S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst – review

Mark Lawson finds authorial controversy and romantic scrawl in an imitation library bookCreators of popular television have often invoked comparisons with written fiction: Dennis Potter and Steve Bochco both used the term "TV novel" to describe series such as Potter's The Singing Detective and Bochco's LA Law and NYPD Blue. Both screenwriters also published novels, and this switchover tradition continues with JJ Abrams, the power behind Alias and Lost.Perhaps surprisingly, writers who rethought the structures of television often became reverentially conventional on the page: Potter's Ticket to Ride and Bochco's Death by Hollywood had impressive plot and dialogue, as you might expect, but an Edwardian reader would be at ease with the novels' approach to narrative and chapters.Abrams, though, has come up with a novel of such structural daring that the first task of the audience is to work out a way of reading it. And I say "come up with", rather than "written", because one of the conventions challenged is that of authorship. On programmes such as Lost and Alias, Abrams operated as what American TV calls a "showrunner", overseeing every decision and episode but not writing every episode himself. With S., Abrams is a sort of "novelrunner", having conceived the project but left the prose to someone else: Doug Dorst, a US novelist and creative writing tutor.You suspect that this collaboration with Abrams must have taught Dorst a few things about the nature and creation of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #mark lawson

Other Publishing stories related to: 'S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst – review'


Pan Mac 'forensically reviewing' publication programme as stores shut

Pan Macmillan has said it is “forensically reviewing” its publication programme to decide on possible title moves following the closure of major high street chains during the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-24 15:41:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pan mac #title moves #coronavirus crisis #pan macmillan


Where to Find the Best Audiobook Reviews Online

One audiobook listener scoured the internet and came up with this list of the best websites offering good audiobook reviews. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-23 10:34:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audiobook


PW Reviews Submission Update Regarding Covid-19

We ask that all titles sent in for review consideration going forward be submitted via our GalleyTracker platform only using digital review copies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #review consideration


Pullman and Morris join New Welsh Review crowdfunder

Philip Pullman and Jackie Morris have donated to a £14,000 crowdfunding campaign for the New Welsh Review after the literary magazine saw its funding slashed by 20% last year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-03 23:24:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #philip pullman #jackie morris #funding slashed #literary magazine


Tennessee Becomes Second State to Propose ‘Parental Review Boards’ for Public Libraries

The bills propose to give elected parental review boards the power to decide which “age-appropriate" materials can be accessible to minors within a public library, with librarians who don’t comply with the board’s decisions subject to prison time. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #public libraries #public library


Book review: Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener

This amusing memoir feels like a Silicon Valley version of The Devil Wears Prada. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2020-02-21 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Review: Anna Burns' second novel on the Irish Troubles ... and our own

A pitch-dark comedy on the wages of violence from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of "Milkman" Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-15 15:00:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #anna burns #prize-winning author


London Review of Books circulation up by 3.6%

The London Review of Books saw its circulation increase by 3.6% in 2019, marking its 20th year of consecutive growth. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-14 06:40:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #london review #thelondon review #20th year


Review: Chasing homers, ballplayers and dreams

Emily Nemens' debut novel about a fictional baseball team takes on the social swirl of spring training. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-02 15:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #emily nemens #debut novel


Review: 'Children of the Land' chronicles an immigrant poet's story of hiding in plain sight

In his memoir 'Children of the Land,' poet Marcelo Hernandez Castillo writes of border journeys, family separation and crossing a 'threshold of invisibility.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-29 15:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #plain sight #family separation #memoir


Everyone Can Be a Book Reviewer. Should They Be?

“Anyone can be a critic.” It’s a common lament these days now that the book review landscape is changing. English professors and book reviewers in newspapers aren’t the only tastemakers in literary criticism anymore: Goodreads community members, anonymous or top reviewers on Amazon, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-23 09:48:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book reviewer #book reviewers #book review


Review: 'Uncanny Valley' serves up a biting slice of start-up life

'Uncanny Valley' by Anna Wiener is a biting, funny memoir from inside San Francisco's start-up culture. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-10 20:16:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uncanny valley #anna wiener #funny memoir #memoir


Carty-Williams joins Guardian Review as columnist

Candice Carty-Williams has joined the Guardian as a columnist, writing a weekly piece for the paper’s Review supplement about "literature in its many forms" Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 19:55:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #candice carty-williams


Review of the Year 2019: The Bestsellers

With print books selling 191.6 million units for £1.66bn, 2019 became the print market’s fifth consecutive year of growth and its best since 2010 in value terms, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-02 20:35:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print market #consecutive year #nielsen bookscan #nielsen


‘Just Mercy’ Review: Echoes of Jim Crow on Alabama’s Death Row

Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan star in an adaptation of a memoir by the civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-12-24 19:45:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jim crow #death row #memoir


The Most-Read Book Reviews of 2019

Of the thousands of book reviews we published this year, these are the 10 most-read reviews of books that published in 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book reviews


London Review of Books rounds off 40th anniversary

The London Review of Books has launched a new website, rounding off its 40th anniversary celebrations with a comprehensive overhaul of the paper’s online presence, with its archive freely accessible for a month. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-16 18:58:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #london review #40th anniversary #thelondon review #online presence


The accidental book review that made Jack Kerouac famous

One article shifted the culture. Ronald K.L. Collins wonders whether it could happen today. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-13 07:10:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book review


The Lost Books of Jane Austen by Janine Barchas review – how Austen's reputation has been warped

A deliciously original study of the cheap editions of Pride and Prejudice and other novels – ignored by literary scholars – casts new light on her readershipJane Austen aficionados think that they know the story of their favourite author’s posthumous dis-appearance and then re-emergence. For... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-12-11 07:30:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #widely read #favourite author #looked back #youngest daughter #memoir #novelists


B&N Education to Begin Strategic Review

Barnes & Noble Education's board has approved the hiring of a financial advisor to help the company review its strategic options as it continues look for ways to keep pace with a rapidly changing market for college materials. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bn education #financial advisor #strategic options