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 ]
'Bibliography,' which will be released in the US in April, includes details about alternate titles considered and also tells readers which 'Harry Potter' book Rowling got 'sick' of reading after many edits. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'Tidying Up,' which gives readers a one-time solution to de-cluttering their home, has been a mainstay on bestseller lists since its publication. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'Tidying Up,' which gives readers a one-time solution to de-cluttering their home, has been a mainstay on bestseller lists since its publication. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Books by Sophie McKenzie, David Walliams and Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers were today (21st February) announced as winners at the Red House Children’s Book Award 2015. Walliams’ Demon Dentist (HarperCollins Children’s Books) won the Books for Young Feaders category, while Split Second by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'ABLES' is appearing on Barnes & Noble and Amazon bestseller lists already but isn't being published until May. It follows teenager Phillip, who attends a school for those with special powers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After becoming one of the press' s biggest sellers to date, Andrew Maraniss’s 'Strong Inside' has become the first title from the press to hit two 'New York Times' bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
To celebrate Harry Potter Book Night we have a mesmerising insight into how Jonny Duddle created new Harry Potter covers for JK Rowling’s beloved series. So feast your eyes and enjoy these process animationsPlus win a complete set of the newly illustrated Harry Potter books in hardback – find... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'Light' came out months ago but is holding its own on bestseller lists among newer releases such as 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bloomsbury has launched a competition for schools to win a workshop with Harry Potter jacket illustrator Jonny Duddle as part of Harry Potter Book Night, which will take place on the 5th February. To win the workshop, pupils must design a new "chocolate frog" card. The cards, which feature... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If you're the sort of Harry Potter fan who can't help but read the series again and again, Oyster has a treat in store. The all-you-can-read subscription service has teamed up with Pottermore to carry all of the Harry Potter books, including the Hogw... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams will mark World Book Day (5th March) by touring the UK’s primary schools in a helicopter. Primary schools can compete to take part in the #WalliamsWhirlwind tour by registering on the author’s website, explaining in fifty words why they should receive a visit. The competition is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Novel, which imagines a world where Muslim fundamentalists rule France, sells 120,000 copies in five days to top country’s book chartsRead the Guardian’s review of SoumissionMichel Houellebecq’s controversial new novel Soumission, in which France is governed by the “Muslim Fraternity” party,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Michel Houllebecq’s latest novel Soumission (Submission) has gone straight to number one in France's bestseller lists, selling 120,000 copies in the week of 5th to 11th January. The novel, set in 2022 and featuring France with a Muslim president, leads the Top 20 GfK/ Livres Hebdo book sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Artist Jim Kay is doing the artwork for the new version of the first book of the 'Harry Potter' series, which will be released this October. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishers Scholastic and Bloomsbury are re-releasing the series with full-color illustrations.Between author J.K. Rowling's fan hub experience Pottermore and a slew of fans bringing elements of Harry Potter's world to life (Marauder's Map, a seven-book saga in one), the boy who lived lives on,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Led by hits from David Walliams, Jeff Kinney and Egmont’s Minecraft stable, the UK children’s market hit an all-time high in revenue and market share in 2014, and exceeded sales of Adult Fiction for the first time since accurate records began. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Books for children and young adults are top of the league, bagging seven of this year’s top 10, but non-fiction has endured another annus horribilisSee the chart in fullAt long last, kids ruled in 2014. Books aimed at them have often figured in the top 10 of the all-year sales chart for printed... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Girls are quick to romanticise anti-heroes, says Harry Potter author, as she shares her vision for the future of the boy wizard’s school enemyJK Rowling says that “girls are very apt to romanticise” the antihero, and reveals that she had been forced to pour “cold common sense” on the startling... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The character 'is the only one I feel guilty about,' the author recently wrote in an essay detailing how she plotted her seven-part series and how a story change made this character's death necessary. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this