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: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 09:12 National Reading Group Day is among the new features designed to boost the importance of indie retailers during this years Independent Booksellers Week. The Booksellers Association has just announced that the annual IBW will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone and Felicity Wood Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 09:43 The majority of the books to be handed out tomorrow (5th March) as part of World Book Night have already received a sales boost in 2011. The figures will be a welcome fillip for the organisers, with founder... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the bookstore chains grew in the 1980s and 90s, the number of independent booksellers fell dramatically, but those that survived expect little pop from the impending closing of 200 Borders stores as part of the retailer's bankruptcy reorganization. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 24/02/2011 - 09:42 Final preparations are underway for a medley of events planned to celebrate World Book Night, with independent and national retailers planning to host author readings, quizzes and book swaps. On 5th March, 20,000 participants... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Tue, 22/02/2011 - 15:42 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 21/02/2011 - 08:40 Man Booker winner Hilary Mantel and Susan Hill are among the writers longlisted for the £30,000 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award 2011. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 08:18 Virago is publishing a new collection of 13 early short stories by Daphne du Maurier, including five discovered by a Cornish bookseller and du Maurier enthusiast. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the Paris Cookbook Fair gets underway next month, cookbook publishers are getting ready to do some shopping--and not just the sort that involves stocking up on Dijon mustard and bonbons from Fauchon. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Little, Brown imprint Sphere has acquired a "shocking" debut novel about the murder of a little girl. Editorial director Catherine Burke acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) including audio and ebook in The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood from Laetitia... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a month of negotiations, Hearst has made an offer to buy 102 magazine titles from the French publisher. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There was no shortage of debates and discussions at last week's second annual Digital Book World, where about 1,300 members of the trade publishing industry turned out in New York to explore ways to navigate the digital transition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anna Boiardi's family founded Chef Boyardee more than 70 years ago, spelling their name phonetically to help Americans pronounce it. Now, Boiardi teaches cooking classes and has written Delicious Memories, which Stewart, Tabori & Chang will publish in May. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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