Writers and critics on the best books of 2013

Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Franzen, Mohsin Hamid, Ruth Rendell, Tom Stoppard, Malcolm Gladwell, Eleanor Catton and many more recommend the books that impressed them this yearChimamanda Ngozi AdichieFive Star Billionaire by Tash Aw (Fourth Estate) is a brilliant, sprawling, layered and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary China. It made me think and laugh. I also love Dave Eggers' The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), which is a sharp-eyed and funny satire about the obsession with "sharing" our lives through technology. It's convincing and a little creepy.William BoydBy strange coincidence two of the most intriguing art books I read this year had the word "Breakfast" in their titles. They were Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig (Jonathan Cape) and Breakfast at Sotheby's by Philip Hook (Particular). Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was answered with great candour and judiciousness. Hook's view of the art world is that of the professional auctioneer. In an A-Z format, it is an entire art education contained in under 350 pages. Wry, dry and completely beguiling.Bill BrysonThe Compatibility Gene by Daniel M Davis (Allen Lane) is an elegantly written, unexpectedly gripping account of how scientists painstakingly unravelled the way in which a small group of genes (known as MHC genes) crucially influence, and unexpectedly interconnect, various aspects of our... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #deep understanding

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10 Science Fiction Books by Black Women Writers

This past summer, an auntie of mine dusted off an old cardboard box of books from a cluttered storage unit, and handed me a slim blue and gold paperback with soft, slightly frayed corners and a creased spine by Octavia E. Butler. I had never read science fiction that featured a Black girl being... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-12-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Wild Worlds: SFF Books By Unexpected Writers

Poets, literary fiction authors, and other unexpected writers are taking their shot at sci-fi and fantasy. Here are some of the best, including Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-12-20 11:35:00 UTC ]
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‘I’m parking my guilt’: confessions of a celebrity children’s book ghost writer

As an author whose own books never find their way to supermarket shelves, it’s frustrating work – but it puts food on my family’s tableOnce a rare species, celebrity authored children’s books have become stalwarts of supermarket books aisles. Perfect for a grandparent hunting a last-minute... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-16 10:41:27 UTC ]
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Sid Jacobson, Comic Book Writer With Range, Dies at 92

His portfolio included the adventures of Richie Rich and graphic treatments of 9/11 and torture by the C.I.A. He also wrote dozens of songs. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-08-06 15:16:54 UTC ]
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Frederick Douglass Books, a new imprint, will publish nonfiction by writers of color.

Forefront Books and the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives are teaming up to form Frederick Douglass Books, a publishing imprint meant to “establish a pathway for Black and Brown authors” into the publishing industry, the two organizations announced in a press release last week. The imprint... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-16 13:04:40 UTC ]
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Critics Blast James Patterson For Saying White Writers Are Struggling To Get Work

The author, who is white, told British newspaper The Times that job difficulties were "another form of racism." Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-06-13 08:03:37 UTC ]
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U.S. Book Show: Ukrainian Novelist Andrey Kurkov on Wartime Reality for Writers and Publishers

The U.S. Book Show's opening keynote featured Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov, speaking from his home in Kyiv, who provided the history through a literary lens of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict that culminated in war. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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National Book Critics Circle Award Winners Announced

The NBCC Awards are the only awards in the U.S. chosen by book critics. Here are the winners for books published in 2021. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-03-18 15:45:58 UTC ]
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Books Writers Are Reading In 2022

Want to be a fly on our bookshelf? These are the novels, short stories, essays and cookbooks that writers and editors are reading this year. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-01-24 10:45:02 UTC ]
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8 Books by Queer Writers Who Came of Age in the 90s

The ’90s are back, as if they could ever truly peace out. Between Fear Street and Captain Marvel and the Alanis Morissette musical, the last mostly-offline decade is getting a gargantuan nostalgia polish. For my memoir Sticker—an exploration of my childhood in Charlottesville, Virginia via 20... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-01-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
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12 books I should have reviewed this year: A critic’s lament

There were too many worthy books, but I had too little time — and, alas, too many excuses. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-28 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Festival for Working Class Writers calls for book club titles

The Festival for Working-Class Writers' team are on the lookout for books to promote as part of their new book club, which launches in 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-08 23:43:53 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Critics hail Paul McCartney's 'absorbing' The Lyrics

Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, edited by Paul Muldoon (Allen Lane), was one of the critics' most reviewed books this week. The book was mentioned in the Observer, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Times, Irish Times, Washington Post and the New Yorker. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-02 02:24:55 UTC ]
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Orwell was more than a social critic. Rebecca Solnit’s new book finds him in the garden.

Solnit’s ‘Orwell’s Roses’ is the story of a life that doesn’t read like a typical biography. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-19 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Critics swoop on Day's fifth novel

Elizabeth Day's latest novel Magpie (Fourth Estate) picked up reviews in the Observer, the Irish Times, the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and the i this week.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-20 03:19:56 UTC ]
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Book industry figures condemn abuse of Clanchy critics in open letter

An open letter, signed by more than 150 figures from the book industry, has condemned the abuse suffered by Monisha Rajesh, Professor Sunny Singh and Chimene Suleyman following their criticisms of Kate Clanchy.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-11 17:31:27 UTC ]
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Comic Book Writers and Artists Follow Other Creators to Substack

A group of creators will publish new comic book stories, essays and how-to guides on the platform as a way to connect directly with fans. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-09 18:28:08 UTC ]
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Kate Clanchy book may be updated to remove racial stereotypes after criticism

Publisher Picador says it is looking at changing passages in prize-winning memoir, which Clanchy intially claimed were not in the book at allPicador, the publisher of Kate Clanchy’s award-winning Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me, is in discussions to update future editions of the book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-08-09 15:36:04 UTC ]
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Patricia Reilly Giff, ‘Polk Street’ Children’s Book Writer, Dies at 86

Ms. Giff wrote more than 100 books, ranging from an exploration of the Irish potato famine to a humorous series about the antics of second graders. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-07-02 22:56:53 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex sits comfortably in critic's picks

Last week, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex published her first children's book The Bench with Penguin Random House Children's. It picked up reviews from the Evening Standard, the Irish Times, the Telegraph, the Independent and the New York Times, making it one of the most reviewed new titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-13 20:19:26 UTC ]
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