People of the Books, by Alan Levenson

Book Reviews Alan Levenson Ever since early Islam, Jews have been dubbed the people of the book. The title stuck in European lands too, a deferential nod to the role of the Hebrew Bible in the Western canon, the breadth of Jewish literacy (never universal, often gender-specific), and the sheer productivity of Jewish authors—or today, Jewish and non-Jewish authors writing about the subject. I prefer this paean to bookishness, bestowed by outsiders, to Ecclesiastes’ musing, “of the making of books there is no end,” which sounds like unwarranted kvetching. Elisabeth Gallas’s A Mortuary of Books: The Rescue of Jewish Culture after the Holocaust (NYU Press, 2019) and Lisa Moses Leff’s The Archive Thief: The Man Who Salvaged French Jewish History in the Wake of the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2015) confirm the verdict of Jorge Luis Borges, who called the book the most astonishing human instrument. It seems the desire for preserving books is also lodged deep in the human soul. These two volumes stem from the desire to recount the efforts to rescue books and scrolls and ritual items from the fires of the Holocaust. Both volumes chronicle the life-affirming response to the Nazis’ nihilistic intent to destroy not only Jewish lives but any vestige of Jewish learning. Gallas and Neff confirm the verdict of Jorge Luis Borges, who called the book the most astonishing human instrument. It seems the desire for preserving books is also... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-02 20:46:30 UTC ]
News tagged with: #great britain #memoir

Other Publishing stories related to: 'People of the Books, by Alan Levenson'


People of the Books, by Alan Levenson

Book Reviews Alan Levenson Ever since early Islam, Jews have been dubbed the people of the book. The title stuck in European lands too, a deferential nod to the role of the Hebrew Bible in the Western canon, the breadth of Jewish literacy (never... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-02 20:46:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #great britain #memoir


Publishing On and Off the Page: A Reading List of Books About Book People

Readers love to read about book people almost as much as writers love to write about them (I love to do both). My latest novel, On Fire Island, follows uber-talented young book editor, Julia Gold and literary wunderkind, Benjamin Morse, through their journeys on and off the page. Threaded in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-26 08:52:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #readers love #writers love #book people


This village was a book capital. What happens when people stop buying so many books?

Redu, Belgium, was for decades a destination for book lovers. But now more than half of its bookstores have closed. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-26 14:43:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book lovers


Concern for children's book market as The Book People fails to find buyer

Trade figures have said the failure of The Book People to find a buyer, leading to 155 redundancies, could have ramifications for the children's book market.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 05:00:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book market #trade figures #book people #children's book


The Book People rebrands under Bayliss to put books back in the driving seat

Following an unsettled five years, The Book People’s new c.e.o. Claire Bayliss has arrived with a fresh vision for the company: a rebrand and a further restructure, delivering significant profit over the next three years. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-16 03:08:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #claire bayliss #book people


The Book People publishes schoolgirl's book

Schoolgirl Isabel Harris has had her book published after winning The Book People’s inaugural Bedtime Story Competition. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book published #book people


Color It Confusing: Can the UK’s VAT People Classify Coloring Books as Not Books?

If Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs office can somehow categorize coloring books as not books—and "incomplete" because they're not colored in—what might publishers have to pay in VAT? The post Color It Confusing: Can the UK’s VAT People Classify Coloring Books as Not Books? appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


World Book Night Is Tonight, Free Books for 500,000 People

The United States celebrated World Book Night on April 23, which meant that over 25,000 volunteers throughout the country handed out half a million free books to promote reading. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #free books #promote reading


Kara Swisher Is Sick of Tech People, So She Wrote a Book About Them

Silicon Valley’s top pundit dishes on her memoir Burn Book, immature billionaires, and whether she’s actually mean. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2024-02-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #silicon valley #memoir


Historical Fiction Books for People Who Don’t Like Historical Fiction

There are historical fiction books out there for every reader. Find recommendations for fans of literary fiction, romance, fantasy, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-19 11:32:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #find recommendations #literary fiction #historical fiction


Here’s the longlist for the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The ten titles were all written by newcomers to the National Book Awards, and were selected from a pool of 348 books submitted for consideration by their publishers. This... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-09-13 14:15:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ten titles #national book foundation #national book award


Bloomsbury reports sales surge as people buy books as ‘affordable diversion’

Harry Potter publisher says in challenging economic times books are seen as cheap form of entertainmentBloomsbury Publishing, the home of Harry Potter, has revealed a rise in annual sales as it said people were turning to books as a cheap form of entertainment as finances were squeezed.Sales of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-31 13:38:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annual sales #bestselling children #latest work #crescent city #originally published #nielsen bookscan #children’s book #harry potter


These are the 13 books people tried to ban the most in 2022.

Today, the American Library Association has published its annual list of the Most Challenged Books—those most often targeted for banning in schools and public libraries. As you may already know if you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention, book banning efforts are in high gear right... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-24 14:24:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annual list #public libraries #high gear #library association


Otherlands author Thomas Halliday: ‘Some people have insisted on reading the book backwards’

The paleobiologist and author of Foyles’ nonfiction book of 2022 on Earth’s deep past, the joys of the British Library, and how early four-limbed vertebrates helped him find his feetThomas Halliday was born in 1989 and raised in Rannoch in the Scottish Highlands. He studied zoology at Cambridge... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-01-28 18:00:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cell biology #british library #scottish highlands #north london #debut book #nonfiction book


It turns out that people don’t want a coloring book based on a novel about domestic abuse.

There’s no denying that Colleen Hoover has had an incredible year. Still, despite the relentless appetite for her novels, it seems that the people do not, in fact, want a coloring book based on her number-one bestselling book It Ends With Us, which centers on an abusive relationship faced by... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-12 17:27:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #people don #domestic abuse #colleen hoover #coloring book


Sabaa Tahir Wins 2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

Sabaa Tahir received this year's Young People's Literature prize for her YA novel 'All My Rage'; during her tearful acceptance speech, Tahir noted, "I am the first Muslim and Pakistani American woman to win this award.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ya novel #literature prize #national book award


‘Everyone’s got a book in them’: boom in memoir industry as ordinary people record their stories

Companies providing ghostwritten autobiographies for people wanting to share histories have seen surge in trade since CovidBrian Lewis grew up on a tough council estate after arriving in Britain as part of the Windrush generation. At the age of eight he developed an interest in chess and joined... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-09-24 14:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #life stories #people wanting #windrush generation #team made #sharp rise #memoir


2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Nominees Announced

The National Book Foundation has announced the 2022 Longlist for the Young People's Literature Award. Here are the 10 contenders. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-09-14 17:37:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literature award #national book foundation #national book award


Here’s the longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Today, the National Book Foundation announced the 10 books on the longlist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, including two graphic novels, three coming-of-age stories, and one remix of The Great Gatsby. The judges for this year’s award are Becky Albertalli, Joseph... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-14 14:15:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graphic novels #coming-of-age stories #great gatsby #becky albertalli #national book foundation #national book award


‘Bookish People’ is the perfect summer read for book lovers

Susan Coll’s new novel makes clever use of her experience working in one of the country’s foremost independent bookstores. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-08-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book lovers #experience working