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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For Libraries, a Time of Caution and Optimism

As Covid-19 cases surge, librarians are putting safety first and finding a path forward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's books eight times as likely to feature animal main characters than BAME people

According to UK study, just 5% of children’s books have black, Asian or minority ethnic protagonists – a small improvement from 1% in 2017Two years after the stark revelation that only 1% of British children’s books featured a main character who was black, Asian or minority ethnic, the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-11 00:01:23 UTC ]
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Biden time

Like many of you, last week was spent with interrupted sleep, a constant eye on US news channels and fingers crossed. This weekend brought with it the news that, subject to legal challenge, Joe Biden will become the 46th President of the United States. Putting the politics briefly to one side,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-09 05:21:20 UTC ]
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How the Literary World Reinvented the Book Festival in Real Time

As the literary world moved online in 2020, a central question for many organizations was how to manage the annual festivals that gather thousands of readers from around the world. Here, the directors of five festivals—Sara Ortiz of the Believer Festival, Lissette Mendez of the Miami Book Fair,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-03 09:57:24 UTC ]
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Thread signs Sommerville's How To Be a Boss at Ageing

Bookouture's non-fiction imprint Thread is publishing How To Be a Boss at Ageing by broadcaster and writer Anniki Sommerville who hosts a podcast of the same name.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-03 02:36:45 UTC ]
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What Do We Owe Our Comunity in a Time of Crisis?

In her first novel published in 14 years, author Julia Alvarez explores grief, isolation, and sisterhood. Afterlife follows Antonia, a writer and retiring English professor, who has just lost her husband Sam. As she reimagines what her life will be without her husband, Antonia also struggles... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-02 12:00:33 UTC ]
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Faber to publish Callender's transgender coming-of-age tale

Faber has triumphed in a four-way auction for Felix Ever After, Kacen Callender's "voice-driven" YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-28 08:59:47 UTC ]
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The Longest Book Series to Get You Through Winter 2020, AKA The Longest Time of All Our Lives

Get through the winter with some of the longest series on shelves, including The Guin Saga by Kaoru Kurimoto. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-23 10:34:00 UTC ]
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‘Reclaiming Her Time’ is a Maxine Waters biography with as much panache as its subject

Helena Andrews-Dyer and R. Eric Thomas look at the long career of the congresswoman turned social media darling. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-20 13:07:36 UTC ]
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Publisher Tom Maschler dies, aged 87

British publisher and writer Tom Maschler–who published authors including Joseph Heller and Gabriel García Márquez, and who masterminded the Booker Prize–has died aged 87.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-15 18:12:55 UTC ]
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See Earth Transform Like You're a Time-Traveling Astronaut

The new photo book Overview Timelapse shows the startling ways humanity is changing the planet, from lithium mines to the ravages of climate change. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2020-10-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Is This Anything?’ charts his life as a comedian, one bit at a time

“Is This Anything?” is not a traditional memoir, but it does offer insights into Seinfeld’s personal history. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-13 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Getting an MLIS While Working Full Time

Getting an MLIS to work in libraries while working a full time job can be challenging, and this librarian shares her experience. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-12 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Time to look at digital media through 'hot' and 'cold' channels

YouTube, Spotify, podcasts or TikTok may be digital, but they are decidedly warmer than, say, search-engine optimisation. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2020-10-12 09:21:30 UTC ]
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How Do Readers Rate The New York Times Best-Selling Books?

What do actual readers think about the books which land on the New York Times Bestseller List? A new study finds out. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-09 10:33:00 UTC ]
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Debut tale of a 'hidden' Cornwall to Two Roads

Two Roads has acquired debut novel The Lip by Charlie Carroll, depicting "a hidden Cornwall" while exploring themes of childhood, isolation and mental health with a heroine at its heart. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-08 05:42:21 UTC ]
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Mindy Kaling’s new essays are lightweight entertainment for trying times

For better or worse, the six stories in “Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes)” deliver pure fluff. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Hall wins BBC National Short Story Award for second time

Sarah Hall has become the first author to win the BBC National Short Story Award twice in its 15-year history.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-06 01:38:09 UTC ]
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8 Science Fiction Novels by Authors of Color for the End Times

Are these the end times? Who knows! Settle into this current quasi-dystopian reality with recent books by American writers of color. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-02 10:35:59 UTC ]
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