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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Cosy crime, cookbooks and a surprise hit: what we’ve really read in the pandemic"


PS3 gets augmented reality books

Sony unveils a Harry Potter-based book, part-written by JK Rowling, as the first Wonderbook title for its Playstation console. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Alohomora! Free Harry Potter books coming to Kindle

Harry Potter has joined the Kindle lending library.Amazon.com announced Thursday that on June 19, the ebook editions of J.K. Rowling's seven Potter novels will become part of the Kindle service available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Members can download a book for free once a month. Amazon's... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harry Potter comes to Kindle

All the books in the Harry Potter series will arrive in the Kindle lending library – free for Amazon Prime members – on June 19. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Media Decoder Blog: Amazon Program Offers "Harry Potter" Series to Kindle Owners

Members of the Amazon Prime subscription program will be able to read "Harry Potter'' ebooks for free through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, a move intended to encourage consumers to buy Kindle devices. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Barnes & Noble's Nook e-readers getting NFC, says CEO

Now that all of that Microsoft-related news is out in the open, Barnes & Noble's CEO William Lynch is ready to talk about the future. Fortune sat down with him to discuss the deal and what's next for the Nook. The answer to the latter is, at least in part, near-field communication. The exec... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Thank you, JK Rowling

Sometime ago, I pledged to wait on reading the Harry Potter series until it came out as ebooks. I was ready and willing for October's planned debut on Google Books, but that was cancelled last minute. What happened instead mindboggles. In late March, author JK Rowling opened the Pottermore Shop... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2012-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


From Harry Potter to the dark side

JK Rowling's first book for adults will be a "blackly comic" novel set in an idyllic English town where all is not what it seems, her publisher says. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: dispatches from a diehard fan

The Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Fla., more than lived up to its hype for this fan. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Adam Mansbach writes 'Seriously, Just Go to Sleep' for the kids

Adam Mansbach's 'Go the F— to Sleep' was fun for adults. 'Seriously, Just Go to Sleep' lets the kids in on the joke. And now he has projects to keep him awake.A year ago, Adam Mansbach was an award-winning novelist and aspiring screenwriter wrapping up a two-year teaching job at Rutgers... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Star Wars' novels: still on bestseller lists

The newest 'Star Wars' novel, 'Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse,' holds the No. 8 slot on the New York Times bestseller list. Success has become the norm for the books. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Harry Potter' ebooks go on sale on Pottermore

The "Harry Potter" series, which has conquered mediums from books to movies, is finally available in ebook format. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Studios gorge on young-adult fiction amid success of 'Hunger Games'

The literary genre is white-hot in Hollywood, with filmmakers bidding on unpublished books and paying as much as $1 million for the rights to relatively modest sellers.The back-to-back blockbuster successes of "Harry Potter," "Twilight" and now "The Hunger Games" have turned the hunt for fresh... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harry Potter ebooks coming to schools, libraries around the world

Pottermore has partnered with ebook company Overdrive to bring electronic versions of the 'Harry Potter' series to libraries and schools in five languages. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sony offers first Harry Potter book free with new reader

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 08:51 Readers will be able to download the ebook of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for free with the limited edition model of the new Sony Reader. Further details have emerged about the Reader, which is set to go on sale in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Titan buys Harry Potter movie guide

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 18/08/2011 - 15:17 Titan has acquired an accompaniment to the Harry Potter film franchise, which drew to a close this summer with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II”. Harry Potter: Page to Screen: The Complete Film-making Journey will... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harry Potter's Pottermore E-Book Site is Now Open--for Scammers

Scam artists are selling fake early access to the Pottermore Web site or asking for personal data to register an "account." Either way, you're going to be sorry if you interact with them. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this