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"

‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

Kat Cho’s debut novel “Wicked Fox” is a little complicated, but the poignantly rendered family relationships and fantasy drama are worth the ride. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:00 UTC ]
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‘Wicked Fox’ is an engrossing – if convoluted – YA fantasy

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-08-22 23:52:00 UTC ]
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A Nigerian American in Utah Strives to Be ‘A Particular Kind of Black Man’

Tope Folarin’s debut novel is all at once a search for identity, an immigrant story, and a bildungsroman. A Particular Kind of Black Man follows Tunde Akintola, a Nigerian American in a small town in Utah. Torn between the culture of his Nigerian parents, and the white Mormon culture of Utah,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-21 11:00:12 UTC ]
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John Murray signs Gallen's 'darkly comic' debut

John Murray will publish Michelle Gallen's "darkly comic" debut novel set on the Irish border. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-20 14:25:46 UTC ]
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Shaun Hamill Has a Scary Story to Tell You

His debut novel ‘A Cosmology of Monsters’ is both a horror novel and a rich love story, told with tenderness and brimming with darkness. The post Shaun Hamill Has a Scary Story to Tell You appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-08-16 10:00:38 UTC ]
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Revisiting ‘The Tiger’s Wife’ and the Balkan Wars

In Téa Obreht’s 2011 debut novel “The Tiger’s Wife,” a young doctor untangles the peculiar circumstances of her grandfather’s recent death. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-16 09:00:01 UTC ]
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O'Keeffe debut goes to Coronet

Coronet has snapped up the “big-hearted” debut novel from journalist Alice O’Keeffe, inspired by her experience of becoming a parent. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-14 11:36:13 UTC ]
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Two Families Linked By Secrets, Deaths, and Regrets

Regina Porter’s debut novel The Travelers includes short chapters, photos, and a compendium of voices—a full cast is listed in the front matter. This includes the Vincents, with patriarch “the man James” and his son Rufus; the Christies, headed by Eddie and Agnes with their daughters Claudia... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-05 11:00:57 UTC ]
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Kissick wins W&A Working-Class Writers’ Prize

Lucy Kissick’s debut novel Plutoshine has won the inaugural Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-04 19:06:55 UTC ]
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7 Books About Past Decades That Feel Like Traveling Back in Time

The Amazon review for my debut novel was glowing, including words like “compelling” and “fun.” And then there was this: “If you love historical fiction, you’ll love The Last Book Party.” Say what? How could my novel, which is set during the 1980s—a decade of my own youth—be historical fiction?... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-01 11:00:53 UTC ]
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S&S UK pre-empts Bishop's debut in two-book deal

Simon & Schuster UK has pre-empted journalist Caroline Bishop’s "uniquely beautiful" debut novel in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-31 22:16:28 UTC ]
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Murder? Poachers? What the hell is going on with Where the Crawdads Sing author Delia Owens?

A few days ago, Publishers Weekly reported that Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens’ debut novel and the September 2018 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club, topped a million in print sales in 2019. Today, Laura Miller at Slate had a much juicier story about Owens: her... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-30 15:00:24 UTC ]
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Center for Fiction Names 2019 First Novel Prize Longlist

The Center for Fiction announced its 2019 First Novel Prize Longlist yesterday. The award is given to the “best debut novel published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of the award year,” and the prize-winning author receives $10,000. Here is the 2019 longlist (featuring many titles from our 2019 Book... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-07-25 17:22:45 UTC ]
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Scribe signs debut from Mr B's bookseller in two-book deal

Scribe has snapped up Mr B's bookseller Jessica Gaitán Johannesson's debut novel in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-22 18:31:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of July 15, 2019

Pamela Dorman pays up for a debut novel by a former publicity director at Penguin Books Canada, and Princeton University Press lands a big book on the gender pay gap in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Piatkus lands Tovey debut in two-book deal

Little, Brown imprint Piatkus has landed the “smart and funny” debut novel from Hannah Tovey in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-09 16:51:11 UTC ]
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Titan lands librarian Womack's debut

Titan Books will publish the supernatural-themed debut novel by Cambridge University librarian and writer Marian Womack as part of a two book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-01 17:49:35 UTC ]
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R.F. Kuang, The Nanking Massacre, and Reading Flashbacks

Last year, I read R.F. Kuang’s debut novel The Poppy War. I found myself flung backwards in time to August ... Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-06-28 10:41:44 UTC ]
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Khan wins Branford Boase Award for debut novel

Muhammad Khan and his editor Lucy Pearse have won this year’s Branford Boase Award for a debut novel for children or young people with I Am Thunder (Macmillan Children’s Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-27 15:50:48 UTC ]
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