There is a palpable mood of foreboding and anxiety around the book shelves in 2019. From grim warnings about climate change and rising pollution; startling studies about the impact of demographic trends; and — of course — Brexit and all its possible meanings and consequences, there is a lot to fret about when looking down the list of what awaits readers this year. But before anyone gets too miserable — and, besides, pessimism and alarm has long been a mainstay of the publishing industry — look at it another way: challenging times can also make for interesting, even great writing. Some of the biggest names in English-language novel writing have looked to the big, often scary issues facing us and used them for their work. We are now seeing the results. John Lanchester kicked off the year with The Wall, a dystopian vision of Britain in the near future. It tells the story of young conscripts sent to guard a wall erected around Britain after a climate catastrophe to … [Read more...] about The 15 books everyone needs to read this year
The vacationers book review
Stephen King steps in to save Maine paper’s book reviews
When Stephen King's local newspaper, under financial pressure, announced it would cut regional book reviews, the horror author swooped in -- and managed to save the section with just a few tweets. The story began on Friday, when King shared that The Portland Press Herald, a prominent newspaper in his home state of Maine, would no longer publish locally-written reviews of books set in the northeasternmost US state. "Tell the paper DON'T DO THIS," tweeted the 71-year-old author, a master of horror and fantasy known for such novels as "Carrie" and "The Shining." "Many of (the writers) depend on those reviews to buy bread and milk," he added. More than 8,000 fans retweeted the message. In response, the paper challenged King to help raise the funds needed to pay for the reviews -- which cost "thousands" of "freelance dollars," according to executive editor Cliff Schechtman. "If you can get 100 of your followers to buy digital subscriptions to the @PressHerald, we will reinstate the local … [Read more...] about Stephen King steps in to save Maine paper’s book reviews
Critical injuries: the perils of book reviews
Max Hastings 15 December 2018 9:00 AM 15 December 2018 9:00 AM Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Whatsapp A decade ago, a publisher produced a set of short biographies of Britain’s 20th-century prime ministers, which I reviewed unenthusiastically. My wife reproved me: ‘What did you do that for? For a fee of a few hundred pounds you have made a dozen entirely gratuitous new enemies. If you don’t have something good to say about books, don’t write about them.’ Honest reviewing would grind to a halt if all its practitioners deferred to her advice. It is nonetheless true that victims of an unfavourable notice seldom forget or forgive. As authors, we commit our souls as well as our bodies. Memories of the most flattering reviews of my own books fade within hours. Yet wounds from the stinkers fester for years. American academics are especially generous heapers of camel-dung upon titles that fail to satisfy them. In reflective … [Read more...] about Critical injuries: the perils of book reviews
Latest Gozo Observer out with articles, book reviews and much more
Another two articles in this 38th edition of the publication relates to the educational sector, and include that written by Charles Daniel Saliba on ‘The Teaching of Maltese as a Foreign Language’ and another by Joanne Sultana on ‘Dealing with Autism in Gozo.’ In his article ‘A Protest Letter from Gozo during the Birth of Press Freedom in Malta,’ Professor Joseph Galea explains the contents of a letter which was published in ‘The Harlequin’ in December 1838 and whose author hailed from Gharb. The village of Gharb also features in an article by Toni Calleja about the genealogical history of Karmni Grima’s family name. ‘The Origins of the Scout Movement in Gozo,’ are traced by Anita Muscat, they are inspired by the maxim `Scouting is an adventure that will prepare its members for life.’ The Victoria Scout Group recently suffered the loss of its founder and first Group Scout Leader, Mr Joseph Grech, who also served as … [Read more...] about Latest Gozo Observer out with articles, book reviews and much more
Book review: Melmoth, by Sarah Perry
0 Have your say This is a very good, very enjoyable, very moving and very subtle novel, although whether or not it will stand the test of ages and become a classic is not, really, for me to judge. In part this is because it is tautly tethered to another novel – Melmoth The Wanderer by Charles Maturin – and many of its virtues lie in the sly subversion of its anterior text. It is, in some way, a jeu d’esprit, with no jeu and little esprit: this I mean as a mark of praise. In Perry’s iteration of the Melmoth story (which is basically that of Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew, based on the fool who taunted Christ, who was given the name of a wicked king and condemned to walk the world until Judgment Day) there are significant deviations. First and foremost, the preternatural creature is not a man, but a woman. Her name shifts and slips just as her appearance does, and jackdaws and shadows are a sign of her coming. Peasants put out an empty chair … [Read more...] about Book review: Melmoth, by Sarah Perry