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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Tributes to Doctor Who novelist Terrance Dicks after death, aged 84

Terrance Dicks, children’s author and writer of numerous Doctor Who novels and episodes, has died at the age of 84. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-02 00:08:34 UTC ]
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Alexander's 'timely' dystopian thriller goes to Allison & Busby

Allison & Busby has acquired a “gripping and timely” dystopian thriller by Edinburgh-based writer Jane Alexander. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-27 20:45:03 UTC ]
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King of Hay Richard Booth dies, aged 80

Tributes have been paid to Richard Booth, after the self-styled King of Hay died aged 80.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-20 21:10:20 UTC ]
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Literature prize founder David Cohen dies, aged 89

Dr David Cohen, founder of the eponymous £40,000 literature prize, has died aged 89. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-20 10:03:11 UTC ]
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JT LeRoy review – a less surprising hoax the second time around

The fake author who fooled the publishing world is brought back to life in a diverting tale that treads familiar ground“Sometimes, a lie’s more truth than the truth,” drawls author JT Leroy, speaking down a crackling telephone line. This straightforward dramatisation of Savannah Knoop’s 2008... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-18 07:00:10 UTC ]
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‘Gods With a Little G’ offers a fresh take on coming of age

Tupelo Hassman’s follow-up to “Girlchild” has a lighter touch and a more hopeful message. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-08-17 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon’s Superhero Satire The Boys Is Wonderfully Tasteless and Occasionally Timely

The new comic book adaptation adjusts for the rise of Marvel but not the rise of Trump. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2019-08-15 22:06:08 UTC ]
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Tributes paid after Gay's The Word founder Jonathan Cutbill dies, aged 82

Tributes have been paid to Gay’s The Word bookshop co-founder Jonathan Cutbill, who has passed away aged 82 after a period of ill health. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-15 17:00:19 UTC ]
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The Toyota Supra gets a sexy pin-up poster in Road & Track

Welcome to the latest edition of Ad Age Publisher’s Brief, our roundup of news from the world of content producers across digital and print. Joining us late? Here’s the previous edition. Driving force The September issue of Hearst Magazines’ Road & Track includes a cool little bonus for... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-14 18:25:45 UTC ]
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NBA dials back late starting times to help boost East Coast ratings

The NBA is kicking the tires on a new scheduling initiative designed to give East Coast hoops fans a reprieve from having to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to keep tabs on the league’s Western Conference superstars. Beginning this season, the NBA is slashing the number of nationally... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-13 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Elaine Kendall, author and former L.A. Times book critic, dies at 91

Author Elaine Kendall was a longtime book critic for the Los Angeles Times. She died in Montecito at age 91. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-08-12 22:46:20 UTC ]
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Penguin to publish Salinger works as e-books for first time

Penguin Books UK is publishing all four of J D Salinger’s works as e-books for the first time, as part of celebrations marking the centenary of his birth. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-12 05:42:10 UTC ]
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Lara Maiklem | 'We’ll be the plastic age: the throwaway society'

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-10 17:26:35 UTC ]
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Toni Morrison dies, aged 88

Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and author of Beloved, has died at the age of 88, her publisher Knopf has confirmed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-06 11:43:53 UTC ]
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The Audio File: Five Great Audiobooks For That Summer Road Trip

Nearly 100 million Americans will be hopping in the car for a road trip this year, according to AAA, with most of us embarking in the summer. A recent survey commissioned by the Audio Publishers Association reveals that 74 percent of audiobook readers prefer to read them in cars. Given those... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-02 08:50:47 UTC ]
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Weekly E-Ranking: Kay makes surgical strike for all-time record

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-02 05:52:23 UTC ]
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7 Books About Past Decades That Feel Like Traveling Back in Time

The Amazon review for my debut novel was glowing, including words like “compelling” and “fun.” And then there was this: “If you love historical fiction, you’ll love The Last Book Party.” Say what? How could my novel, which is set during the 1980s—a decade of my own youth—be historical fiction?... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-01 11:00:53 UTC ]
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In an era of smartphone addiction, a single-purpose device like an e-reader may help you unplug and focus on content that will bring you joy. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-01 09:03:32 UTC ]
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If You Haven’t Yet Had Time to Read Moby-Dick Here’s a Pop-Up Book

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[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-01 08:48:17 UTC ]
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