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 ]
Forty-five US states have adopted the Common Core, a set of standards that spell out what US public school students learn in each grade, from kindergarten to graduation. How would you match up? Test yourself on everything from Dickens to Dirda to see how familiar you are with the novels, poems,... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo removed self-published pornographic titles from their sites and Kobo stopped sales of self-published titles altogether. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Researchers from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) spoke with online editors and community managers at 104 news organizations from 63 countries to help assemble a report written by Emma Goodman about what works and wh ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It was just more than a year ago that Ev Williams and Biz Stone created the publishing platform Medium. The Internet officially met the site in August 2012, and since then, Medium’s popularity has grown enough for even the most ske ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In much of the INMA network worldwide, the focus is on big news brands producing life-changing, business-building journalism that transforms democracies and speaks truth to power. Yet among the other 99% of news publishers worldwide, the challeng ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profile is to republish a short story by Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If there a theme emerged from the deal-making at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, it was the dominance of HarperCollins as a buyer of big books, and of William Morris Endeavor as the seller of those books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While digital distribution has roiled the newspaper, book publishing and music industries, a different story may be playing out in the world of comic books. Continue reading at Knowledge@Wharton
[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At an opening session at last year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, U.K. Publishers Association CEO Richard Mollet remarked that digital publishing was no longer in its infancy, but in the “voting and drinking stages of early adulthood.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Hall has won the £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award with her story "Mrs Fox... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The content on Scribd, the San–Francisco based startup that aims to create the digital library of the future, is available on a range of devices, from laptops to smartphones to tablets. But CEO Trip Adler tells Fast Company we won't be reading e–books in our hands in the future––they'll be... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart dominated headlines a decade ago. Now 25, Smart tells of her experiences in "My Story," a memoir published this week by St. Martin's.The disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart dominated headlines a decade ago. Now 25, Smart tells of her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following recent attacks on press freedom in the United States, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has called on all governments to recognise that freedom of the press is ess ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Book Awards in recent years has been working to raise its profile and increase books' cultural impact. Now it's taking another step toward extending its reach. The National Book Foundation, which administers the prizes, will announce Monday that the 2013 awards ceremony and benefit... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A recent study done by New York's New School for Social Research found that, after reading literary fiction, participants displayed more social perception and empathy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chain bookstores, indie locations, schools and school libraries are participating all over the world. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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