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 ]
Some see Amazon's Kindle Worlds fan fiction publishing platform as a great marketing move, while others are wary of Amazon's ownership of ideas. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the first time in a long time some optimism is returning to the publishing industry. Circulation numbers and revenues were decimated by the rise of the internet and while the future for print still looks shaky, the companies behind newspapers and ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson has revealed “significant changes” to its organisational structure and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The digital publishing platform will let fans write, publish, and sell the stories they've written based on popular books, TV shows, and more. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin and W H Smith have partnered for a new summer reading campaign, which will raise money... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's taken a number of steps to bring different types of content to the Kindle Store, and it's now venturing into an area that has a long history with the internet: fan fiction. The company's today announced Kindle Worlds, a new publishing platform that promises to pay writers royalties for... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the lack of a publisher and censorship issues, pirated copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey" are proving popular at Chinese online bookstores. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The growth in children’s digital reading is an “opportunity for publishers rather... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dotdotdot imagines its users as one big book discussion group, with everyone wielding the same highlighter. Instapaper and Readability have both found success offering a simple, core interaction: save an article online to read somewhere else later. With both you can also follow what friends... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Granada Books opens in downtown Santa Barbara, Calif., next month, it will operate on a hybrid model with a for-profit bookstore and a not-for-profit event series, Pomegranate Arts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than half of the pupils taking part in the National Literacy Trust's Premier League... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon let its world domination plans be known last month when it asked developers to start submitting apps to line its virtual displays in more countries. While China was notably absent from immediate expansion plans, Amazon launched its Appstore there during the weekend, opening the doors to... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette, the last holdout among America's "big six" publishers, will make its full ebook catalog available to nonprofit public libraries and school libraries across the nation on May 8th. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you're still balking at the cost of download-to-own ebooks, and would rather stick to the tried-and-true library lending system, then this Hachette news is for you. Come next Wednesday, the entirety of Hachette's ebook catalog -- over 5,000 titles -- will be made available to nonprofit... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has bought UK and Commonwealth rights in the autobiography of actor and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Based on the pre-college reading lists, freshmen syllabi, and core programs of more than 100 US colleges and universities, here are 60 books the experts believe that you should have read by sophomore year of college. How does your own literary experience stack up? Take our quiz and find... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Egyptian journalist and bestselling author Ibrahim Issa believes the Arab Spring has added religious oppression to the existing political hardships of the region. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber has made a further YA acquisition, with publisher Leah Thaxton buying UK and Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It has become a truism that “men don’t read women.” The assertion is taken as self-evident by feminist publications like Salon (“while women read books written by men, men do not tend to reciprocate”) and shown anecdotally by blogs. It is also perpetuated by male bastions like Esquire, which... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Night, the celebration of reading which includes the distribution of free books, has arrived. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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