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 ]
Scholastic will this autumn publish a new picture book by the creators of The Wonky Donkey, which hit the bestseller lists after a video of a Scottish grandmother reading the book went viral. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A rare first edition of a "Harry Potter" book featuring a misspelled title fetched about $90,000 at an auction last week, the Independent reported Friday. The copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (published in the U.S. as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"), the first book in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Movie-driven science fiction tops China's bestseller lists in February, and we have news on the fast rise of 'paid-for content' in China. The post China Bestsellers for February: ‘Paid-For Content’ in the Chinese Market appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Managing director says book chain ‘simply not profitable enough’, as Sally Rooney, Val McDermid and other authors write to protestMore than 1,300 writers including Kerry Hudson, David Nicholls, Sally Rooney, Michael Rosen and Val McDermid have backed a campaign for Waterstones booksellers to be... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All eight shortlists for the British Book Awards Books of the Year have been announced, with a strong focus on international writers including Michelle Obama, Michael Wolff, Sally Rooney and Leila Slimani. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney and Anna Burns have made the longlist for this year's Rathbones Folio Prize with 20 writers competing for the £30,000 prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Kinney’s £1 World Book Day title Diary of Greg Heffley’s Best Friend (Puffin) has swiped the UK Official Top 50 number one spot from David Walliams’ Fing (HarperCollins), shifting 72,782 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Exposés of the Trump White House have led the boom, but readers have also been turning to theoretical work from authors including Marx and OrwellWhether it boils down to a desperation to understand the intricacies of Theresa May’s backstop or a longing for reason in these troubled times, sales... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams’ Fing (HarperCollins) has claimed the UK Official Top 50 number one for a second week, selling 76,340 copies in its first full week on sale through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams' Fing (HarperCollins), illustrated by Tony Ross, has barrelled into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot in its first three days on sale, selling 75,862 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An official behind-the-scenes book of the record-breaking play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two" will be published by Little, Brown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaigns for titles by Sally Rooney, The Secret Barrister and Michelle Obama were among the winners at the Publisher’s Publicity Circle Annual Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jojo Moyes’ Still Me (Penguin) has soared into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, scoring the highest number one single-week volume since Joe Wicks’ Veggie Lean in 15 (Bluebird) in the first week of 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After successful collections for Harry Potter, Looney Tunes and Trolls, winter has come to the Danielle Nicole brand. Founder and Ellicott City native Danielle DiFerdinando has joined forces with HBO for GOT X DN, a collection inspired by the book and TV series “Game of Thrones.” In hues of red,... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams’ next publication, a funny story entitled Fing, "dovetails seamlessly" with his short stories and middle-grade novels, according to his publisher HarperCollins Children’s Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British book buyers awoke in January from their collective holiday hangover/food coma and embraced "New Year, New You" tightly, with 12 titles in last week's UK Official Top 50 in the healthy eating, fitness and personal development space, led by Joe Wicks' latest chart-topper. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While Gail Honeyman is completely fine, where have all the female writers gone? John Dugdale takes a look at 2018’s biggest books and the year’s trendsRead Alex Clark’s look at 2018: the year the books world opened upThere are two contrasting strategies for achieving a mega-seller, as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney’s Normal People is the critics’ choice for book of the year, with eight publications including it in their end-of-year reviews. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michelle Obama’s Becoming (Viking) has leapfrogged The Ice Monster (HarperCollins) by David Walliams and Tony Ross to swipe the UK Official Top 50 number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams has called for better access to reading and for libraries to be safeguarded, revealing he would introduce new laws on children’s literacy if he were prime minister. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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