Book Reviews Photo by Aideal Hwa / Unsplash If reading Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg’s Robot (Penguin Classics, 2021), translated by Tomasz Mirkowicz, makes you think about Stanislaw Lem’s work, you’re not alone. Indeed, both Robot and Lem’s His Master’s Voice (published in Polish just a few years apart) take up the fascinating but insoluble problem of whether or not we’re alone in the universe. One might even call Robot surrealist science fiction and liken it to Kafka’s work, or even Lem’s Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, since the main character spends most of his time wandering around the halls of an underground shelter, unsure of his own identity and his place in the community that has formed following an apocalyptic event on the surface. His identity confusion derives from his “birth” on an assembly line under a kind of bell jar. Given instructions by a mysterious Mechanism to study the people living in the shelter, the protagonist proceeds as if he is a living machine given a modicum of free will (as explained by the Mechanism). Much of the novel focuses on the protagonist figuring out why those around him are living underground and why many of them believe that he is a physicist named Poreyra. Encountering strange “statues” that weigh several tons in one of the shelter’s rooms, he eventually moves through a mirror there into a replica of the stricken city, where time moves at a fraction of the speed experienced in the shelter.... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-11-10 20:14:00 UTC ]
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On the Canadian author's birthday, Google honors Lucy Maud Montgomery's famous novel 'Anne of Green Gables.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coates' 'Between the World and Me' and Johnson's 'Fortune Smiles' won the nonfiction and fiction awards, respectively, at this year's National Book Awards. Johnson's work is the second short story collection in two years to win the fiction prize. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Past winners of the The Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writers of the Year Award share their writing tips and their favourite books written by writers aged 35 and under. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bank Street Book Fair, held at Bank Street College in upper Manhattan on October 24, offered a full day of incisive, humorous, and sometimes revelatory discussions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Post Co. which includes the daily Idaho Falls Post Register and three weekly newspapers in Shelley, Challis, and Rigby, Idaho will be sold by the Brady family to Adams Publishing Group LLC, according to John Cribb, Cribb Greene & Cope who rep ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ahead of the 2015 Rights Directors Meeting at the Frankfurt Book Fair, French rights directors talk about how global publishers can sell rights into France. The post Selling Rights Into France: Oui, It’s Easier Than You Think! appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CompletelyNovel's 'Lord of the Book Covers' competition revealed many indie authors are using the same professional designers as traditional houses. The post Why Self-Published Book Covers Are Better Than You Think appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On most commercial airlines, onboard Wi-Fi is only fast enough to check your email or update your Facebook status. Try to stream a movie and you may find your laptop buffering from Burbank to Phoenix. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new company founded by a former Penguin Random House digital exec is making a big bet on original, serialized digital fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It has been a bit more than nine years since David Foster Wallace delivered “Federer as Religious Experience,” the Magna Carta of what has become one of the most popular genres in sports journalism: the Roger Federer think piece. The now-classic essay, penned for the short-lived New York Times... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thomas Nung Atasana, Indonesia's leading literary agent, argues that the archipelago's authors and publishers deserve international attention. The post Indonesia’s Top Literary Agent says “Think Books, Not Bali!” appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[Sponsored Content] Maintaining a direct sales force can be a distraction that doesn't make economic sense. The post A Changing Publishing Environment Requires New Thinking appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2015-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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Author Jonathan Stroud is calling for parents and carers to give children time to use their imaginations through his new ‘Freedom to Think’ campaign. Stroud wants parents and carers to make sure children have at least one period each week for ‘unstructured thinking time’ where they can choose... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Few C.E.O.s can claim to head a one-billion dollar publishing company. John Ridding secured that status last week as the Financial Times chief executive saw Japan’s financial news giant snatch The F.T. away from Axel Springer, paying $1.3 b ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Las Vegas pastor Vince Antonucci shares the story behind his church for people who don't like church in his upcoming 'God for the Rest of Us.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twenty-four years after the death of classic children's author Dr. Seuss, his hidden manuscript was published today to the delight of fans of all ages. Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some fans are aghast over the portrayal of hero Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's new book 'Watchman.' But it's important to remember 'Watchman' isn't a sequel to 'Mockingbird.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some fans are aghast over the portrayal of hero Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's new book 'Watchman.' But it's important to remember 'Watchman' isn't a sequel to 'Mockingbird.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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