smithsonian.com reports: Agence... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-06 19:34:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this