Hard Times: Mental Health Books 2021 From Publishers Weekly: The tumult of the past 15 months has exacerbated common mental health concerns, among them trauma, anxiety, grief, and isolation. PW spoke with authors and editors about the emotional scars of the pandemic, and how their forthcoming books offer empathy, community, and guidance. Unforgettable reads focusing […]
Three New Books Find Drama in the Scandals and Controversies of the Publishing World These stories about concerns over the publishing industry aren’t going away any time soon—nor should they: “the business of books has increasingly become a hothouse, generating controversies, Twitter feuds and scrambles to save face as existing power structures are challenged.” Here
20 Great Works of Philosophical Fiction Rebeca Hussey here defines philosophical fiction as fiction that “encourages the reader to ponder big questions. It purposely provokes thought and debate.” Her list of philosophical fiction includes both contemporary and classic books. ‘Never stupid to ask questions’: Rare Raymond Chandler essay gives writing, office tips Here’s a reprint
Behind The New York Times’ Blake Bailey Bombshell And the fallout continues over the allegations against Blake Bailey, author of the biography of Philip Roth that was canceled this week by publisher W.W. Norton. A publishing executive’s rape allegation against the Philip Roth biographer sent shockwaves through the industry—and put the Times’ handling of it
How Crime Writers Can Reimagine Public Safety Without Police “The next wave of crime fiction could help shape the public imagination of what a world where police weren’t in charge of public safety could look like.” Historically, crime fiction has portrayed the police as heroes. But that vision of law enforcement is becoming hazier for
Captivating Novels about Astrology In her introduction to this list, Laura Maylene Walter, author of the novel Body of Stars, calls herself “a skeptic who doesn’t read horoscopes in my daily life.” But, she continues, “hand me a work of fiction about astrology or psychics, and I’m captivated.” Many of the books on this list
How Reading Ebooks Changes Our Perception (and Reviews) Addison Rizer, a self-declared “avid Kindle reader,” writes, “I am curious about the ways reading ebooks changes the way we interact, and review, the novels we consume.” The article contains lots of references, with links, to both scientific studies and popular sources. However, the discussion is unfocused;
The question of whether people read more than one book at a time comes up often on book-related media. I’ve noticed that the people who post the question and then go on to answer it most often write about why they read multiple books simultaneously. Many people just ask the question without including any discussion,
Do You Read More Than One Book at a Time? Read More »
The time is right to cancel Dr. Seuss’s racist books One of the biggest literary stories recently is the decision by the company that controls the works of Dr. Seuss to pull six titles from future republication because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” Here Ron Charles, book critic for the
“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” “There’s no accounting for taste.” “Different strokes for different folks.” I occasionally see the novel Geek Love by Katherine Dunn listed on someone’s list of best novels ever read. I understand that the novel’s themes of family, love, and normality make it appeal to a lot of people,
Your Favorite Book Might Be My DNF . . . and Vice Versa Read More »
