The novelist on his new collection of journalism, why he regrets criticising Sally Rooney and how he’s never shaken off the influence of JG Ballard“I’ll see your eidolon next Tuesday,” writes Will Self, 61, when I email to arrange a video call to discuss his new collection of journalism, Why Read: Selected Writings 2001-2021, which is centred on the concern (as he later told me, or my on-screen spirit-image) that “people are dumbing down their entire response to their own culture by their unfettered use of social media”. Self’s 26 previous books include Umbrella, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2012, and its sequels Shark and Phone, the latter a single 624-page paragraph which the Telegraph called an “epic anti-tweet”. Speaking from his home in south London, he said he liked the description “because the book was a deliberate attempt to call people’s attention to what was being lost by the digital. I don’t think the Umbrella trilogy is that hard to read at all; it’s only hard to read in contrast to a tweet. By Donald Trump!”How did you pick the pieces in Why Read?Until fairly recently, certainly since 2001, I probably wrote an average of 150,000 words of journalism every year, so there’s a vast amount to choose from. My New York editor said that in the age of the web, collections like this need a theme or else readers feel they’re just getting a grab bag they could’ve sourced themselves. So the emphasis fell on the impact on reading and writing of what I choose to call... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-26 18:00:32 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Statue of renowned Kurdish historian, author, and poet Mastoureh Ardalan (1805–1848) in Erbil / Photo by Levi Meir Clancy / Unsplash Even though they appear to have a lot to say about the historical, political, cultural, and literary... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-23 21:05:41 UTC ]
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Anti-racism activist and co-founder of New Beacon Books, Britain’s first specialist black bookshop and publishing companyThe veteran activist Sarah White, who has died aged 80, was for more than half a century a stalwart of initiatives dedicated to anti-colonialism, anti-racism and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-16 19:10:04 UTC ]
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The prolific author re-fashioned the irreverence and “Gonzo” journalism of the 1960s counterculture into a distinctive brand of conservative and libertarian commentary. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2022-02-16 05:08:02 UTC ]
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√How Otto von Bismarck unified fractious states through a shared sense of embattlement. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-01-07 13:00:00 UTC ]
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White Lion has bagged the first official cookbook inspired by hit television show "Peaky Blinders". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-04 23:21:05 UTC ]
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He was the longest-tenured bookseller in the history of New York’s most storied bookstore, and he perpetuated its bohemian character. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-12-30 23:42:37 UTC ]
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Organisers of a crowdfunder for the White Review have stretched the target by an additional £6,000 after sailing past their original £10,000 goal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-23 08:46:01 UTC ]
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White went from the streets of Baltimore to the philharmonic. In his memoir "I'm Possible," he tells the story of how he transformed his life. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-18 13:00:13 UTC ]
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Nadifa Mohamed's novel is inspired by the life and death of Mahmood Hussein Mattan. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-14 18:56:42 UTC ]
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Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (The Waiting) and Alexander Chee (How to Write An Autobiographical Novel) spoke to one another as part of D+Q Live, a fall event series by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The driving force behind November’s conversation was Gendry-Kim’s second... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-13 09:49:57 UTC ]
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Penguin Business has landed a guide to diversity and inclusion aimed at "straight, white male leaders" by Suki Sandhu and Felicity Hassan. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-08 16:21:21 UTC ]
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The White Review has launched a £10,000 crowdfunding appeal to safeguard its future after two "very hard" years for the literary and culture magazine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-06 08:27:57 UTC ]
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Critic Michael Dirda picks illustrated books that won’t just sit on your coffee table. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-01 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Anthony Broadwater spent 16 years in prison after the author identified him as her attacker in an assault she described in her memoir “Lucky.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-11-30 23:51:15 UTC ]
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Sebold apologized to Anthony Broadwater, convicted of her rape in 1982 and exonerated last week. Her publisher announced a pause to consider revisions. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-11-30 22:41:08 UTC ]
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Picador has stopped distribution of Alice Sebold's memoir Lucky as the author apologised to the man who was exonerated of her rape last week, 40 years after his conviction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-30 20:34:54 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House’s first report auditing the diversity of its contributors found that the demographics of its authors, illustrators, translators, and other creators “do not reflect U.S. reader demographics when it comes to race and ethnicity.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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"This POC author was actually a blond white woman who didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with her act of brownface." Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2021-11-02 13:00:03 UTC ]
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White Rabbit has signed a new memoir by Mark Lanegan, described as a “terrifying account” of Covid-19, which left the songwriter slipping in and out of a coma. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-27 22:09:40 UTC ]
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Hay House UK is expanding its editorial department and has appointed Helen Rochester as editorial director. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-27 04:55:59 UTC ]
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