Only three books have been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award this year, and all three are a fairly narrow view of Australian life — Outback, wars and sheep stations told by a male voice, notes Angela Meyer.
Books
How I made a blank book an Amazon bestseller
Author Shed Simove desperately wanted a bestseller, but even he was surprised when his self-published blank book — titled What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex — sailed up the Amazon charts.
Video of the Day: A boring year for a book
Poor books. Their fancy pants tech cousins iPads and e-readers have come and stolen the spotlight, leaving them lingering under couches and unread. This short film tells their sad story: The Diary of a Disappointed Book from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.
Cover design mulched on The Book Show
Book designer and blogger W H Chong was interviewed by ABC Radio’s The Book Show about the recent cover he designed for Lloyd Jones’ Hand Me Down World and the unique process that is book cover design.
20 classics in 2011 #3: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
As part of her quest to read 20 classics in 2011, Angela Meyer read Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. While it was great fun:”I wish I’d read it as a kid of about 11 or 12. It would have been absolutely thrilling, then.”
An intriguing read that paints a vivid portrait of the publishing industry
Does a plug by another author on a book cover ever convince you to buy it? Author Bill Morris explains the delicate business of ‘blurbing’, where writers indulge in mutual pats-on-the-back and help aspiring writers get their books onto shelves.
What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us
Laura van den Berg has particular skill in capturing the strangeness that can come at times — the sense of being a stranger to your own life and the world, says Matthia Dempsey regarding her short story collection What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us.
More bite sized book reviews
It’s round two of Twitter book reviews. Angela Meyer commissions her Twitter follows to write mini book reviews in exchange for a free book. See what they think of Australian Encounters by Shane Maloney and Chris Grosz and Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson.
20 classics in 2011: reading my way through the ages
I am going to read 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books in 2011 to help fill the gaps in my reading, declares Crikey book blogger Angela Meyer. First up: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James and The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood. Want to join in?
Books have been saved… by designers
Print isn’t dead yet. At least, not when it comes to interior decorating. Interior designers and book dealers needed to fill gigantic personal libraries and shelf space are using tricky techniques to fill space — like covering old John Grisham novels in white paper — and hawking off ‘books-by-the-foot’.
Why we shouldn’t censor Mark Twain’s ‘niggers’
A new edition of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is being released for school children with all 251 incidences of the word ‘nigger’ being replaced with ‘slave’. Cord Jefferson offers three shining examples of why this idea is fundamentally flawed.
Cut, print, that’s a wrap: 2010 in books
Angela Meyer, of Crikey’s book blog Literary Minded looks back at the year that was, from speaking at writers’ festivals, to publishing articles in magazines and commissioning guest book reviews via Twitter.
travel Warriors against silence: reading at the San Francisco public library
As the plan of the main library in San Francisco is open, with no full separation between floors, one gets the sense of a theatre where the confessional is aired. Binoy Kampmark listens to the library secrets, told amongst piles of books.
The top 100 books of the year
NY Times offers up its annual 100 notable books of the year, from literary darling Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom to the latest from the best-selling Girl with the Dragon tattoo series and biographies on Barack Obama.
rumour The Girl of the Lost Larsson Book
There are two written but unpublished books in the successful Millenium series by Stieg Larsson, revealed the deceased Swedish author’s brother in an interview last week. Will they ever be released?
The death of picture books
In sad news for First Dog on the Moon, pictures books are experiencing a decline as parents instead choose to buy text-heavy books for their children. But pictures books serve an important literary purpose.
Book review: Light Boxes — chilling cult debut novel
Light Boxes by Shane Jones is one of those books that comes with baggage. Cult status? Check. Author plucked from obscurity? Check. Endorsement by guy with cultural cache? Check. Luckily it copes with the hype, writes Elizabeth Bryer.
Meet the Franzen glasses thief
The literary world got itself a wonderful scandal this week when author Jonathan Franzen — known for his heavy framed glasses — had his glasses nicked at his latest book launch, with the culprit leaving a ransom note demanding $100,000. GQ tracked down one of the thieves.
The five most clichéd author photos
When it comes to author photographs, the options are pretty limited. Will you choose the ‘my thoughts are so deep and heavy I need to hold my head up’ pose or the classic ‘I’m so comfortable here resting on the couch’ shot?
Do you write for yourself or an audience?
It’s a common issue with authors: who is the target audience? For an intensely private activity, writing can have very public repercussions. And the sweet innocence of a first novel can never be replicated, notes Jessica Au.
Book people face audience verdict: “Boring”
While Rome fiddles, book people burn. A brief illustrated report on a small but critical event beyond Canberra, by W H Chong.
Tony Martin: Byron, books and bombing out in public
If you thought being an author on the panel of the Byron Bay Writers Festival was a glam affair, Tony Martin will prove you wrong. There’s little signing of autographs or selling books, but lots of jealously for Bret Easton Ellis’ popularity.
Closing the book on retailing? Publishers nervous at giant’s health
Redgroup Retail — owner of Borders and Angus & Robertson — has been forced to jack up prices, increase returns and extend trading terms with its suppliers, leaving publishers anxious about the industry’s health.
The famous last words of famous authors
A collection of literature’s famous last words, from Anton Chekov’s “It’s a long time since I drank champagne” to Virginia Woolf’s “I feel certain that I’m going mad again …”
