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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A Memoir About Queer Identity, Told One Gay Bar at a Time

In his new memoir, “Gay Bar,” Jeremy Atherton Lin documents his personal history and the history of queer identity by exploring gay bars around the world. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-02-09 10:00:09 UTC ]
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Read the American short stories George Saunders thinks will stand the test of time.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-05 16:37:34 UTC ]
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Tributes to 'heroic' Captain Tom, following his death aged 100

Second World War veteran, fundraiser and author Captain Sir Tom Moore has died after contracting coronavirus and pneumonia.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-02 11:32:26 UTC ]
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Purdy launches Two Piers Literary Agency

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-02 06:33:25 UTC ]
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Malcolm Peters MacDougall dies, aged 76

Malcolm Peters MacDougall, director and former chairman of Peters Booksellers in Birmingham, has died following complications from recurring cancers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-01 21:22:33 UTC ]
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Sceptre bags 'sharp, timely, political story' from Banerjee

Sceptre has acquires What’s in a Name? by Sheela Banerjee, the story of 20th-century immigration to the UK told through names and what they say about belonging and heritage.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 16:52:59 UTC ]
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Why Climate Coverage Is Good Business at The Financial Times

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Historical fiction 'giant' Sharon Penman dies, aged 75

Tributes have been paid to US author Sharon Penman, a “giant” of historical fiction, who has passed away at the age of 75. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 04:51:02 UTC ]
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Stressful Times Prompt Sales for Spirituality Titles

New and backlist titles offering esoteric insight, ancient wisdom, and empowering practices did well during a year of ‘profound uncertainty,’ publishers say. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Watch: How Kroger leverages “always on” analytics for real-time marketing decisions

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-01-22 18:26:12 UTC ]
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Watch live Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m. EST: How Kroger leverages “always on” analytics for real-time marketing decisions

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[ Advertising Age | 2021-01-21 19:30:00 UTC ]
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Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Kidnapped’ is not just an adventure tale, it’s a timely novel about politics and dissent

Stevenson’s classic 19th-century novel is study in loyalty against a backdrop of violence and unrest. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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Get 'Network Automation Cookbook' ($27.99 value) FREE for a limited time

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Award-winning novelist David Wheldon dies, aged 70

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W&N bags 'timely' critique of wokeness

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Neil Sheehan Dies at 84; Times Reporter Obtained the Pentagon Papers

His exhaustive coverage of the Vietnam War also led to the book “A Bright Shining Lie,” which won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Epicurious is righting cultural wrongs one recipe at a time

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Audiobooks to Get You Through the Most Distracted of Times

New fiction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Barack Obama’s accent game, a Wilco frontman’s memoir and romance by Vonnegut. Continue reading at The New York Times

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