Turning literature into a numbers game makes some sense for the book trade, but none for readersWe may be halfway through January already, but the spirit of new year is still in full swing over in San Francisco, where the 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge goes from strength to strength to strength. More than 240,000 of Goodreads' 25 million members have already committed to reading more than 14m books this year, pledging to get through them at an average of more than a book a week. And many fans of books will say hurrah for that. I reckon I'm pretty much in favour of books and literature, too, but the Goodreads Reading Challenge just sets my teeth on edge.It starts right there in the name. Since when was reading any kind of challenge? Isn't it supposed to be fun? Maybe not for children still learning to differentiate their Perfect Peters from their Horrid Henrys, or for the one in six UK adults who still struggle with literacy, but Goodreads is a site for people who are already "readers" . I don't think they have schoolchildren in mind when they suggest you should "raise your reading ambitions" and it certainly doesn't look like a scheme designed to help adult learners "make it to the final chapter". All this talk of pledging, of targets, of tracking your progress, is just another step in the marketisation of the reading experience, another stage in the commodification of literary culture.We know that literacy correlates with better social outcomes, that literary fiction... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
Bestselling author Shea Serrano shares his favorite 2019 reads, including an out-of-print travelogue about a pool hustler and Chuck Klosterman stories. The post A Year in Reading: Shea Serrano appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2019-12-02 20:00:28 UTC ]
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The Reading Agency is one of three charities chosen for the Times Christmas Appeal this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-29 23:05:38 UTC ]
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Now that High Book Award Season is coming to a close (right??), we can focus on the prize that really matters: Literary Review‘s Bad Sex in Fiction Award. Since 1993, the UK-based magazine has “honored the year’s most outstandingly awful scene of sexual description in an otherwise good novel.”... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-27 15:51:03 UTC ]
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Books by Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert and Mary Costello are in the running for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-27 13:01:15 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Shohreh Laici Photo of Tehran by Xiquinho Silva / Flickr A writer in Tehran incapable of entering the US under the Muslim travel ban encounters Michelle Obama’s Becoming in a beauty salon. Reading the Farsi translation, she... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-11-26 14:55:39 UTC ]
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Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi won the Man Booker International Prize this year for its beautifully rendered portrayal of a family’s tangled history in the village of al-Awafi in Oman. The novel was the first book translated from Arabic to win the prize, and more surprisingly, it was the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-26 11:59:00 UTC ]
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A reader considers public fascination with iconic and celebrity readers, including attention paid to their personal libraries and book lists. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-25 11:40:14 UTC ]
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Circe by Madeline Miller is really. freaking. good. In this reading guide, you'll find 10 Circe book club questions covering all the most important topics. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-24 11:31:48 UTC ]
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Read on for our suggestions for THE HATE U GIVE book club questions and a reading guide for book club or class discussions. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-21 11:39:27 UTC ]
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Trade bodies, including the Publishers Association (PA), have sent a letter to the political parties ahead of the release of their election manifestos calling for them to commit to removing "unfair and illogical" VAT on digital publications. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-20 05:24:16 UTC ]
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Delve deeper into the series as we do a close reading of the first lines and last lines of each Harry Potter book in this iconic and magical series. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-15 11:37:59 UTC ]
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Preaching second chances: L.A. Times Book Club's next read is 'Barking to the Choir' by Gregory Boyle Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-11-14 19:38:58 UTC ]
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A social enterprise promoting literacy, Reread in Doncaster, has raised £12,000 in five days after hundreds of thousands of its books were damaged or destroyed by major floods. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-13 06:52:31 UTC ]
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"If you could only read one book per country, make it this one": A Reddit post that offers an incredibly rich reading list to great global literature. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-05 11:38:04 UTC ]
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Macmillan's embargo on new ebooks impacts public libraries, now scrambling to make materials available to patrons. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-01 10:32:08 UTC ]
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In his memoir, says Medal of Honor winner Kyle Carpenter, he wants to offer hope. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-31 21:42:22 UTC ]
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From “Checkpoint Charlie” to Jenny Slate’s “Little Weirds” and the new edition of “Joy of Cooking.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-31 15:55:41 UTC ]
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Konnie Huq has delivered a letter to 11 Downing Street which demanded that Sajid Javid scrap VAT for e-books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-31 15:02:48 UTC ]
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TV star joins delegation to the chancellor of the exchequer demanding an end to VAT on digital books, which traditional publications escapeChildren’s laureate Cressida Cowell and former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq have joined 90 MPs calling on the government to scrap the “reading tax” on... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-31 15:01:27 UTC ]
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While you're perusing the literary fiction shelves, create a haunting atmosphere with these eerie literary fiction titles for Halloween and beyond. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-10-31 10:40:16 UTC ]
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