Time ago I had tried a new post format, where I would filter some "bookish" news and pass them on to you. Unfortunately, as I had warned you, I wasn't constant, but I still like to look for news and curiosities about authors and books.
PS: now my links open to a new window!
#1 What is more relaxing than reading a book while crunching on some good cookies? Stacy Adimando, a "food editor" (and if you want to know what that is follow this link), has made a list of classic cookies (mostly American, but I'm sure you can find most of them in Europe too) to go with a book. The names range from Ernest Hemingway to Jhumpa Lahiri.
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| Lucia Etxebarria, Spanish author |
#2 Spanish author Lucia Etxebarria has decided to stop publishing books at all after having learnt that more copies of her books were illegally downloaded than they were sold. Of course, her drastic choice has sparked fierce debate: is writing a call or a profession? Can one give up writing for the lack of economical gain? Mind that Etxebarria earned more than £750,000 in prizes, so she isn't starving. We haven't lost that great a novelist, in my opinion, as you can gather from my review of one of her novels.
#3 It could become the plot of a new Scandinavian movie. For a certain period Norway's national library had acquired manuscripts and documents related to their best-known authors, playwright Henrik Ibsen and Nobel prize winner Knut Hamsun. Antiquarian booksellers joined the party: the material was in fact juicy, ranging from the draft of a letter addressed to Adolf Hitler to unpublished plays. Unfortunately, everybody was duped, as they were all forgeries by a Norwegian scriptwriter and actor who had contacted people interested in the Second World War. Knut Hamsun is in fact a controversial writer, having sympathized with Nazism.
#4 Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on classic novel "To Kill A Mockingbird". This talented author has a gift for essay writing, as well as for story telling. I am going cold turkey for her books right now!
#5 An app called Freedom, available for Mac users, locks you up from your own computer, leaving time to do everything else, for example write without the distractions of the internet. Reporters found proof that authors like Zadie Smith and Dave Eggers use it. Can we still hope for that Zadie Smith novel that is due for some years now?
will be sure to check out Adichie!! : )
ReplyDeleteHaha, I like the app!! I do have days that I'm easily distracted as well ;)
ReplyDeleteI love Adichie, am planning to read her more this year!
Your #2 is a bit scary though. I have seen the amounts of copies in China so I can imagine. But maybe it's just a marketing trick or some kind of drawing attention to herself?
@Abigayel: do check out Adichie. She is an amazing writer.
ReplyDelete@from one experience into the next: It's possible that Etxebarria just wante to draw attention. Sometimes it works. Interesting that she is read in China! I wouldn't have expected that!