Last week, Ruth Rendell claimed that reading novels is a dying art. Sadly, she might have a pointNo one can say precisely why John Williams's novel Stoner has become a bestseller almost 50 years after its first publication. After all, plenty of books, "forgotten" or otherwise, are recommended by word of mouth and yet most will not go on to sell more than a few hundred copies. And it's hard to know in what ways, if any, its story – a young man falls in love with literature and thus a new world is revealed to him – might have touched people. Many of those who rushed to buy it will not yet have got around to opening it and some will never read it. Stoner will languish on their shelves, its spine unbroken, just like Jung Chang's Wild Swans, the non-fiction hit of 1992.But still, it has given us something to think about, this dusting down of so plangent and substantial a novel. On Radio 4 last week, Ruth Rendell, the novelist and Labour peer, suggested that Stoner is a book for our times, her argument being that we live in an age when reading is for most an alien pastime, just as it is to William Stoner until he has an epiphany. (Asked to elucidate a poem by a professor, he is unable to say anything except: "It means... it means..." and yet, in this moment, everything changes; the verse, whether he understands it or not, has touched him on some powerfully deep level.) "We are told that it isn't happening," said Rendell. "But it is. Reading is no longer something that everybody... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
How the two-year-old trade magazine assumed a leadership role in one of America's fastest growing industries. The post At mg Magazine, a Former AVN Exec Looks to Light Up the Cannabis World appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#leadership role
Cornerstone imprint William Heinemann is publishing a collection of short stories from actor Tom Hanks, anticipated to be a "major publishing event" for PRH this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#william heinemann
#short stories
Tinte & Feder is Amazon Publishing's second German-language imprint, and is to focus on contemporary and historical fiction. First titles out March 7. The post Amazon Publishing’s Newest Imprint Makes Its Debut in Germany appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#germany appeared
#amazon publishing
#historical fiction
Media outlets published video of cyclist responding to catcallers without checking its authenticity. The race for clicks is undermining claims people should trust the newsEven as the media continues to take Facebook to task over its fake news problem, many parts of the news business are doing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fake news
#news business
#tuesday evening
World Book Day is introducing a raft of new projects to mark its 20th anniversary on Thursday 2nd March. Booksellers are also gearing up to celebrate the anniversary with a flurry of activity. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#20th anniversary
Librarians are standing up to Trump, and they want the American Library Association to follow suit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#follow suit
Howard Cunnell's Fathers & Sons is a memoir about a search for identity and what it is to be a man that packs a punch that belies its brevity and, despite taking us to dark places, it’s a book about all kinds of love. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#howard cunnell
#dark places
It’s the news that some might think makes perfect sense: “American Horror Story” will tackle the 2016 presidential election. During an appearance on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live!” Wednesday night, “AHS” co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed that the next season of the popular FX horror anthology... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#wednesday night
Book Aid International has teamed up with 20 stars of the children’s book world to celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Book Day (WBD). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#top authors
#book world
#20th anniversary
A set of books have been written to teach children about the Treaty of Waitangi. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2017-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book series
#teach children
Irish writer Lisa McInerney has been longlisted for the £30,000 2017 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Picador has acquired a debut novel, Fire Sermon, and story collection, I Want to Show You More, from US writer Jamie Quatro Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#story collection
Transworld is publishing Dare to Dream, a book by Izzy Judd, wife of McFly drummer Harry Judd, telling the personal story of the couple's difficult time trying for a baby and turning to IVF. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#personal story
#difficult time
Oxford-based Christian publisher Lion Hudson has made almost two thirds of its staff redundant and submitted a notice of intent to appoint administrators. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
With new attention to diversity issues, Scholastic's sixth biennial survey adds an Australian edition, and looks extensively on reading aloud at home. The post Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report: Insights From the US, UK, India and Australia appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#post scholastic
#australia appeared
#diversity issues
#reading aloud
A new Game of Thrones story focusing on the family history of the Targaryens is to be published this autumn in the US. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#family history
Now that Ted Chiang is super hot, let's read some of his short fiction for the month of February. The post WIRED Book Club: Loved Arrival? Check Out Ted Chiang's 'Story of Your Life' appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ted chiang
#short fiction
Spain's Elisa Yuste talks us through leading concepts and directions in apps for kids and young adults in the coming year, including more apps for 'Android kids.' The post Top 10 Trends in Reading and Book Apps for Children appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book apps
#children appeared
#young adults
#coming year
The ascent of Donald Trump has proved Neil Postman’s argument in Amusing Ourselves to Death was right. Here’s what we can do about itOver the last year, as the presidential campaign grew increasingly bizarre and Donald Trump took us places we had never been before, I saw a spike in media... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#late father
#decades ago
#fake news
For the first time in the nearly 25-year history of the PW Bookstore of the Year Awards, a children’s only bookstore, Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis, was named one of five finalists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#year awards
#pw bookstore
#25-year history
#wild rumpus