What We're Reading – December 2019

Text Me When You Get Home: the Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship by Kayleen SchaeferIt’s a non-fiction book about the change in perspective around female friendship over the last few years, featuring interviews with a huge range of people including Judy Blume. The book looks at the radical potential of female friendships, how women support one another in a way that runs counter to the often one-dimensional representations of these friendships in the media. The bit I’ve found most interesting so far is an examination of how the idea that ‘girls are mean’ became mainstream. Many of Schaefer’s interviewees point out that if you tell a group repeatedly that they are a certain way, it becomes self-fulfilling, whether it has any basis in fact originally or not.It’s a very interesting book which sparks lots of thoughts and further discussions.Harriet Williams, Literatutre Programme ManagerThe Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodriques FowlerThis month I’ve been reading The Stubborn Archivist, by Yara Rodrigues Fowler which was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writers Award. It’s a really sophisticated debut novel set in London and Brazil, exploring the intricacies of the relationship between the narrator who is a ‘third-culture’ half British half Brazilian young woman, her family, and their histories. The author plays with form in such a way that connects fragments of memories together or makes them jar against each other revealing trauma that lives across the... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-12-17 09:49:28 UTC ]

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


Daunt Books takes Singh's 'visionary' The Breaks

Daunt Books Publishing has acquired The Breaks by Julietta Singh, the first non-fiction book on its Originals list, billed as a "visionary and moving" take on race, inheritance and mothering. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-02 10:49:51 UTC ]
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HQ scoops Sheffield-set debut novel from journalist Rawlins

HQ has scooped The Steel Girls, a debut novel from journalist and university lecturer Michelle Rawlins, in a three-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-01 19:21:33 UTC ]
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In Ros Anderson’s ‘The Hierarchies,’ a robotic heroine longs for a better life

Ros Anderson’s debut novel may not break new ground, but the depth of its first-person presentation is a quiet triumph. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-30 06:19:39 UTC ]
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After her epic debut novel on slavery's descendants, Yaa Gyasi wrote even closer to home

In 'Transcendent Kingdom,' Yaa Gyasi's second novel, she focuses on America — its promise and peril — and on one Ghanaian American family in Alabama. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-08-27 16:49:47 UTC ]
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Power and Passage: New Science Fiction and Fantasy

A story collection offers a cleareyed survey of the Black American experience, and a debut novel traverses hundreds of versions of Earth. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-27 09:00:05 UTC ]
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A Novel About Rebelling Against Toxic Positivity

Janet, the acerbic narrator of Lucie Britsch’s debut novel Sad Janet, is a resister. She’s sad—has been for most of her life—and doesn’t want to take the pills that big pharma, her mother, and the culture at-large is pushing on her to “fix” her. She’s content with sadness, and she’s not into the... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Tinder bags debut novel of former Mr B's bookseller Ishiguro

Tinder Press has acquired a debut novel by Naomi Ishiguro, former bookseller and bibliotherapist at Mr B’s Emporium in Bath. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-20 02:07:21 UTC ]
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‘Little Scratch’ drops readers into the reality of a distressed mind

Rebecca Watson’s debut novel has a simple story line and an experimental approach. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-18 07:39:15 UTC ]
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Allen & Unwin acquires Reeves debut, Victoria Park

Allen & Unwin is publishing Victoria Park, the debut novel of British teacher Gemma Reeves, set in contemporary east London.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-14 03:42:15 UTC ]
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In ‘Zo,’ Love Must Overcome Class Difference and Disaster

Xander Miller’s debut novel asks how we can stay together when the world is coming apart. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-11 18:21:58 UTC ]
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Lee Conell’s debut novel is a gripping tale of class and privilege

“The Party Upstairs” focuses on the tenants of one building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2020-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fourth Estate signs PRH editor's 'dazzling' debut for six figures

Fourth Estate has won a five-publisher auction for the “dazzling” debut novel from PRH assistant editor Kasim Ali, in a six-figure two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-06 21:45:48 UTC ]
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Lee Conell’s debut novel is a gripping tale of class and privilege

“The Party Upstairs” focuses on the tenants of one building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2020-08-06 14:59:44 UTC ]
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In ‘Luster,’ Young Black Women Feel Uneasy in a White American Home

Raven Leilani’s debut novel follows an interracial, intergenerational affair as it leads to an unusual redefinition of family. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-06 09:00:04 UTC ]
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‘The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures’ is a story that John le Carré might have written for ‘The Twilight Zone’

Jennifer Hofmann’s debut novel follows a Stasi agent trying to make sense of his past. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-04 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The real reason Jay Manuel from ‘ANTM’ made his debut novel fiction, not a memoir

For 18 seasons, he served as creative director and producer of the global phenomenon ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ But his debut novel isn’t the juicy tell-all you might’ve expected. Makeup artist and stylist Jay Manuel has spent more than 20 years in the fashion industry, most famously serving as... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-08-03 12:15:52 UTC ]
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Where are the hotshot British male novelists? BAME authors may know

Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Abir Mukherjee, Courttia Newland, Guy Gunaratne, Paul Mendez and Okechukwu Nzelu on why British writers of colour are left out of the conversationAfter this week’s Booker prize longlist was announced, the Times asked “Where are the new male hotshot novelists?” I was... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-31 14:10:18 UTC ]
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Newly launched Renard acquires Iain Hood debut

Renard Press has made its first acquisition, landing Iain Hood's debut novel This Good Book. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-28 22:40:39 UTC ]
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Talking “Breasts and Eggs” with Japan’s Rising Literary Star, Mieko Kawakami

Mieko Kawakami, whose poignant and pointed debut novel Breasts and Eggs is this season’s LARB’s Book Club selection, joins Medaya Ocher and Boris Dralyuk to discuss her career as a musician, poet, blogger, and author, the challenges facing women around the world, the state of Japanese... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-07-24 17:23:00 UTC ]
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Gannon releases podcast series to mark debut novel

Emma Gannon is releasing a four-part series of podcasts to mark the publication of her debut novel Olive (HarperCollins). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-23 16:12:33 UTC ]
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