It’s every book lover’s fantasy. Yet nothing can quite prepare you for the reality of starting any business, even under normal conditions. Certainly, few dreamers think to prepare for the nightmare of a global pandemic that shutters most brick-and-mortar retail, disrupts supply chains, and kills hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens. Read more
Month: April 2021
UK book sales soared in 2020 despite pandemic
New figures from the Publishers Association show fiction and audiobooks did particularly well, with value of consumer sales up 7% on 2019 despite bookshop closures. Read more
Jhumpa Lahiri developed her voice for new novel ‘Whereabouts’ by first writing it in Italian
Writing is delicate work, perhaps doubly so when you are writing in a language that is not your native tongue. But Jhumpa Lahiri is no ordinary writer, and her latest novel, “Whereabouts” – an English translation of a story she originally wrote and published in Italian – requires the sort of deft hand so few can properly wield without it becoming boring and unobservant. Read more
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The star Japanese crime novelist almost too good to translate
Imagine yourself, over a 30-year career, being considered a modern master of both crime and literary fiction. You’ve sold millions of copies, won every major mystery award, seen several books adapted for the screen and earned the sobriquet “Queen of Mysteries.” But here’s the catch: Your work has never been translated outside your home country. Read more
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Al Young, Poet With a Musical Bent, Is Dead at 81
Mr. Young, who served for three years as California’s poet laureate and also wrote about jazz, was known for his readings, which often incorporated music. Read more
A Man Named Doll by Jonathan Ames
…Ames delivers an old-school L.A. crime novel that evokes Chandler with maybe an aftertaste of Bukowski. Readers expecting action won’t be let down, and the sparkling yet unpretentious language gives the whole an extra kick. Recommend to noir fans, action fans, anyone who likes a good read. Read more
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Closed During The Pandemic, English Bookstores And Libraries Reopen
One book store owner told the Guardian newspaper, “We’ve had people trying to smell the books through their masks, and perfectly respectable middle-aged people acting like kids in a sweet shop.” Read more
International Booker prize shortlist led by books ‘pushing the boundaries’ of fiction
The International Booker goes to “the finest fiction from around the world” that has been translated into English. Six books are now in the running for the £50,000 award, which is split equally between author and translator, all of them displaying “an extraordinary amount of ingenuity and originality”, said chair of judges Lucy Hughes-Hallett. Read more
Looking For a Way to Mark Earth Day? Try These Movies, Songs, Books and More
When you come back inside after celebrating Earth with a walk or by planting some trees, check out these ways NPR’s Arts & Culture team has connected with our Mother Earth via the arts. Read more
Grammar-Nerd Heaven
A new exhibit showcases the surprisingly contentious history of English grammar books. Read more
