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 ]

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Mental health charity declines donation from Jamie Lynn Spears

Britney Spears’s younger sister has had her offer to give proceeds from her forthcoming book to the non-profit organisation This Is My Brave turned downJamie Lynn Spears’s offer to donate some of the proceeds from her forthcoming memoir to a mental health organisation has been declined after a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-20 11:37:23 UTC ]
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Home Truths review: is David Williamson a reformed 'Bad Art Friend'?

Australian dramatist David Williamson’s new book is a mash up of memoir and autobiography, which casts himself as a former ‘plunderer’ of other’s lives. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-10-20 03:57:12 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Midnight in Washington,’ by Adam Schiff

Schiff’s “Midnight in Washington” is that rare memoir by a politician that actually has something to say. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Raven lands Schuler's debut novel on 'real' Lady Macbeth

Raven Books has landed Lady Macbethad, a historical novel exploring the "real Lady Macbeth" set in medieval Scotland, and a second title by debut author Isabelle Schuler. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-19 15:28:38 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Unprotected,’ by Billy Porter

In his memoir “Unprotected,” Billy Porter recounts his lifelong struggle to heal the deep wounds buried under the sheen of his charismatic presence. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-19 09:00:04 UTC ]
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8 Great Novels That Take Place Over the Course of a Day

A book that takes place in one day offers immersion in a character’s life and consciousness, with the added resonance of a creative constraint that mirrors our own lived experience of 24 hours with changing light, ticking numbers, and the book-ends of sleep. My attempt to try this in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-19 08:50:02 UTC ]
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MacLehose Press signs contemporary fiction anthology by Afghan women

Quercus imprint MacLehose Press has acquired My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women, an anthology of contemporary women's short stories with an introduction by BBC chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Scholastic picks up trans teen memoir from Hancox

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Books in the Media: Grohl and Strout rock to the top of reviews

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Katie Couric recalls her rise to ‘Today’ — and what she really thought of everyone

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This Week's Bestsellers: October 18, 2021

Amor Towles’s 'The Lincoln Highway,' which became this month’s Read with Jenna pick for the Jenna Bush Hager Book Club, hit #1 overall. Plus Grunge god Dave Grohl, the Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman, has the #2 book in the country this week with his memoir The Storyteller'. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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7 Magical Realism Short Stories Haunted By Emotional Ghosts

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Why Does Thoreau Live On? A Few Famous Writers Offer Answers.

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This Filipino American Memoir Confronts Privilege, Sacrifice, and Colonialism’s Legacy

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A Memoir of Post-Genocide Refugee Life Rendered With Delicacy and Insight

In “Those We Throw Away Are Diamonds,” Mondiant Dogon, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, recounts a saga of horror, frustration and hope. Continue reading at The New York Times

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A Memoir of Filipino American Family Life in the Wake of Colonialism

“Concepcion,” by Albert Samaha, combines the epic sweep of global history with an intimate family narrative. Continue reading at The New York Times

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The World (Is a Book) According to Peter LaSalle, by Ellie Simon

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Duo open Next Page, an inclusive bookshop in North Hertfordshire

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 14:30:39 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of October 11, 2021

Scout signs a buzzed-about novel by a Swedish journalist, Norton nabs a memoir by South African Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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The creator of Midnight Mass is now adapting Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher.

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