Penguin Classics Science Fiction review – a fresh look at brave new worlds

Sci-fi preconceptions are challenged by little-known marvels from James Tiptree Jr, Angélica Gorodischer and othersThe border between science fiction and mainstream literature is more permeable than booksellers or publishers would have us think. Double Booker prize-winner Margaret Atwood’s recent novels are SF-themed (though she prefers “speculative fiction”), as is Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s best-known novel Never Let Me Go.Penguin Classics has launched a new science fiction series to further this cross-pollination, seemingly keen for the general reader to broaden their personal canon. Some of the titles are well established – Edwin A Abbott’s mathematical fantasy Flatland, Kurt Vonnegut’s satire Cat’s Cradle – but others are newer, at least in the UK, and less likely to come loaded with preconceptions.Tiptree’s view of people is not sunny: the strong will subjugate the weak Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-27 06:00:46 UTC ]
News tagged with: #recent novels #penguin classics #general reader #personal canon #kurt vonnegut #science fiction

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Penguin Classics Science Fiction review – a fresh look at brave new worlds'


First Half Results Rise at Penguin Random House

Sales rose 16.2%, to 1.70 billion euros, and earnings increased 30.2% at Penguin Random House in the first half of 2015 over the same period in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Reviewers praise Lagercrantz's Spider's Web

Initial reviews for David Lagercrantz’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web (MacLehouse), the fourth novel in the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series, have been largely favourable, with the Telegraph giving the book four stars and the Guardian saying “Lagercrantz has constructed an elegant... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book centres #david lagercrantz #millennium series #dragon tattoo


Staff Pick: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World

Reviews editor Alex Crowley recommends The Invention of Nature, a biography of Alexander von Humboldt one of the most influence naturalists in history. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


BuzzFeed partners with GroupM, world's largest buyer of online ads

BuzzFeed, the fast-growing media site, and GroupM, the world's largest buyer of online advertising, announced a partnership Thursday that underscores the rising lure of digital publishing to leading brands. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #largest buyer #online ads #online advertising #digital publishing


Morel to retire from Penguin France

Jean-Luc Morel, sales manager for Penguin in France, is to retire from the company after 25 years. Morel’s last day will be 22nd September. In the coming weeks he will hand his work over to existing members of the Penguin Random House international sales team: Pauline Konink, sales manager for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sales manager #22nd september #coming weeks #existing members #random house


Homeless South African Sells Books and Reviews In Lieu of Begging

Johannesburg's Philani Dladli was homeless when he decided to sell books he found and read, offering them on a sliding price scale based on his own review. The post Homeless South African Sells Books and Reviews In Lieu of Begging appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sell books


Janice Galloway calls for more fiction about parenting, less about sex

‘There’s a lot about sex in literature,’ novelist tells Edinburgh international book festival. ‘There’s precious little about rearing children’Literature should be more about parenting and less about sex, award-winning writer Janice Galloway has said.Speaking at the Edinburgh international book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Adult Fiction Print Units Bouncing Back in 2015

Since ebook sales exploded in 2009–2010, the adult fiction category has seen the steepest drop in print units of all the major book segments as readers migrated to digital formats, particularly in such fiction genres as romance, mystery, and science fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steepest drop #print units #digital formats #fiction genres #science fiction


The Web Traffic for the World's Biggest Publishers Dropped Dramatically in April — and Nobody Can Agree Why

Many of the world's biggest and best-known online news publishers saw significant drops in traffic between March and April this year. It appears Facebook might be a culprit in some way, but nobody can agree on a solid theory as to why. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #web traffic #appears facebook #solid theory


Warren Harding: the world takes another look at scandalous claims

DNA findings give new credibility to 'The President's Daughter,' a controversial 1928 memoir. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Dutch Book Review of Books on Racism Lost in Translation

A debate has ensued over the use of an illustration of a man in blackface and a headline using the "N word" in a review of several US books on racism. The post Dutch Book Review of Books on Racism Lost in Translation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #translation appeared


Regional Cookbooks 2015: A World of Flavors

This fall, an array of titles highlight traditional specialties, high-end restaurant dishes, and everything in between, from across the U.S. and around the world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon Fresh on cusp of launching in UK

Amazon could be on the cusp of launching a grocery delivery operation in the UK after leasing a warehouse from Tesco, it has been reported. Retail Week reported  the e-commerce giant has agreed a 10-year lease with Tesco for a warehouse in Surrey, which is currently being revamped by Clegg Food... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-commerce giant


Robots that write fiction? You couldn’t make it up

Computer-generated fiction might seem a tipping point for artificial intelligence, but it could help us to understand the world we live inIn 1983, William Chamberlain and Thomas Etter released a book called The Policeman’s Beard Is Half Constructed, described as the “early fiction” of a computer... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #raw data


LBC boxed set from Penguin

Penguin is releasing a boxed set of its Little Black Classics set (3rd September, £80). The set will include all 80 of the titles that were released in February to celebrate Penguin’s 80th  anniversary, each priced at 80p and comprising of 64 pages. The list featured less well known titles by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #80th anniversary #jane austen


Winton Prize for Science Books shortlist revealed

A “page-turning thriller” about the race to crack the genetic code, a portrayal of life in European Organization for Nuclear Research's (CERN) underground bunker and an exploration of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are among the titles shortlisted for The Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #page-turning thriller #titles shortlisted #science books


Seeing stars: writers should not fear online reviews

Will social media and aggregated preferences sweep away book reviewing and literary culture? There’s nothing new about the death of literatureThe writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary merit


Rimowa Reprises An Aviation Classic, The Junkers F13

But it's not airborne—yet.Flying and suitcases go hand in hand, so it makes sense that the German luxury luggage brand Rimowa has added an airplane to its arsenal of goods. But instead of designing a sleek contemporary craft from scratch, the company took a page from the history books and... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #makes sense #history books


World's first braille smartwatch is an ebook reader and more

On the surface, Dot sounds like a fairly standard smartwatch: It resembles a Fitbit and features a messaging system, navigation functions, Bluetooth 4.0, an alarm and, of course, a timepiece. Dot is remarkable because it's a braille smartwatch -- t... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook reader


Staff Pick: Small Wars, Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World, 1945-1965

Reviews editor Everett Jones recommends Michael Burleigh’s lengthy, speedy account of two decades of imperialist 'little wars' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #modern world