Do celebrity book blurbs 'blackmail' readers?

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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Religion and Spirituality Books Preview: June 2016

A myth-busting book on angels, the latest from bestselling author Marianne Williamson, and a collection of writings on the Charleston church shooting in 2015 are some of the big religion and spirituality books publishing in June. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Different Books About Shame Titled ‘Unashamed’ Are Publishing This Spring

Shame is a hot topic in the religion and spirituality world, and three new books share not only the subject, but their titles, as well. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Book Tokens get personalised

National Book Tokens (NBT) has launched personalised gift cards in a bid to increase the popularity of giving book tokens as presents. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book on corruption in Russia wins £10k Ondaatje Prize

A book about the “exposure of greed and corruption in modern Russia” by Peter Pomerantsev has won the £10,000 RSL Ondaatje Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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International Hot Book Properties, Week of May 23, 2016

A Finnish crime series just nominated for a literary prize continues to sell around the globe, and a French novel about a translator draws interest. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Inaugural Little Free Library Fest Celebrates Reading, Community

On Saturday, which also happened to be National Readathon Day, the Minneapolis nonprofit Little Free Library hosted its first-ever Little Free Library Festival, featuring book swaps and the building of 100 little free libraries. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Ad Influence Remains Strong Among Regional Magazine Readers

Readership insights and annual award winners from the CRMA's annual conference in Denver. The post Print Ad Influence Remains Strong Among Regional Magazine Readers appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crossan scoops Ireland's Children's Book of the Year Award

Carnegie Medal and YA Book Prize-shortlisted author Sarah Crossan has won the 26th CBI Book of the Year Award - making her the fourth author ever to win both the Book of the Year Award and the Children’s Choice award with her title One (Bloomsbury Childrens). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Job in 5; Anna Cunnane, Export sales manager, Kyle Books

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Israeli-Palestinian conflict title wins Best Photography Book prize

Fazal Sheikh has won the Kraszna-Krausz Best Photography Book of the Year award for The Erasure Trilogy (Steidl). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CBBC to celebrate 'Awesome Authors' in live event

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Sues S&S Over E-book Royalties

Author Sheldon Blau has filed a class action suit alleging that the publisher is paying improper royalty rates on digital sales. But S&S says they have never published a digital edition of Blau's title. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adult colouring books 'could be taxed'

Adult colouring books could be subject to VAT under new plans being considered by the government. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld signs 'queen of the killer twist' Cohen for three new books

Transworld has struck a new three-book deal for six figures with psychological crime author Tammy Cohen. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Albion's Glorious Ile, the 400-year-old colouring book – in pictures

In the early 17th-century, cartographer William Hole illustrated strange, anthropomorphised maps of England and Wales, left uncoloured for nobles to fill in. Soon to be republished by Unicorn Press in Albion’s Glorious Ile, Hole’s maps are regarded as one of the earliest known examples of a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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17th-century adult colouring-in book ready for modern hues

Albion’s Glorious Ile, a magical poem engraved to hymn ‘the pleasures infinite’ of England and Wales, republished for 21st century Gallery: Albion’s Glorious Ile, the 400-year-old colouring bookAdults finding time for colouring-in books might seem a modern fad, part of the fashion for all things... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of May 23, 2016

WNYC host Manoush Zomorodi sells a book about “spacing out,” Mindy McGinnis closes a two-book deal at Katherine Tegen Books, and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebrating the Accomplishments of Female Magazine-Media Pros

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[ Folio Magazine | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We Heard You Like Books Scores with First Title

The L.A.-based indie has already gone to press twice with the novel 'I Hate the Internet,' after it received a sales boost from a 'New York Times' review. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leia Gets Her Badassery Back in the New Star Wars Book

In Claudia Gray's new novel, Bloodline, Princess Leia—sorry, Senator Organa—fights to keep the Senate from crumbling (again). The post Leia Gets Her Badassery Back in the New Star Wars Book appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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