What We're Reading – October 2019

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most of whom identify as female, living in London. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them through my reading and seeing how their lives are linked or overlap in different ways. What I found particularly interesting about this book is how each character responds in their own way to the universal questions of self and identity, particularly the tensions between personal, public and political gender discourse and the effect it has on the relationships the characters have with others. This feels like a very important book, and a must-read if you’re interested in what’s happening in UK fiction today.Rachel Stevens, Director LiteratureCommon People - An Anthology of Working-class Writers (ed Kit de Waal). An exceptional collection of essays, poems, memoir and short stories celebrating working-class life, culture and literature. There are many highlights, but I especially recommend Lisa McInnery’s essay ‘Working Class: An Escape Manual’, which considers how working-class writers and artists are co-opted into other identities when they achieve success. Debut author Adam Sharp’s ‘Play’, a memoir of his relationship with a substance-addicted father, is poignant and deftly handled - he’s a writer to... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]

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

Philip Pullman returns to the world of ‘His Dark Materials’ with ‘The Secret Commonwealth’

The second in the Book of Dust Trilogy is lengthy but worth the time investment. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-21 23:55:57 UTC ]
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Colleagues pay tribute to journalist and 'lioness' Deborah Orr

Columnist, editor and author hailed as ‘fearless’, after her death at the age of 57Friends and colleagues have responded to the death of the journalist and author Deborah Orr with a flood of tributes, describing the longtime Guardian columnist as fearless, hilarious, and “a lioness in a world... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-10-21 15:54:16 UTC ]
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'Animals feared him': fake David Cameron memoir cover spotted in bookshop

Complete with endorsements from Donald Trump and Judy Murray, the parody jacket turned up in a branch of FoylesThere are large acts of protest, such as the People’s Vote march that took place in London on Saturday. And then there are smaller ones, such as the work of the as yet unidentified... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-10-21 12:46:59 UTC ]
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Burson opens new bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

The only store in Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, to exclusively sell new books will open on 26th October. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-21 06:24:17 UTC ]
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Orr's Motherwell unpicks the complexities of familial relationships

Motherwell, the incisive memoir by Deborah Orr, unpicks the complexities of familial relationships. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-21 06:10:58 UTC ]
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Audible partners with Uber on stories for stressed passengers

Audible has partnered with Uber to launch in-app short stories to help stressed passengers find a "literary escape" on their journey. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-20 14:31:04 UTC ]
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The Life of Cameron Douglas, From Privilege to Prison and Back

In his memoir “Long Way Home,” Michael Douglas’s oldest son examines the “demented death wish” that drove him to drugs and crime, shining a light on his famous family along the way. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-10-19 09:00:12 UTC ]
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Kate Braverman, Who Wrote of Women on the Margins, Dies at 70

Her novels, short stories and poetry were dense with lush and spellbinding imagery. As a teacher, one former student said, “She lived and died by the word.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-10-18 22:39:19 UTC ]
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Charles Schwab takes sharper aim at Robinhood as it pursues younger clients

Chuck Schwab said his company will soon introduce fractional-stock trading and other services designed to appeal to younger clients. The founder and chairman of Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that introducing the new services is the next step after dropping... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-10-18 18:05:16 UTC ]
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Am I Allowed to Break Up with My Book Agent?

The Blunt Instrument is an advice column for writers, written by Elisa Gabbert (specializing in nonfiction), John Cotter (specializing in fiction), and Ruoxi Chen (specializing in publishing). If you need tough advice for a writing problem, send your question to [email protected].... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-10-18 11:00:04 UTC ]
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Announcing THE BEST ASIAN SHORT STORIES 2019

Get more global with your reading, thanks to the Best Asian Short Stories 2019 collection. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-10-18 10:35:55 UTC ]
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Castrén hopes new formats will boost Finnish market five years after guest spot

The head of Otava Publishing, one of Finland’s largest books beasts as well as an owner of its biggest bookshop chain, says the domestic market has been ‘bipolar’—but reckons new formats present a massive opportunity for brave publishers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 03:01:17 UTC ]
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Walker signs comedy horror MG debut by Jordan Kopy

Walker Books has signed comedy horror middle grade series Theodora Hendrix and the Monstrous League of Monsters by debut author Jordan Kopy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-17 21:39:40 UTC ]
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Safran Foer’s memoir to illuminate family’s Holocaust history

HarperCollins imprint HQ will publish a "heartwrenching" post-Holocaust memoir from the mother of Jonathan Safran Foer, the story of which was the basis for his bestselling 2002 novel, Everything is Illuminated. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 20:21:07 UTC ]
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Your Spot on the Wall: An Introduction to “Graffiti”

LARB presents this exclusive excerpt from Graffiti, the inaugural anthology from artist collective POC United, published this week by Aunt Lute Books. ¤ WHERE ARE YOUR WORDS welcome? Where do you have permission to scribble, scrawl, romanticize, speculate, brag, retaliate, and narrate your own... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-16 17:00:52 UTC ]
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Oneworld acquires inside story of musical family the Kanneh-Masons

Oneworld has acquired the memoir of the woman who raised seven extraordinarily talented musical children, the Kanneh-Masons, exploring parenting, music education and the boundless potential of all children. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 16:07:07 UTC ]
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Saraband lands Helen Moat memoir

Indie publisher Saraband will publish Helen Moat’s memoir covering her 2000-mile cycle journey across Europe, in April 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-16 00:50:09 UTC ]
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HarperCollins triumphs in 9-way auction for slushpile debut Girl A

HarperCollins has triumphed in a nine-way auction to publish Girl A by slushpile debut author Abigail Dean, with international rights sold in seven territories as well as an ongoing auction in Brazil and offers in Portugal and Israel. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 18:13:43 UTC ]
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Amazon Charts: Bryson and Pullman double up

Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth (Penguin/David Fickling) has maintained its number one spot in the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top 20 for a second week, while the current UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan's TCM, Bill Bryson's The Body (Transworld), also held... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 17:51:08 UTC ]
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