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"


On my radar: Emma Jane Unsworth’s cultural highlights

The novelist on William Blake, crying through Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and an insightful poem about teenage masturbationBorn in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1978, Emma Jane Unsworth studied English literature at the University of Liverpool and received an MA from Manchester University’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-01-26 10:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Considering Zora Neale Hurston and the Legacy of Fiction

This week, Jabari Asim reviews a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston. In 1978, Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote for the Book Review about Robert Hemenway’s “Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-01-24 10:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Storytelling as Healing in Medicine, by Cecilia Simon

Book Reviews Cecilia Simon Photo by Michael Gaida / Pixabay “Health is whatever works and for how long.” This phrase was announced to our literature and medicine class the first week of the fall 2019 semester. Dr. Ronald Schleifer, the instructor, used... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-22 16:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Frank Cruz had a short fuse for second-class treatment. So he blazed a path for himself

Frank Cruz always told other people's stories. Now, he tells all in his memoir about his days as a reporter, Telemundo co-founder and everything in between. He carved paths for others along the way. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-18 13:48:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A round of ap-paws for this bookstore, where you can also adopt a cat!

Sometimes you just have to read between the lines—the felines, that is! There’s something about books and cats that just go together. You’ve probably met your fair share of bookshop cats, but have you ever stumbled into a store looking for A Tale of Two Cities and left with two kitties? Otis and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-16 18:38:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


WriteGirl Has My Heart: A Conversation with Keren Taylor

I KEEP FOLDING DOWN the corners of pages in this latest anthology from WriteGirl. It’s that kind of book, contains multitudes, it does — 180 young writers represented, and a range of genres, too: poetry, prose, drama, song — and in between selections, tips to keep a writer of any age on task:... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-01-16 18:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Controversial Origin of Asian American Studies

Since its release in 1974, the provocative literary anthology ‘Aiiieeeee!’ has been discussed far more often than it’s actually been read. Continue reading at The Paris Review

[ The Paris Review | 2020-01-15 16:00:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amanda Yates Garcia on Writing to Find Her True Self

Amanda Yates Garcia is the guest. Her new memoir, Initiated: Memoir of a Witch, is available from Grand Central Publishing. Garcia is a writer, artist, professional witch, and the Oracle of Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in The Millions, The Los Angeles Times, Time Out, LA Weekly, GOOP,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-15 09:47:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Dockrill to launch memoir at London Palladium

The Women of the World (WOW) Festival and Vintage Live have announced a "landmark collaboration" to celebrate the launch of writer and illustrator Laura Dockrill’s memoir What Have I Done? (Square Peg), to "help break the silence around postnatal mental health". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 17:38:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Row as Barnes Children's Literature Festival chooses Waterstones as official bookseller

An indie bookshop which was the official bookseller of the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival has been replaced by organisers in favour of Waterstones. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 03:02:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Uncanny Valley' and the Meaninglessness of Writing About Tech

Anna Wiener's memoir about her four-plus years working in startups never resolves the self-contradictions of her industry, city, or existence. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2020-01-13 23:50:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Boxer Crouch's memoir optioned for TV by 'Gentleman Jack' team

Suranne Jones will produce and star in an adaptation of five-time boxing champion Jane Crouch’s memoir The Final Round (Pitch). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-13 13:45:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: 'Uncanny Valley' serves up a biting slice of start-up life

'Uncanny Valley' by Anna Wiener is a biting, funny memoir from inside San Francisco's start-up culture. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-10 20:16:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Hillbilly Elegy' author launches VC fund to invest in Triangle startups

Investor J.D. Vance, author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” has launched a venture capital firm based in Cincinnati, according to multiple media reports. The Ohio native’s firm, Narya Capital, will invest in startups in the Raleigh, Durham and cities such as Salt Lake City,... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-01-10 12:20:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


WI15: Bookshop Hopes to Change Bookish E-commerce

The new online bookstore intended to benefit indies is nearly ready to go, and will launch January 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


FX Gives Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story a 3-Season Renewal

As FX expands to a streaming platform this year, with FX on Hulu, the network is making sure its most popular series will continue to be a mainstay on its linear channel for the next three years. FX has given a three-season renewal to American Horror Story, its anthology horror series from Ryan... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-01-09 17:00:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Silicon Valley Hustling: An Interview with Anna Wiener

Wiener’s memoir “Uncanny Valley” maps her coming-of-age during the Valley’s 2010s rush, and the industry’s own loss of innocence. Continue reading at The Paris Review

[ The Paris Review | 2020-01-09 16:44:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


PW Picks: Books of the Week, Jan. 12, 2020

This week, we highlight a powerful and unsettling debut by Ani Katz; a cleverly crafted memoir by Javier Cercas; a tangled, riveting parable of the modern surveillance state by Joanna Kavenna; and more Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


English language bookshop Coven reaches crowdfunder goal

Coven, an English language bookshop and café in Paris, has fulfilled its crowdfunding goal of around £21,000 to open a store dedicated to "intersectional feminism, engaged literature and ethical hospitality". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-08 16:28:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The White House wages war on transparency: Iran edition

In the days since the US military killed Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s fêted top security official, Iran’s leaders have repeatedly threatened retaliation. Yesterday, they volleyed ballistic missiles at two bases that house US troops in Iraq. No casualties were reported. On Twitter, Mohammad Javad... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-01-08 13:07:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this