In the age of Corbyn, is the time right for another Road to Wigan Pier?

It’s no surprise that the Left Book Club is being relaunched now, with the imprimatur of the Labour leader and Ken Livingstone. It began in the anxious 1930s, a decade that has all too many parallels with the current oneAiming to “set the agenda for a new age of political debate”, the Left Book Club was re-launched this week at a meeting at the Conway Hall in London. The Left Book Club last published a book in 1948. Jeremy Corbyn had yet to be born. Nevertheless the Labour leader has generously endorsed the revival as “a terrific and timely idea” that will give “intellectual ballast to the wave of political change sweeping Britain and beyond, encouraging informed and compassionate debate”. He added that he had a large collection of Left Book Club titles, some bought new by his parents and others that he acquired second hand. I speculate that the memory of these books in their plain red or orange covers – their flash upon his inward eye – must have provided Corbyn with a rare pleasurable moment in the past few weeks: the thought of them on his shelves having same kind of heart-filling effect that the daffodils had on Wordsworth.My own collection isn’t so large. In fact, it runs to just one book, Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier, and I didn’t inherit it. I bought it 20 or 30 years ago because I liked the idea of having such a fine book in its cheap and original form – seeing the words and photographs as its first readers must have seen them. Published in 1937, the year after... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The First New York Times Book Review Best-Seller List

The best-seller lists as we know them today have their roots in the Aug. 9, 1942, issue — but the Book Review has been tracking sales for much longer than that. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:10 UTC ]
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Third time lucky as Caldwell wins BBC National Short Story Award

Lucy Caldwell has won the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University, a prize she has been nominated for three times. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-20 02:07:31 UTC ]
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Nicholas Kristof Leaves The New York Times as He Weighs Political Bid

Mr. Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is weighing a run for governor of Oregon, the state where he grew up. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-14 12:08:45 UTC ]
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Gary Paulsen has Died at Age 82

Beloved children's author Gary Paulsen died October 13. Here's a look at his life and legacy through literature. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-10-14 11:22:48 UTC ]
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Tributes to Hatchet author Gary Paulsen, who has died aged 82

Tributes have been paid to Gary Paulsen, after the Hatchet author passed away at the age of 82. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-13 23:05:09 UTC ]
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Get 'Mastering Python for Networking and Security -- Second Edition' ($27.99 value) FREE for a limited time

It’s now more apparent than ever that security is a critical aspect of IT infrastructure, and that devastating data breaches can occur from simple network line hacks. As shown in this book, combining the latest version of Python with an increased focus on network security can help you to level... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2021-10-13 17:39:30 UTC ]
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Holocaust survivor and author Eddie Jaku dies, aged 101

Holocaust survivor, peace campaigner and Pan Macmillan author Eddie Jaku has died, aged 101. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-13 10:24:44 UTC ]
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Celebrate the Book Review's 125th Anniversary: A Times Event

On Oct. 25, join The New York Times Book Review and special guests for performances of favorite letters and reviews from the archives, trivia and more. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-07 16:09:57 UTC ]
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Amor Towles’s ‘The Lincoln Highway’ is a long and winding road through the hopes and failures of mid-century America

Amor Towles tells the story of a motley crew on a cross-country journey, reveling in the junkyards of broken dreams and the optimism of the postwar era. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-05 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Tributes to author Paul Reizin after death, aged 67

Tributes have been paid to author Paul Reizin, who has passed away at the age of 67. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-05 06:01:52 UTC ]
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It’s Time To Slow Down Your Audiobook Speed

Love listening to audiobooks at 1.25 or 1.5 or even 2 times the speed? Here's your challenge to slow down and listen with intention. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-10-04 10:39:00 UTC ]
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Media startup Ozy shuts down after New York Times report raises concerns

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[ The Guardian | 2021-10-01 23:52:05 UTC ]
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Incest story by Pinocchio author published in English for the first time

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[ The Guardian | 2021-10-01 13:46:15 UTC ]
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Canada’s Guest of Honour time finally comes

The team behind the Canadian Guest of Honour programme at the Frankfurt Book Fair has had to be patient and nimble, but the nation’s time in the spotlight is finally upon us. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 21:51:47 UTC ]
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When the Times Book Review Panned the Classics

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[ The New York Times | 2021-09-29 09:00:26 UTC ]
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What Did Critics Think of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road When It First Came Out?

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-28 08:53:04 UTC ]
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Holly Smale | 'Change happens one story at a time, reminding the world what autism is from the inside'

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 18:27:19 UTC ]
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‘Astronauts check our scripts!’: inside the new age of sumptuous sci-fi TV

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[ The Guardian | 2021-09-23 15:57:15 UTC ]
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T.C. Boyle captures the intersection of folly and progress. This time, it’s the ill-fated Project Nim.

‘Talk to Me,’ by T.C. Boyle, was inspired by a 1970s experiment in which researchers tried to teach a young chimpanzee American Sign Language. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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