A charming French novel about an old-school publisher trying to get to grips with the digital ageAt more than one point in this novel I found myself asking: could this be any more French? Early on we meet a character described thus: “She used to be incredibly good-looking and now at thirtysomething she is creditably handsome.” Sorry? What the narrator, an ageing male publisher, looks like, or how creditably or uncreditably good-looking he is, we don’t find out. Another woman leaves the room “in a wiggle of buttock” – I dropped my annotating pencil when I read that line. “Artichokes require a degree of elegance” – there’s another drop of essence of Gallic for you.But there is more to Dear Reader, and what kept me going was that one of the subjects exercising our narrator is the issue of electronic readers – Kindles or, as our hero Robert Dubois has it, the “dear reader” of the title. This book is an elegy for a dying world: that of the printed book and, that death’s darker corollary, the reader who is still interested in, or has the attention span for, the long-form narrative. (I always thought these things were arranged better in France, with no Net Book Agreement and tax breaks for bookshops, but apparently not.) In the world of Dear Reader, there has been a general collapse of cultural understanding: the interns point out to Dubois the remarkable coincidence that the publishing house they have landed in has the same name as him. Meanwhile, Dubois cannot quite get to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A small decline in print book sales last week came despite a 6.7% increase in adult fiction sales and a strong showing for 'The Courage to Be Free' by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, which was the top-selling book for the week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Raja Shehadeh’s highly personal memoir probes a relationship that might have been. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-03-02 10:00:15 UTC ]
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Though the adult fiction segment was the only category to post a sales increase over 2022 last week, its 12% gain was enough to increase total sales of print books by 0.6%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The scientific committee's deliberations precede the Sheikh Zayed Book Award's upcoming 17th-edition shortlist announcements. The post Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Scientific Committee Reviews Recommendations appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-02-28 16:29:46 UTC ]
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Andy Hunter, Bookshop.org CEO, told 'PW' that the online retailer is developing an e-book platform for indie bookstores from scratch, and will launch it in beta late this year. In addition, the company is publishing its first book, a collection by Lydia Davis, who did not want her book available... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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With few new titles gaining traction, unit sales of print books slipped 0.8% last week compared to 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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"I hope you like calendars that you never understand" and "Dull soup": can you match the sci-fi novel to its 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-02-21 11:37:00 UTC ]
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With sales falling in all but the adult fiction category, unit sales of print books had their worst week in 2023, falling 8.8% last week from a year ago. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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“The Applicant,” a debut novel by Nazli Koca, features a worldly-wise 20-something Turkish writer who works as a cleaner at a Berlin hostel while struggling to figure out what kind of life she wants to lead. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-14 10:00:12 UTC ]
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In her memoir “The Critic’s Daughter,” Priscilla Gilman recounts her life with intensely intellectual — and very different — parents. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-13 10:00:09 UTC ]
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Geetanjali Shree’s prizewinning novel “Tomb of Sand” pushed the boundaries of experimental writing in Hindi and spotlighted the wealth of Indian literature in languages other than English. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-11 10:00:17 UTC ]
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Yesterday morning, The Washington Post’s Ron Charles published a summary of “what readers hate most in books“—the result, Charles tells us, of asking the readers of the Post’s Book Club newsletter to write in with their pet peeves. “The responses were a tsunami of bile,” Charles writes.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-09 16:26:13 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books fell 2.1% last week from the comparable week in 2022. Declines in the juvenile categories and a dip in sales in adult nonfiction offset a 3.5% increase in adult fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In his memoir “Holding Fire,” Bryce Andrews confronts the violence and guilt of past generations. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-07 10:00:30 UTC ]
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A debut novel from Kira Yarmysh, a longtime critic of Vladimir Putin, offers an intimate look at political imprisonment. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-06 10:00:09 UTC ]
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“Essex Dogs,” the first novel in a projected trilogy by the historian Dan Jones, imagines a hard-bitten band of mercenaries hired to invade France on behalf of their English king. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-03 10:00:06 UTC ]
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With sales of Prince Harry’s 'Spare' slowing, unit sales of print books fell 4.2% last week compared to the week ended January 29, 2022 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The decline put an end to a two-week sales rally spurred by 'Spare.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Her second memoir — about her small-town coming-of-age, her multiple traumas and Hollywood escapades — is an attempt to set the record straight. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-01-27 10:00:07 UTC ]
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Prince Harry's 'Spare' sold more than 195,000 copies in its second week on sale, helping to lift print book sales 1.2% last week over 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-25 05:00:00 UTC ]
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John Hendrickson's memoir “Life on Delay” recounts his experience with this poorly understood neurological disorder, tracing an arc from frustration and isolation to acceptance and community. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-01-18 10:00:22 UTC ]
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