The literary life of Michiko Kakutani: the book critic's best feuds and reviews

The New York Times writer is stepping down from her role, leaving behind a remarkable career characterized by razor-sharp reviews and intra-literary rowsMichiko Kakutani, the New York Times’ revered chief book critic, announced she was stepping down from her post on Thursday after 38 years, marking the end of a career that inspired both admiration and fear in the hearts of the writers whose books she reviewed.Kakutani was America’s most powerful literary critic, someone who, with the stroke of a pen, wielded immense influence over the careers of both budding and established novelists. Over the course of her tenure at the Times, Kakutani was remarkably guarded, making few appearances in public and allowing her reviews to speak for themselves. In honor of a critic so widely celebrated – the scribe behind pieces that launched the careers of David Foster-Wallace, George Saunders and Zadie Smith and angered quite a few others – here are her best feuds and reviews, broken down. Related: In defense of Jonathan Franzen – the internet's collective punching bag “Writing in prose that is at once visceral and lapidary, Mr Franzen shows us how his characters strive to navigate a world of technological gadgetry and ever-shifting mores, how they struggle to balance the equation between their expectations of life and dull reality, their political ideals and mercenary personal urges. He proves himself as adept at adolescent comedy (what happens to Joey after he accidentally swallows his... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales surge for Man Booker shortlist books

Written By: Tom Tivnan Publication Date: Tue, 13/09/2011 - 16:30 A D Miller and Carol Birch's novels are the big winners of the Man Booker Prize shortlist so far, with sales across the six books surging 290% by volume on last week. The six books on the list shifted 18,496 copies for the week... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon in Talks to Launch Digital-Book Library

Amazon.com Inc. is talking with book publishers about launching a Netflix Inc.-like service for digital books, in which customers would pay an annual fee to access a library of content, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Prices Prop Up Print Siblings

Even as readers grow more comfortable with digital books, some continue to question why so many of the most popular new ebooks are priced so high. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle E-Book Lending Program: What It Needs to Succeed

Amazon's "Netflix for E-Books" lending program is still a rumor, and not popular with book publishers, but here are some ways it could work. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virgin buys Palin book

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 11:17 Virgin Books has acquired a title about US political firebrand Sarah Palin, written by Joe McGinniss. Publishing director Ed Faulkner bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Crown Publishers in the US to The Rogue, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French Publishers Drop Lawsuits Against Google Book Scanning

Three French publishers have dropped lawsuits against Google alleging that the company infringed their copyright. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Natalie Portman trainer book to Vermilion

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BRC says August book sales "tough"

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book tells of Evening Standard's Dispossessed campaign

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Physical book sales slump 4% month-on-month

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fig Tree aquires Nell Leyshon book

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Galaxy National Book Awards coverage shake-up

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dawn Porter to write for Hodder Children's Books

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony offers first Harry Potter book free with new reader

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Edinburgh Book Festival to publish story collection

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin to offer personalised kids books with new app

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books-A-Million At the Crossroads

At no time in its history has the opportunity and danger been greater for Books-A-Million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kay wins Scottish Book of the Year award

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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