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 ]
Washington D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library reopens with an impressive new exhibit, audiobook narrators get their due, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-24 15:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify has a new plan for US subscribers that keeps you on the old $11 monthly pricing — as long as you don’t mind ditching audiobooks. The new Basic tier includes the music and podcast content you get from Premium but without 15 hours of audiobook access, a recently added feature we suspect... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-21 18:36:40 UTC ]
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Golden Voice narrator Kate Reading joins host Jo Reed to discuss her career in audiobook narration. Her experience with audiobooks began with her first job at the Library of Congress’s Talking Books program, which gave her an education in audiobook narration. In their conversation, Jo and Kate... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-21 08:01:04 UTC ]
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This week has felt like a month worth of news, now that we've wrapped up Apple's WWDC 2024 and Summer Game Fest in LA. In this episode, Cherlynn and Devindra discuss their final thoughts on Apple Intelligence and the company's upcoming software, and they chat about some of our coverage... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-14 11:30:57 UTC ]
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Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint,... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]
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A survey from BookNet Canada found that 58% of audiobook listeners in the country obtained their books from free sources, such as the library or YouTube, while 62% of e-book readers and 51% of print book readers found free sources for their reading material. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Hogwarts sports game Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions now has a release date. The multiplayer title, announced last year, will arrive on PC and consoles on September 3. The game, a companion to last year’s Hogwarts Legacy, is “a complete, standalone Quidditch experience” that “engages... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-07 21:29:33 UTC ]
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The newly released 2024 APA consumer survey shows a rise in US audiobook revenues, 63 percent saying they use a subscription. The post Audio Publishers Association Survey: 9-Percent Growth appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-06-03 13:01:03 UTC ]
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'AudioFile' has named the three winners of its annual Golden Voice awards, which honors voice actors who have made significant contributions to audiobook publishing. The recipients are Dominic Hoffman, Robert Petkoff, and Kate Reading. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As part of its efforts to force Spotify to be more transparent about how it pays authors, the Coalition of Concerned Creators commissioned a survey to discover how audiobook listeners felt about the service. It found mixed results. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The audiobook market in the United States is steadily growing, the Audio Publishers Association reports, with revenue increasing by 9% to $2 billion in 2023 and 38% of American adults having listened to an audiobook in the last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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China's April bestseller lists are starting to include more mental-health content for young readers, looking at 'insensitive force' and expressiveness. The post China Bestsellers in April: ‘Insensitive Force’ and Expression appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-05-31 11:44:56 UTC ]
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Audiobooks continue to be a major bright spot for the industry. According to Audio Publishers Association, in 2022 alone, publishers’ audiobook revenue grew a whopping 10% to $1.8 billion. Here, PW takes a look at the publishers, platforms, and production companies bringing you the best in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This morning, FSG revealed the US cover for Sally Rooney’s forthcoming novel, Intermezzo, which be published on September 24. It brings back that trademark Rooney yellow (c. Conversations with Friends) updated with some mature gray and an old-school Big Book font, which makes it look like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-22 12:25:46 UTC ]
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The world’s most popular streaming service has expanded into audiobooks, with a suite of services to offer publishers, authors, and agents and with a listening base hungry for audiobook content. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ahead of the UK festival season, more than 200 authors—including Naomi Klein, Sally Rooney, Natalie Diaz, and Robert MacFarlane—have signed a statement by Fossil Free Books (FFB) which puts increased pressure on investment management firm Baillie Gifford, sponsors of the Baillie Gifford Prize... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-15 18:45:43 UTC ]
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Welcome to the shiny new version of Best of Book Riot! Who doesn’t love a glow-up? 💔 Nobel Prize-winning author ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-15 15:31:13 UTC ]
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How many of these free audiobook sources have you tried, and which ones are your favorite? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-15 10:00:00 UTC ]
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When is a book not a book? When it is performed by a starry cast of hundreds. Except it has always been more complicated than thatNews this week of a 17% hike in the UK’s audiobook sales might seem like a niche business story, but it raises an existential question. What exactly is an audiobook... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-10 17:25:03 UTC ]
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HarperCollins eked out only a small profit in its latest quarter, with a 14% increase in digital audiobook sales insufficient in offsetting softer sales to Walmart and Costco and slowing sales of romance books and children's books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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