Hitting the Books: Summer reading list

More than a million new titles are published annually in the US, far more than even the most bibliophilic secret agent could get through. Even with a weekly publishing schedule, we can only bring you 52 Hitting the Books each year. To help shine a spotlight on all the fantastic stories that can’t be featured in our weekly column, we now bring to you Hitting the Books Quarterly, a semi-semi-annual roundup of books that may not strictly be about tech but we figure you’ll like nonetheless.This edition’s selection runs the gamut from STEM to Sci-Fi including selections from New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi, UC Berkeley Professor of Sociology Carolyn Chen, and journalist Stephen Witt. We hope you enjoy.—Princeton University PressWork Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley by Carolyn ChenSilicon Valley may tout itself as the Emerald City at the end of America’s yellow brick road but one need only pull back the curtain to find the oppressive capitalist machinery hidden behind. In her new book, Work Pray Code, UC Berkeley Professor of Sociology Carolyn Chen examines how an industry already primed to worship the Myth of the Founder has steadily imposed itself upon the religious beliefs and practices of its workers, hawking Buddhist-adjacent “wellness programs” in hopes of them achieving productivity enlightenment. What, you thought the company town wouldn’t include a company church?Penguin Books How Music Got Free: A Story of Obsession and Invention... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-06-22 17:30:23 UTC ]
News tagged with: #john scalzi #bestselling author

Other news stories related to: "Hitting the Books: Summer reading list"


WBN giveaway to be cut to 500,000 books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 15:59 World Book Night in 2012 will see 500,000 rather than 1m books given away, WBN founder Jamie Byng told Book Industry Conference (BIC) delegates this morning, as he also discussed incorporating digital and audio elements... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sticking with Books

As publishers worry about the shrinking number of physical bookstores, Levy Home Entertainment is making the case that mass merchants will be a viable alternative not only to showcase books but to sell them as well. In a presentation at the Book Industry Study Group's May 5 "Making Information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #online bookstores #units sold #viable alternative #mass merchants #physical bookstores #shrinking number #showcase books #publishers worry


Getting the Word Out: Audio Book Marketing 2011

The Audio Publishers Association is set to kick off its 14th annual June Is Audiobook Month campaign, designed to celebrate the industry and bring greater awareness of audiobooks. As formats and consumer habits have changed over the past 10 years—sometimes dramatically—audio publishers have kept... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #consumer habits


Publishers battle for Townshend and Walliams books

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 08:30 The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and "Little Britain" star David Walliams are the latest figures to have memoirs put in front of publishers, as the trade shows no sign of losing its appetite for celebrity autobiographies. Ed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #ed victor #celebrity autobiographies #trade shows #latest figures #publishers battle


Spoof kids' book to Canongate

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 10:47 Canongate has bought a foul-mouthed gift book for exhausted parents, which has been the subject of intense hype in the United States. M.d. Jamie Byng and senior editor Francis Bickmore bought UK and Commonwealth rights,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #akashic books #adam mansbach #jamie byng


Sainsbury's grows book sales 20%

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 08:22 Sainsbury's has singled out book sales as an area of strong growth in its most recent financial year, and has said that it will now devote more new space to "non-food ranges". For the 52 weeks to 19th March 2011, the retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #20% growth #strong growth #book sales


America 'exploring' World Book Night launch

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 15:41 America wants to hold its own World Book Night following in the footsteps of the UK. The American Booksellers Association said it is "exploring" the possibility of replicating "a version" of the event, which saw 20,000 people... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #5th march


Hachette leads the way in Richard and Judy WHS summer picks

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 09:54 Hachette has the lion's share of titles featured in the W H Smith Summer Richard and Judy Book Club list. Five out of the eight books featured in the celebrity couple's high street retailer promotion are from the publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #celebrity couple #books featured #titles featured


Book sales spring back after Royal Wedding week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 15:50 Book sales bounced back after a dire seven days in the week of the Royal Wedding in which physical book sales plummeted to an eight-year low. According to Nielsen BookScan data, spending in the seven days to 7th May was up... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #eight-year low #royal wedding


Shift to digital will hit revenue, says Barnsley

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 09:03 Publishers are unlikely to be able to replace the revenues lost in the shift from print to ebooks unless they can significantly grow volume sales, according to HarperCollins c.e.o. Victoria Barnsley. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #victoria barnsley


Yellow Jersey hat trick at British Sports Book Awards

Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:24 Random House imprint Yellow Jersey Press has scored a hat trick of wins at the British Sports Book Awards, with W H Smith also taking home the best sports book retailer prize. Catrine Clay's Trautmann's Journey won best biography, while Promised Lane by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #rugby book #taking home #hat trick


Book sales "well down" as general retail rises

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:59 Book sales for April were "well down" in a month where general UK retail sales rose by 5.2% on last year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) today (10th May) reported like-for-like sales were up 5.2% in value from April... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #modest boost #book sales


Richard and Judy extend Book Club with W H Smith

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 16:38 W H Smith has signed an exclusive deal to extend the Richard and Judy Book Club until 2015. The high street retailer has signed a contract with the celebrity couple to personally read and recommend eight fiction titles to WHS... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #fiction titles #celebrity couple #exclusive deal


Nurturer of Authors Is Closing the Book

The editor Robert Loomis, who is retiring from Random House after 54 years, is known for nurturing writers including Maya Angelou, William Styron, Shelby Foote and Calvin Trillin. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #random house


Baddiel kicks off "Blokey Book Club"

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 15:19 BBC Radio 5 Live has launched a “Blokey Book Club” to encourage men to read more fiction. The Men’s Hour show formed the club, which will ask listeners to recommend and comment on their favourite fiction through the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #good read


Rowling and Oliver make ST Rich List

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 08:50 Pearson, Blackwell and Jamie Oliver are a few book trade names to make it onto the Sunday Times Rich List 2011. Vincent Cowdray and the Pearson Family were jointly in at number 64, with the family up £165m on last year’s figure.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #jamie oliver


The Drama Book Shop—Award Winner

And the winner of this year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre is... the Drama Book Shop, an independent New York City bookstore dating to 1917, 30 years older than the Tony Awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #tony awards


Publishers Make a Plan: A ‘One Stop’ Book Site

In starting Bookish.com, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group hope to provide one-stop shopping for books and information about authors. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #simon schuster #publishers make


Random hits 2m ebook sales

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 08:55 Random House has hit the landmark of two million ebooks sold in the UK, with other leading publishers reporting a first quarter “explosion” in digital sales. E-books currently account for 8% of RH's overall sales, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #biggest-selling authors #jo nesb #james patterson #lee child #selling ebooks #digital sales


Media Decoder: Plaintiffs Drop Suit Over Jimmy Carter Book

A $5 million lawsuit against Simon & Schuster over a book by former President Jimmy Carter was dropped by the plaintiffs on Thursday, three months after it was filed. The plaintiffs in the class-action suit had argued that Mr. Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," about the Arab-Israeli... Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #class-action suit #simon schuster #media decoder