Hatchet Job of the Year shortlist - 2013's most negative reviews in quotes

Tasters of the reviews competing for the annual prize that recognises 'the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past 12 months'News: Hatchet Job of the Year award draws and quarters shortlistCraig Brown on Distant Intimacy: A Friendship in the Age of the Internet by Frederic Raphael and Joseph Epstein in the Daily Mail"A few years ago Raphael emailed Epstein with the suggestion that 'there might be some fun, not to mention $$$' in emailing each other for a year, then publishing the results. And so they get going, each of them dutifully delivering between 1,500 to 1,800 words a week, every week for a year. The first thing to be said about their exchanges is how extraordinarily unpleasant they are [...] Anyone unfamiliar with the literary world will, I think, be astonished at the ease with which these grand old men of letters turn into queeny old hairdressers, furiously bitching about their younger, prettier or more highly regarded rivals.Rachel Cooke on Strictly Ann: The Autobiography by Ann Widdecombe in the Observer"When Ann Widdecombe appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, the judges were not complimentary, describing her variously as "a dancing hippo", "a Dalek in drag" and "the Ark Royal". [...] Is Widdecombe's writing any better than her dancing? No. About the best you can say for her prose is that it is accurate. Her grammar is fine – Ann is a stickler for grammar – and her anecdotes make sense in that they have a beginning, a middle and an end.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #paul theroux

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WHS sees sales drop but 'confident' for next year

W H Smith has reported a like-for-like sales decrease of 3% across the group in the last quarter... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six-year Google Books spat ends

Google has struck a deal to digitise French books, ending a six-year legal battle. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2012-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: Finding oneself in 'Elsewhere, California'

Dana Johnson's first novel explores the space between reinvention and ruin through the eyes of the child of African Americans who migrated from the South to L.A.Elsewhere, California Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Burtenshaw: 'no LBF price model changes in 2013'

Reed Exhibitions, organiser of the London Book Fair, is not anticipating changing the traditional... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Behind Technology Review’s Digital-First Strategy

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[ Folio Magazine | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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MIT's 'Technology Review' Launches Digital First Initative

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[ AdWeek | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'People Who Eat Darkness' is a masterful true crime tale

British journalist Richard Lloyd Parry skillfully goes beyond the headlines in the 2000 disappearance of fellow Brit Lucie Blackman in Tokyo. It is a dark, unforgettable ride.People Who Eat Darkness Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jobs and Twitter exposés for Sceptre

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales slump to nine-year low

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BMS shortlists for Best Marketing Campaign

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: 'When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man' a strong debut

'When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man' is the first novel from Nick Dybek, son Stuart Dybek, and centers on a threat to a fishing community's way of life.The title of Nick Dybek's debut novel, "When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man," hints at transitions to come, and the phrase "was still"... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2011 a 'transition' year for Quercus

Sales and profit at Quercus dropped 22% in 2011 but the company grew sales of its non-Stieg... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines offloads Coast and Psychologies after seven years

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[ Media Week | 2012-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crimefest award-winners, CWA shortlists announced

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookbuzz titles target year sevens

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'Bring Up the Bodies' is a compelling re-creation

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: 'The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat' by Thomas McNamee

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Five Puffin titles on IBW Book Awards shortlists

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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