With the publication of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies western culture announced its intention to go headlong into decline. However, before this happens, before we reach the point-of-no-return, I thought it might be beneficial to glance back at the pages of history to see what, if anything, we might learn from the Ancient Writers, for [...]
Filed under: Fiction, Literature | Tagged: Decline and Fall | 2 Comments »
While everyone in the book business is hunting down the next Twilight, teens seem to have made their choice. The three volumes of Claudia Gray’s Evernight series are selling and selling and selling. Why now? The third volume, Hourglass has just hit the shelves. Hourglass is the Number One Bestseller this week. We had pre-orders [...]
Filed under: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult | Tagged: Claudia Gray | Leave a Comment »
If you are into flagrant and insolent audacity then Pigs at the Trough is for you for this is the story of how a generation of executives duped millions of Australian investors, analysts and commentators.
Filed under: Business & Management, Non Fiction | Tagged: ABC Learning Centres, adam Schwab, Allco, Babcok & Brown, crikey.com, Debunking Economics, Men Who Stare at Goats, Pigs at the Trough, Qantas, Steve Keen, Village Roadshow | Leave a Comment »
It is always fascinating to see what people are attracted to with Booktopia Buzz. The March Buzz went out yesterday afternoon, and although people tend to read it at their leisure over time, I always like to have a peak at the click-throughs to see what is generating interest, and what is being ordered.
Filed under: Booktopia, Crime/Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Literature | Tagged: 61 Hours, Blue Bloods, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Ian McEwan, Killing Floor, Lee Child, Melissa de la Cruz, Mr Rosenblum's List, Natasha Solomons, Solar, Twilight graphic novel | Leave a Comment »
A welcome return to form from Melina Marchetta who captured the hearts and minds of young adults (and their mums) with Looking for Alibrandi and Saving Francesca. Marchetta is at her best in the inner city and it is here that she has returned with The Piper’s Son.
Filed under: Fiction, Young Adult | Tagged: Finnikin of the Rock, Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta, On the Jellicoe Road, Saving Francesca, The Piper's Son | 1 Comment »
I am not decrying the life of the true artist. I am exalting it. I say, it is out of the reach of any but choice organisations – natures framed to love perfection and to labour for it; ready, like all true lovers, to endure, to wait, to say, I am not yet worthy, but [...]
Filed under: Fiction, Literature, Writing Style, Writing tips | Tagged: Daniel Deronda, George Eliot | Leave a Comment »
I know I shouldn’t and yet I do. I judge books by their covers! I can’t help it, they are so… so… well… manipulative! The best covers know exactly how to attract the eye, they know how to express themselves – some are warm and cuddly, some dark and mysterious, some are just beautiful and [...]
Filed under: Crime/Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction, Literature | 2 Comments »
A fiction writer’s memory is an especially imperfect provider of detail; we can always imagine a better detail than the one we remember. The correct detail is rarely, exactly, what happened; the most truthful detail is what could have happened, or what should have. Half my life is an act of revision; more than half [...]
Filed under: Fiction, Publishing, Writing Style, Writing tips | Leave a Comment »
When you love Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and George Eliot, and love to talk about their work, there comes a day when someone recommends that you read Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell. Recommendations are funny things, if they come at the right moment, and that ‘right’ moment is impossible to define, you may pick up the book [...]
Filed under: Fiction, Literature, Romance | Tagged: Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Richard Armitage | 7 Comments »
Calling all Darwin and Canberra residents. The first 75 of you to register, will have a shot at five minutes of fame as part of Penguin’s 75th birthday celebrations.
Filed under: Publishing | Tagged: Popular Penguins, YouTube | Leave a Comment »
