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 ]

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PW Picks: Books of the Week, June 25, 2018

This week: the new novel from Emily Giffin, plus why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams claims third number one as Grisham's Rooster crows

David Walliams and Tony Ross’ The World’s Worst Children 3 (HarperCollins) has scored a third straight week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 32,809 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: June 18, 2018

Bill Clinton and James Patterson have the #1 book in the country with 'The President Is Missing' and more in our analysis of this week's bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Worst remains best: second week for Walliams at number one

David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Children 3 (HarperCollins) has held the UK Official Top 50 number one spot for a second week, selling 46,930 copies for £336,714 through Nielsen BookScan, for his 38th overall number one in total. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Band's Visit' and 'Harry Potter' dominate Tony Awards with inspired creativity. Why theater needs more

Revivals redeemed a lackluster Broadway year. But now that the Tony Awards have closed the book on the 2017-18 season, it will be easy for producers and press agents to spin a self-congratulatory narrative. “The Band’s Visit,” as arrestingly original a show as “Hamilton” and “Fun Home,” won the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tony Awards: Races to watch and front-runners to beat

Can "Mean Girls" edge out "The Band's Visit" and "SpongeBob SquarePants"? Will "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" or "Angels in American" take home more trophies? Here's a quick rundown of key contenders from shows with the most nominations. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams’ World’s Worst Children 3 marks hat-trick to series

David Walliams has completed a hat-trick with the third volume of his short story collections, The World’s Worst Children 3 (HarperCollins Children's), scoring the UK Official Top 50 number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookCon 2018: Tomi Adeyemi: What If Harry Potter Had Been Black?

Rooted in West African mythology, Tomi Adeyemi's YA debut is a colossal hit. She talks about activism, Harry Potter, and writerly perseverance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC Children's to publish 'World of David Walliams'

HarperCollins Children's Books is to bring out its first brand extension publishing for kids' favourite David Walliams, with The World of David Walliams: Book of Stuff, illustrated by Tony Ross. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and Tom Kerridge fuel Bloomsbury's record revenue

Publisher hits £161.5m takings, driven by Potter sales and Lose Weight for GoodThe evergreen Harry Potter franchise and the popularity of TV chef Tom Kerridge’s Lose Weight for Good has driven book publisher Bloomsbury’s revenue to the highest level in its 32-year history.Bloomsbury Publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McBride, de Waal and Rooney to write short stories for Faber collection

Eimear McBride, Kit de Waal and Sally Rooney are among the writers from "Ireland's current golden age" who are to feature in an anthology for Faber. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reni Eddo-Lodge polemic tops poll of most influential books by women

Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race beat books by Germaine Greer and Simone de BeauvoirReni Eddo-Lodge’s book Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race has been named the most influential book written by a woman. The 2017 book bested titles including Mary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Smith, Penny and Eddo-Lodge make Orwell Prize longlist

Ali Smith's Winter (Hamish Hamilton), Laurie Penny's Bitch Doctrine (Bloomsbury) and Reni Eddo-Lodge's Jhalak Prize-winning Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race (Bloomsbury) are among the10 titles longlisted for the 2018 Orwell Prize for Political Writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conversations with Authors: Sally Rooney talks to The Bookseller

We spoke to the "Salinger of the Snapchat generation" Sally Rooney, following her shortlisting for the 2018 Dylan Thomas Prize.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atwood and Walliams to headline Hay Festival

Margaret Atwood, David Walliams and Jacqueline Wilson are amongst those headlining the Hay Festival, which is set to respond to the world's “urgent need of empathy”, according to organisers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eddo-Lodge wins 2018 Jhalak Prize

Journalist and author Reni Eddo-Lodge has won the £1,000 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year for her "incisive" non-fiction debut Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Bloomsbury Circus). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Domestic Fiction Leads Slovakia’s Book Market Growth and Bestseller Lists

In its latest market report, Slovakia's publishers' association says the overall book market was worth up to €110 million (US$135.3 million) in 2016. Fiction rose to 27 percent of those sales. The post Domestic Fiction Leads Slovakia’s Book Market Growth and Bestseller Lists appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams to mark 10 years of publishing with special editions

HarperCollins Children’s Books is celebrating a decade of David Walliams’ chart dominance with new editions of his first two novels and two of his “most beloved” titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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January Religion Bestsellers: 'Jesus (Still) Calling'; No One Leaves 'The Shack'

Popular pastors' inspirational advice, devotionals, and novels packed with romance, suspense -- or both -- lead January's bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams helps HarperCollins to second quarter revenue rise

Sales of David Walliams’ Bad Dad helped revenue at HarperCollins grow by $3 million year-on-year in the second quarter to $469 million. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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