French Bookshops
Here’s one way of preventing Amazon’s hegemony over book sales: in France, book prices are fixed by law so they cost the same amount whether you buy them online, in a chain shop like Fnac or in a small...
View ArticleThe Best of 2012 Survey
BEST IN BOOKS 2012 1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want) Do I have to choose? Well, one of my favourites was Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami which …...
View ArticleAre Libraries Killing Bookshops?
I read an interesting article in The Guardian today in which Terry Deary, author of the Horrible Histories series, claims that libraries ‘have had their day’ and that the concept behind them, namely...
View ArticleThe Folio Prize: Do We Need Another Literary Award?
Another day sees another literary award announced…this time, it’s the launch of the Folio Prize, a new £40,000 literary award sponsored by the Folio Society for the best work of fiction published in...
View ArticleOn Writing by Stephen King
‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ by Stephen King is part-autobiography, part advice manual for aspiring authors. The first part of ‘On Writing’ is a personal and often very witty memoir as King...
View ArticleFive Reasons To Support Your Local Indie Bookshop
This week is Independent Booksellers Week. An interesting article in The Guardian yesterday outlined five reasons to support your local indie bookshop. In order from worst to best, they are: 5) To...
View ArticleThe Man Booker Prize Longlist 2013
The longlist for the Man Booker Prize 2013 was announced today. 151 books were submitted for consideration and the final 13 are: Five Star Billionaire: Tash Aw We Need New Names: NoViolet Bulawayo The...
View ArticleFreshly Pressed…. Again!
So apparently it’s possible to be Freshly Pressed twice… Just over a year after my post about eBooks was Freshly Pressed, my post about the forthcoming changes to the Man Booker Prize criteria received...
View ArticleEleanor Catton wins the Man Booker Prize
It has just been announced that Eleanor Catton has won this year’s Man Booker Prize for her novel ‘The Luminaries’. Not only is she the youngest ever winner of the prestigious prize at the age of just...
View ArticleThe Folio Society Spring Titles Launch
Founded in 1947 by Charles Ede, the Folio Society is an independent publisher with a reputation for producing beautifully illustrated books. This week, I was lucky enough to attend their spring titles...
View ArticleeBooks in Libraries: Worth the Investment?
For the printed book purist, the mere suggestion of libraries lending eBooks conjures up images of empty shelves, redundant librarians and tumbleweeds drifting across abandoned buildings. However,...
View ArticlePenguin defends “creepy” new cover of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Although the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is supposed to be metaphorical, the controversy surrounding the new Penguin Modern Classics edition of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate...
View ArticleBook Launch: Of Bodies Changed by Cliff James
Last weekend, I went to a book launch in Cambridge for Cliff James’ debut novel ‘Of Bodies Changed’. The novel tells the story of Jackie, who travels to the South Downs in search of her childhood home....
View ArticleGirl Online by Zoe Sugg: Is Ghostwriting Unethical?
Earlier this week, it was announced that ‘Girl Online’ by Zoe Sugg also known as YouTube vlogger Zoella, was the fastest selling debut novel of all time having shifted 78,109 copies in its first week...
View ArticleNew Books Coming Soon in 2015
2014 was a fantastic year for new books by some of my favourite authors including ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage‘ by Haruki Murakami, ‘The Paying Guests‘ by Sarah...
View ArticleGo Set a Watchman: The Inevitable Disappointment of Literary Sequels?
Until last week, the prospect of Harper Lee publishing a new book fifty-five years after ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ seemed about as likely as Donna Tartt churning out novels at the same pace as Stephen...
View ArticleThe Man Booker Prize 2015 Longlist
The longlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize was announced today. The thirteen titles are: Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (US) The Green Road by Anne Enright (Ireland) A Brief History of...
View ArticleThe Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2015 Longlist
The longlist for this year’s Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction was announced today. The twelve books are: Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life by Jonathan Bate Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of...
View ArticleMy Books of the Year 2015
In no particular order, here are some of my favourite books from those I’ve read in 2015: Favourite fiction published in 2015 I loved Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith which is the third book in the...
View ArticleNew Books Coming Soon in 2016
As well as all the books I missed in 2015 and want to catch up on, there are lots of new books to look forward to in 2016. Here is a selection I will be keeping my eye out for … Continue reading →
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