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 ]
Nikesh Shukla and literary agent Julia Kingsford have launched Kickstarter appeal to fund The Good Journal, with further plans for an affiliated agencyAfter selling more than 50,000 copies and being named the British public’s favourite book of 2016, the success of anthology The Good Immigrant... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As we roll out this month's bestseller lists from China, the country's second-largest e-retailer, JD.com, is holding a competition to engineer book delivery by drones. The post OpenBook’s China Bestseller Lists for August 2017: Delivery Races appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A 52% decline in Scholastic's children’s book publishing group was blamed on the absence of a major bestseller. In fiscal 2017, the publisher's sales were driven by 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' which was released during the first quarter of last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While July sales last year were mightily padded by the release of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' which came out July 31, 2016, July 2017 saw no such blockbuster. Thanks in large part to this, July 2017 sales were down 1.9%, compared to the same time last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The BBC will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter with “rarely seen documents from J K Rowling’s archives, revealing her magical inspirations” in the run up to the British Library’s exhibition next month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marji Ross, president of the conservative press Regnery Publishing, sent a letter to her authors saying the paper "prioritizes liberal-themed books over conservative books." For this reason, the bonus structure in her house's contracts will now rely on a different list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jumping on bandwagons is my least favorite activity. Don't force me to tell you all the must-see movies I've skipped ("Forrest Gump" is all you'll get out of me), the No. 1 best-sellers I've bypassed (I discovered the world of "Harry Potter" only after it became a play) or the platinum records... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Series based on Harry Potter author’s novels written under pseudonym will face ITV’s hit period drama on Sunday nightsThe BBC is banking on JK Rowling’s magic touch in a Sunday night ratings battle between the sumptuous ITV costume drama Victoria and its own thriller, Strike, adapted from crime... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The screenings of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" at Durham Cathedral has broken all of the city’s book festival records with 1,500 tickets selling out in one day. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Scroll.in: Consumers in India are presented, as in other countries with sometimes conflicting bestselling book lists. The post On Bestseller Lists in India: ‘Which One Should You Trust?’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books in the week ended Aug. 6, 2017, were down 17% from the similar week in 2016 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The decline was due entirely to the release last year at this time of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which sold about 2.5 million... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Sphere) has bewitched the UK Official Top 50 for a second week, holding the number one spot with 23,711 copies sold, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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His Dark Materials novelist says today’s steep price cuts devalue authors’ work and cheapen the experience of readingWith more than two months to go before Philip Pullman’s long-awaited new novel from the world of His Dark Materials is published, pre-orders have sent La Belle Sauvage flying up... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As her wizarding world returns to the stage and screen, Rowling’s $95m pushes James Patterson into second place with $87mJK Rowling will need to reserve a particularly large vault at Gringotts bank after a bumper year for the Harry Potter novelist magicked her back to the No 1 spot on Forbes’... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has Wingardium Levoisa’d straight into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comedian and writer David Walliams talks about writing children's books and why he has to pinch himself every day. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joe Wicks has claimed three spots on a ranking of Amazon’s top 10 bestselling print books, in a list dominated by non-fiction and lifestyle titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams has topped the chart of the bestselling authors for the first half of 2017. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran Hollywood executive Jonathan Dolgen, who formerly headed Paramount Pictures, has sold his home in Malibu for $18 million. The buyer was Chris Columbus, director of such films as “Home Alone,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” The English traditional-style home... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first book in the Harry Potter series is set to be translated into Scots for the first time, with "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stane", marking the 80th translation of the publishing phenomenon. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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