What We're Reading – April 2019

Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado I've absolutely loved this collection of short stories, which floats between the weird and the queer, passing horror, black comedy and feminism along the way. Doubles and others are especially important: a wife enters her wife’s dream when they are apart; a girlfriend fades until her girlfriend accidentally falls through her in bed. Most noticeably, in the magnificent story ‘Especially Heinous’, detectives Stabler and Benson from Law & Order: SVU meet Abler and Henson, who always get to the crime scene first but do nothing about the beautiful murdered girls whose deaths fuel most episodes of Law & Order: SVU. Machado’s stories are direct, fast-paced, and funny, yet there’s always a slow-moving malevolence to them, a hidden seriousness, a careful confusion, and a sense of meaning that’s just out of reach for the characters. I can’t wait for her second book – a memoir – to be published later this year. Swithun Cooper, Research and Information Manager   Ordinary People, by Diana Evans Just shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize. Ordinary People is the story of two couples in the second flush of marriage, wondering about where their lives together are going and what compromises they’ll have to make along the way. It’s also a love-letter to London, and to the music of John Legend. I’m enjoying Diana Evans’ lyrical writing style and in depth exploration of her characters inner lives, their frustrations and complex... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-04-11 08:49:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading – April 2019"


Paul Newman’s memoir—which he started writing in the 80s—will finally be released next fall.

If you’re like me and have a deep appreciation and love of classic Hollywood, then you’ll be delighted to hear that Knopf plans to publish Paul Newman’s memoir in the fall of 2022. The actor, who died in 2008 at the age of 83, began working on his memoir in the 1980s; according to the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-03 14:46:35 UTC ]
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The Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka Discusses His First Novel in Nearly Fifty Years

The Nigerian writer explains the origins of his latest book’s title, why novels are harder to write than plays, and the masochistic pull of political activism. Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2021-11-02 22:37:29 UTC ]
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Artwork for Ai Weiwei’s memoir broadcast across Piccadilly Circus billboard

Artwork has been displayed on the largest billboard in Europe, at Piccadilly Circus, as part of the campaign for Ai Weiwei’s 1,000 Years of Joys and Sorrows (Bodley Head). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-02 09:01:47 UTC ]
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For His Father and His Son, Ai Weiwei Is Determined to Leave a Trace

The Chinese dissident artist writes a memoir of family, exile and the inseparability of art and politics. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-30 09:00:03 UTC ]
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Cassandra Peterson finally drags Elvira, L.A.'s spookiest icon, out of the dark

Halloween queen opens up in memoir about alter ego Elvira, troubling encounters with Wilt Chamberlain and Tom Jones, and the relationship she hid for years. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-29 16:45:44 UTC ]
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Brian Cox torches Johnny Depp, Ed Norton, Michael Caine and more in new book

'Succession' star Brian Cox rips several beloved Hollywood stars in his memoir 'Putting the Rabbit in the Hat,' but also praises a few along the way. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-28 22:07:21 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Name Third-Annual “Book Of The Year” Finalists

8 books, ranging from memoir to pizza czar, history for young readers and lyrics by legends, are the finalists for B&N's Book of the Year. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-10-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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White Rabbit signs Lanegan's 'terrifying' account of Covid-19 fight

White Rabbit has signed a new memoir by Mark Lanegan, described as a “terrifying account” of Covid-19, which left the songwriter slipping in and out of a coma. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-27 22:09:40 UTC ]
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Boubacar Boris Diop Wins Prestigious 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature

News and Events (c) Rama, Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr NORMAN, OKLA. – World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, announced late Tuesday evening that Boubacar Boris Diop is the 27th... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-26 21:56:54 UTC ]
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Review: Katie Couric is done pleasing people, as her new memoir proves

The TV news star's memoir, 'Going There,' is fearlessly, wildly entertaining, often emotional and sure to upend the idea that she wants your love. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-26 13:00:12 UTC ]
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Selma Blair's Mean Baby memoir coming from Virago in 2022

Virago will publish Mean Baby, the memoir of actress Selma Blair, exploring her career, struggles with addiction, life with multiple sclerosis (MS) and advocacy alongside her role as a mother.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 09:44:11 UTC ]
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Seven Dials signs memoir from Princess Diana's bodyguard Sansum

Seven Dials has scooped the "explosive" memoir from Lee Sansum, the bodyguard who protected Hollywood royalty and Princess Diana, to be written with Howard Linskey.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 06:48:10 UTC ]
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Michael Joseph signs Kacenberg's 'unique' Holocaust memoir

Penguin Michael Joseph has signed a “unique” Holocaust memoir about the unlikely friendship between a young Jewish girl and a stray cat by Mala Kacenberg. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 02:08:45 UTC ]
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Canongate scoops personal memoir from Thomson

Canongate has scooped a personal memoir from Scottish writer and visual artist Amanda Thomson. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-24 15:10:24 UTC ]
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Donald Antrim’s ‘One Friday in April’ is a vital book about mental illness and recovery

Antrim’s memoir offers an unvarnished portrait of suicidal thinking and finding a way out. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: ‘The Street,’ by Ann Petry

This classic story of a single mother’s struggle against poverty, published in 1946, would become the first novel by a Black woman to sell a million copies. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-22 04:28:52 UTC ]
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Interview: Isabel Allende

The Chilean novelist was living in exile when her first novel was published in 1985. “In a way, I feel that I am working for my country, even if I don’t live there,” she told us. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:31:43 UTC ]
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Review: ‘Persepolis,’ by Marjane Satrapi

A memoir and a history of Iran’s turbulent 20th-century politics, one comic strip frame at a time. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:21:11 UTC ]
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Review: ‘The Liars’ Club,’ by Mary Karr

The Times would later call this 1995 memoir of a hardscrabble Texas childhood “one of the best books ever written about growing up in America.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:16 UTC ]
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Review: ‘The Age of Innocence,’ by Edith Wharton

This tale of Gilded Age New York City became, in 1921, the first novel by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:14 UTC ]
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