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"


Obama’s Memoir ‘A Promised Land’ Coming in November

The former president’s publisher plans to release the book after the 2020 election and has ordered a first U.S. printing of 3 million copies. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-09-17 10:00:08 UTC ]
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Virago to publish artist Riva Lehrer's 'important' memoir

Virago has acquired Golem Girl, a memoir by artist Riva Lehrer who was born with spina bifilda, which has already won acclaim from writers including David Mitchell heralding it "a hymn to life". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 22:53:10 UTC ]
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Sigrid Nunez’s ‘What Are You Going Through’ is an ambitious novel about the meaning of life and death

Nunez’s first novel since winning the National Book Award follows a woman and her terminally ill friend. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-16 16:32:08 UTC ]
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Have we seen this movie before?

It’s rare for President Trump to appear on networks that aren’t Fox, and even rarer for him to engage with Americans who aren’t already aboard the Trump train, but last night he did both, traveling to Philadelphia to participate in an ABC News town hall with undecided voters. Their questions, at... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-09-16 12:20:16 UTC ]
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Cape wins music icon Neneh Cherry’s 'powerful' memoir in 14-way auction

Jonathan Cape has acquired Swedish musician Neneh Cherry’s memoir, A Thousand Threads, in a 14-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 11:56:22 UTC ]
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Shobna Gulati: 'I've played the Queen, Thatcher and the Virgin Mary – on radio'

As she publishes a moving memoir, the Corrie, Dinnerladies and West End star talks about her three-decade battle with typecasting – and almost dying of Covid-19 Shobna Gulati is speaking about this past horrendous year in surprisingly serene tones. Her mother died last autumn, and a few months... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-09-16 05:00:14 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury wins auction for Lockwood's 'miraculous' debut novel

Bloomsbury is to publish Patricia Lockwood's first novel No One Is Talking About This, after winning a 10-way auction.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 02:57:52 UTC ]
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Hodder pre-empts 'moving' family memoir The Lost Café Schindler

Hodder & Stoughton has pre-empted a "unique" and "meticulously researched" family memoir, The Lost Café Schindler by Meriel Schindler, centred on a family business and spanning two centuries and two world wars. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 04:29:57 UTC ]
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“Two Beings Entwined”: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of Conflict and Healing, by Renee H. Shea

Interviews   Harlan Margaret Van Cao and Lan Cao / Courtesy of Penguin Random House Family in Six Tones: A Refugee Mother, an American Daughter (Viking, 2020) is a memoir written in alternating narrative chapters between Lan Cao and Harlan... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-09-14 19:40:45 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: September 14, 2020

The countess who wanted to be the most photographed woman in the world: Nathalie Léger on Virginia Oldoïni of Castiglione. | Lit Hub History Sophia Chang on entering the Wu-Tang Clan’s inner circle: “She’s down with Wu-Tang! And that’s all you need to know!” | Lit Hub Memoir “American authors... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-14 10:30:25 UTC ]
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A chilling memoir of troubled parents

Even when the ice recedes, writes Vicki Laveau-Harvie, it still shapes the landscape Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2020-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Because it’s 2020, HarperCollins is suing Lindsay Lohan.

That’s right. HarperCollins is suing Lindsay Lohan for breach of contract after she failed to deliver a manuscript for the memoir they acquired from her back in 2014. The publishing company is asking for their $365,000 back—ostensibly the first third of the reported $1 million purchase price.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-11 15:12:50 UTC ]
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S&S scoops two from Jess Phillips

Simon & Schuster is to publish a political memoir by Jess Phillips, secured in a two book deal.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-11 10:32:36 UTC ]
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Susanna Clarke’s First Novel in 16 Years Is a Wonder

The new book from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell takes place in one house, but in it, she finds infinite space. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2020-09-10 18:15:39 UTC ]
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A chilling memoir of troubled parents

Even when the ice recedes, writes Vicki Laveau-Harvie, it still shapes the landscape Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2020-09-10 14:56:44 UTC ]
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Headline acquires 'fascinating' memoir from inside Forensics Explosive Laboratory

Headline Publishing Group will publish a memoir by Cliff Todd, the former head of the Forensics Explosive Laboratory. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-10 14:02:33 UTC ]
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Cohen memoir casts him as 'star witness' against Trump

Michael Cohen's tell-all memoir makes the case that President Donald Trump is “guilty of the same crimes” that landed his former fixer in federal prison, offering a blow-by-blow account of Trump's... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2020-09-08 11:45:00 UTC ]
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In new book, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen calls U.S. president 'organized crime don'

Michael Cohen's tell-all memoir makes the case that U.S. President Donald Trump is "guilty of the same crimes" that landed his former fixer in federal prison, offering a blow-by-blow account of Trump's alleged role in a hush money scandal that... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-09-06 04:12:05 UTC ]
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William Collins lands 'extraordinary' cricket memoir by Guha

William Collins has landed an '"extraordinary” memoir by Indian writer and commentator Ramachandra Guha, detailing his love affair with cricket. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-05 02:04:46 UTC ]
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On One’s Land

Kendra Atleework's memoir Miracle Country embraces a dangerous, and endangered, land. Continue reading at Guernica

[ Guernica | 2020-09-03 13:00:15 UTC ]
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