If your New Year’s resolution is to read more books this year, this is why you shouldn’t | Max Liu

From ‘all the books I read this month’ pictures on Instagram to Goodreads targets, we are forgetting to read for pleasureHow long will it take you to read this article? It would almost certainly take me longer. On average, adults read about 240 words a minute, but I always exceed those pesky “reading time” estimates that appear on some articles. I review books professionally, but I still take longer to read a book than almost anyone else I know. I should probably feel embarrassed about that – but instead, I take joy in it.I inherited the habit of reading for pleasure from my mum who, in my recollections of childhood, is always sitting at the kitchen table zipping through novels or travel literature about places we couldn’t afford to visit. Reading is what I do first thing in the morning and last thing at night, never going anywhere without a paperback in my pocket or a hardback in my bag or both. I’m like a character in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, who says: “I do things like get in a taxi and say, ‘The library, and step on it.’”Max Liu is a freelance writer Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-31 09:00:13 UTC ]
News tagged with: #infinite jest #hardback

Other news stories related to: "If your New Year’s resolution is to read more books this year, this is why you shouldn’t | Max Liu"


Book Club Associates sold to Webb Group

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 08/03/2011 - 16:00 Online bookseller Book Club Associates (BCA) has been sold to a retail home entertainment supplier. The Webb Group, which supplies retail home entertainment products including games, DVDs, music and gifts, announced the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mail order #webb group #sells books


Galaxy campaign for Quick Reads unveiled

Publication Date: Tue, 08/03/2011 - 08:57 The Galaxy-sponsored advertising campaign for Quick Reads has been unveiled, with advertising, posters and bookmarks lined up for the literacy campaign. The 10 Quick Reads, all published on World Book Day, 3rd March, include titles by Linwood Barclay,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #benjamin zephaniah #james patterson #linwood barclay #3rd march #literacy campaign #quick reads


Sainsbury's launches own-brand kids' books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 07/03/2011 - 09:00 Sainsbury's has launched a range of own brand pre-school children's books, publishing eight titles in collaboration with Dorling Kindersley. The titles went on sale on Saturday [5th March] in more than 200 of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #children aged #supermarket chain #dorling kindersley #titles including


CAMEX 2011: Moving Beyond the Book

College stores may have taken the word "book" out of their name, but they still have a lot in common with their independent bookstore brethren. At this year's 88th annual meeting of the National Association of College Stores and Campus Market Expo many concerns shared with ABA stores, such as... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online competition #national association #college stores


HarperCollins Wants Libraries to Pay (and Pay...and Pay...) for e-Books

Back in 1984, I wrote a book that sold to a lot of libraries. It stayed on the shelves for over a decade. If it had been an ebook published today by HarperCollins, there's a good chance it would have been off those shelves within a year. Or sooner. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good chance


Independent Booksellers Week to promote reading groups

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 year’s 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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #key aim #booksellers association #indie retailers


BBS to begin online auction of non-book stock

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 05:36 The administrators of British Bookshops and Stationers will begin an online auction of non-book stock, including forklift trucks and office equipment, on Tuesday (8th March). Interested parties will be invited to view the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book stock #interested parties #online auction #british bookshops


Adults and teenagers still prefer prints books to ebooks, WBD survey says

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 07:34 Almost half of teenagers have read a book on a computer, according to a new survey to mark World Book Day. As hundreds of events get under way across the country today, 40.8% of teenagers said they had read a book on a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mobile phone


EU Raids Digital Book Sellers in Cartel Investigation

The European Union’s competition regulators carried out unannounced inspections into various eBook companies on Tuesday. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook companies


Digital book buyers 'more realistic' over ebook prices

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 08:45 Half of all book buyers expect to pay less for ebooks, according to new research by Mintel, but those book readers who already own ebook devices have marginally more realistic expectations over price, suggesting that the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #agency terms #big publishers #ebook prices #book readers


Random House US to bring 17K books to iBookstore

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 02/03/2011 - 18:05 Random House US is introducing 17,000 books to the iBookstore, several days after it announced it had moved to agency pricing. At this afternoon's Apple iPad event in San Francisco, Apple c.e.o. Steve Jobs said users have... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steve jobs #agency pricing #random house


Media Decoder: Random House Adopts New Model for Selling E-Books

Beginning Tuesday, Random House will join other major book publishers in selling its ebooks using the so-called agency model, setting its own prices for ebooks while the retailer takes a commission. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #random house #media decoder


Atkinson takes top, kids books climb and the Beeb boosts sales

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 16:09 Kate Atkinson has knocked Jamie Oliver off the top of the charts, thanks largely to a spot in W H Smith's "£2.99 if you buy the Times" link-save promotion, with Started Early, Took My Dog (Black Swan) the new Official UK Top 50... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Dulwich Books invests in 'modern' redesign

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 15:06 Dulwich Books has invested nearly £10,000 on a revamp to increase book space and create a new area for events. The owner Sheila O’Reilly said the redesign made her books more accessible for customers to buy and browse and she... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #author readings


Random House E-book Change May Pave Way to IBookstore

In an unexpected about-face, publisher Random House announced on Monday that it would adopt the agency model for ebook sales in the U.S., beginning March 1... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook sales #agency model


Bloomsbury predicts 2011 to be "year of the ebook"

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 28/02/2011 - 09:20 Bloomsbury is anticipating 2011 to be the "year of the ebook", as it reported ebook sales were just under 10% of trade print sales in its latest results. For the 12 months ending 31st December 2010, sales were up 4.01%... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest results


Penguin has best-ever year as Pearson profits leap

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 28/02/2011 - 09:42 Penguin UK had its best ever year in 2010 as parent company Pearson reported a profits increase of 21% to £857m. For the year ending 31st December, sales at Pearson were £5.66bn, up 10% on 2009. Sales at Penguin were... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #record number #pearson attributed


Media Decoder: A Limit on Lending E-Books

Beginning in March, ebooks from HarperCollins may be lent by public libraries only 26 times before the license expires. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #public libraries #media decoder


Digital doubles at this year's LBF

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 08:40 Gordon Willoughby, Amazon's director of the Kindle in Europe, is to address London Book Fair's digital conference to be held on the eve of this year's fair. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital conference


Anova takes home Harry Hill knitting book

Written By: Laura Richards Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 11:39 A sketch from "Harry Hill's TV Burp" is to be the subject of a knitting book acquired by Anova. Katie Cowan, publisher for Anova's Collins & Brown imprint, bought world English-language rights for The K Factor from Avalon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #show called