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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Apple E-Book Lawsuit: Steve Jobs Swayed Publisher, Complaint Alleges

The complaint says that Jobs was enlisted to sell high-ranking officials in the publisher’s parent company on the wisdom of the proposed pricing scheme. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'At Home on the Range' by Margaret Yardley Potter

The cookbook has been republished after an initial run in 1947, and her great-granddaughter Elizabeth Gilbert ('Eat Pray Love') reintroduces Potter in the forward. The cookbook is insightful and funny, weaving together practical advice and recipes.At Home on the Range Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: Peter Beinart's 'The Crisis of Zionism' sounds call

The author wants American Jews to force changes in Israeli policy to protect the democratic legacy of Labor Zionism. He also explains why that's unlikely to happen.Nearly all the considerable attention generated by Peter Beinart's "The Crisis of Zionism" has focused on its final 81/2 pages.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two for Cape on Ondaatje shortlist

Jonathan Cape has two authors on the shortlist of the £1,000 Royal Society of Literature... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Unintended Consequences' by Edward Conrad: already 'the most hated book of the year'?

'Unintended Consequences' by former Bain Capital managing director Edward Conard argues that economic inequality is a good thing rather than a problem. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: A father and son find common ground in 'Along the Way'

Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez examine the nature of their relationship and the ways it's shaped their lives in their loving, candid new memoir.Martin Sheen was a struggling 21-year-old stage actor when his first son Emilio was born. Sheen, seventh of 10 children in a family that knew him as... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: “Not Extinct Yet”

If you’re more than 50 years old, you will either think this story was coincidentally familiar to your own unpredictable publishing odyssey, or immediately upon finishing “Not Extinct Yet,” you’re going to call ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pilot for Pinter's academic 'crisis' solution set for 2013

Publishing entrepreneur Frances Pinter is planning a 2013 pilot for the project she bills as a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Original' Caine Prize shortlist revealed

The shortlist for the £10,000 Caine Prize includes stories by authors from Nigeria, Kenya,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: Frank Deford goes deep, as usual

In 'My Life as a Sportswriter,' the Sports Illustrated writer reminisces on his time chronicling the offbeat and the mainstream in sports.A bio on NPR's website of its commentator Frank Deford notes that the magazine GQ christened him, quite simply, "the world's greatest sportswriter." (Is he?)... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two for Bodley Head on Branford Boase shortlist

Two titles from Random House Children's Publishing imprint Bodley Head have made the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Steve Jobs' and 'The Help' dominate reading lists in many American cities

Data gathered by Nielsen BookScan for The Daily Beast show many of the same titles are popular in American cities – but exceptions include 'Heaven Is For Real' and 'The Great Gatsby.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wm Heinemann snaps up Paris Review anthology

William Heinemann has acquired an anthology of 21 stories originally published in literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson Sales Rise But Sees Lower Half-Year Profit

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Pearson PLC (PSON.LN), the publisher of the Financial Times newspaper and Penguin books, Friday produced a healthy rise in first-quarter revenue, but warned profit will be down in the first half of 2012 due to seasonal effects an ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Watson on CrimeFest Awards shortlist

S J Watson has received his second prize nod in a week, appearing on the shortlists for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oneworld's Edwards shortlisted for Commonwealth Book Prize

Man Booker-longlisted novel A Cupboard Full of Coats by Yvette Edwards, published by small... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S takes two on Melissa Nathan shortlist

Two titles from Simon & Schuster have made the shortlist for the Melissa Nathan Award for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlist for Kim Scott Walwyn Prize revealed

Editors and marketing and publicity managers from Little, Brown, Random House and  indies,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three for Bloomsbury on Orange shortlist

Bloomsbury has three titles on this year’s Orange Prize shortlist, while novels published... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed

A journey across the Pacific Crest Trail turns into an exercise of triumph over grief for Cheryl Strayed in her memoir, 'Wild.'Toward the end of Cheryl Strayed's memoir, "Wild," the author, who is in the middle of hiking 1,100 miles alone across the West Coast's formidable Pacific Crest Trail,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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