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 ]
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 15/07/2011 - 10:29 A new collection of stories from the late Nobel Prize-winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; a début by a former Macmillan, Penguin and Hachette marketer; and Richard Fords new novel were among the rights deals signed this... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:35 The Reading Agency has warned library service cutbacks could challenge its Summer Reading Campaign, as it revealed 97% of library authorities will participate in this year's scheme. It will be launched on Monday at the House... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The launch of a $140 dedicated eBooks reader puts Google's store more directly in opposition to the Nook and Amazon's Kindle. The iRiver Story goes on sale July 17 at Target. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sometimes keeping up with the Internet can seem like an endless assignment. The tweets and Facebook posts scroll infinitely, the email piles up, and news sites and blogs publish around the clock. That's why Summify seems so different. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the latest controversy broke in a string of revelations concerning phone hacking conducted by editorial staff, British newspaper News of the World is folding. News Internationals chairman deputy COO of News Corp. James Murdoch says that Sunday will be the last edition of the newspaper. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 24/06/2011 - 11:46 Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has demonstrated an affinity with political outsiders, fantasy worlds and religious prophets as he revealed his choice of favourite books for a new magazine. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 22/06/2011 - 12:07 HarperCollins has made a series of senior level promotions, with current commercial managing director Simon Johnson becoming managing director, HarperCollins, and Tom Fussell moving into the role of group commercial... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 22/06/2011 - 16:00 Territorial rights are "obsolete", and contribute to the erosion of publishers' margins, but publishing remains an "intimate" business that would not be improved if local nuances are not respected, delegates at Publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 17/06/2011 - 07:59 The Seven Stories centre for children's books in Newcastle is to benefit from a £750,000 endowment donated by the Enid Blyton Trust for Children, following a decision to close the Enid Blyton Trust and donate its funds to one... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 15/06/2011 - 14:03 Random House author Katie Price is to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the largest book signing by a single author. Price's attempt will take place at the O2 Academy, Leeds, at 11 a.m. on 27th July,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 14/06/2011 - 08:34 Headline non-fiction publisher Carly Cook is to join Simon & Schuster as deputy editorial director of non-fiction, reporting to editorial director Mike Jones. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Christine Cook, head of sales and advertising at The Daily, used a panel discussion at Internet Week to hawk subscriptionsmaking one wonder just how much the outsized attention News Corp. is getting for its daring iPad-based newspaper experiment is translating into paid circulation. When... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 31/05/2011 - 16:21 An Edinburgh independent has proposed an alternative to World Book Night next year, where readers buy tickets to attend book swap events across the country. Vanessa Robertson, co-owner of the Edinburgh Bookshop, said she has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 25/05/2011 - 09:20 Two titles picked for BBC2s "Culture Show" special on debut novelists, broadcast in March, have made it to the shortlist for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2011. Ned Beaumans Boxer Beetle (Sceptre), also shortlisted for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 08:25 Sam Harrison at Aurum has bought a biography of Cold War spy George Blake by journalist Roger Hermiston. Harrison acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for a "significant" five figure sum from Andrew Gordon at David Higham... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week, Apple went to Washington, D.C., to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers about consumer privacy in the mobile marketplace. The visit was triggered by the discovery that Apples iPads and iPhones tracked and kept users locations for up to a year, creating a step-by-step picture of... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 20/05/2011 - 10:11 US bookseller Barnes & Noble has received an offer for the company from Liberty Media, a private investment group. The deal values the business at about $1bn, but Liberty said it expected to spend $500m on the acquisition... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A decade after New York City sustained one of the largest terrorist attacks in recent American history on September 11, 2001, Conde Nast has decided to move its head quarters, 18 magazine titles and 5,000 employees to 1 World Trade Center. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 09:05 Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl are among the high-profile authors selected for the 2012 £1 World Book Day books, which will revert to the single-book format for the first time in four years. The teen WBD titles will also go... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 09:10 Bidders for Waterstone's have a reported two weeks to express a formal interest in the chain, as parent HMV Group said it was in "advanced discussions" over a sale. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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