Man Booker prize judge Colin Thubron has complained this week that star endorsements bully readers into admiring books, but it’s long been standard practiceSetting cats among pigeons has long been an unofficial part of the contract for judges of the Booker prize. Remember Chris Mullin’s insistence on “zip–along” novels, or, way back in 1992, AN Wilson’s condemnation of the prize itself as “essentially trivial”? This year’s flurry of fur and feathers was provoked by a tirade from Colin Thubron on celebrity endorsements. Some blurbs, said the veteran travel writer, “almost blackmail” readers into feeling that “you’re either intellectually or morally incompetent if you don’t love this book or you’ve failed if you haven’t understood it”. Some people, he felt, “seem to earn their living … saying: ‘This is the most profound book of our generation.’”Starting our Iris Murdoch bookclub with this '69 @PenguinUKBooks edition - you don't find blurbs like this any more! pic.twitter.com/P2XUvgtKAM Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When people ask why I love books, I can't always find the right words. Thankfully, others have done it for me with these book lover quotes. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-24 11:31:00 UTC ]
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We spoke with authors and editors of forthcoming biographies about the importance of narrative nonfiction to educate and empower kids and teens about environmental issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In “Nicky & Vera,” Peter Sís tells the story of Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from Czechoslovakia as World War II loomed. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-27 06:39:32 UTC ]
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“As a graphic designer, we can play a role in standing up for something.” During the protests for racial justice this past summer and over the past few years, Black Lives Matter became a movement and rallying cry, a message of optimism and hope, and a simple statement of affirmation: the lives... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2021-01-19 08:00:06 UTC ]
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Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
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Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
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Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
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Jason Reynolds: two-time National Book Award finalist, TIME 100 Next honoree, and, apparently, real-life angel. Yesterday, for Giving Tuesday, the Look Both Ways and Ghost author let us know via Twitter that he’d bought the entire inventory of his books from local bookstores across DC, so... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-03 18:19:56 UTC ]
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The virtual membership meeting of the Midwest Indepdendent Booksellers Association was a celebration of the regional booksellers' resiliency during a challenging year, as well as an homage to Moon Palace Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Our commenters had some thoughtful responses to a story about novels that ended in disappointing ways. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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As in life, saying goodbye is not easy for storytellers. Parting can be such sweet sorrow or such putrid disappointment. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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If you thought the landscape of classic SFF was exclusively male, peep these science fiction and fantasy stories by women, including Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-10-14 10:37:00 UTC ]
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What do actual readers think about the books which land on the New York Times Bestseller List? A new study finds out. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-10-09 10:33:00 UTC ]
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Brit Bennett, Dara McAnulty, Kiley Reid and Rutger Bregman are among the authors shortlisted by booksellers for this year's Books Are My Bag Readers Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-30 00:27:03 UTC ]
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IN HONOR of Banned Books Week, LARB’s editors have compiled a brief anthology of essays on works of literature that were — and, in some cases, still are — officially unavailable to large groups of readers around the world, as well as interviews with authors who have faced censorship. In this... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-09-27 12:30:06 UTC ]
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Two years into its work, the book program for children devised by the United Nations and IPA gets a lusophone wing. The post SDG Book Club for Young Readers: A Portuguese-Language Expansion appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-23 13:02:41 UTC ]
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Do you join book clubs only to find you're unable to get into the activity? Here's one reader on how distraction thwarts book club attempts. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-02 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Edinburgh International Book Festival director Nick Barley has said this year's event has "generated its own sense of community", despite being entirely online for the first time. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-31 15:56:44 UTC ]
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Harnessing the power of extremely famous people to sell books is nothing new, but what about combining the influence of multiple famous people—from billionaire “philanthropist” Richard Branson to beloved journalist/Twitter lush Susan Orlean—to sell books combined with the vaporous concept of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-19 14:44:04 UTC ]
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Chris Bohjalian, Mary Kay Andrews and other novelists have turned to Zoom and Facebook Live to find their audience. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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