A lovely piece in the Otago Daily Times today on Penelope Todd and Rosa Mira Books: Author turns digital publisher Another plagiarism scandal, this one handled honestly by both publisher and author (even if it is a screw-up of quite monumental proportions): QR Markham apologises for ‘awful pantomime’ of plagiarism BookieMonster’s on Google+. I like to move with the times you know. If you are on Google+ too please add BookieMonster to your circles!
A great piece on the physical act of reading from Greene Ink: What is it about books, really?
The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman, illustrated by Tom Percival, The Friday Project, RRP $19.99, ISBN 9780007429257, Available 4 November. Some books you just have to describe as whimsical, and that should never be taken as a bad thing. Such is The Tiny Wife. It’s whimsy, with a good helping of extra-whimsy and a whimsy sauce on top. And some whimsy on the side. And, possibly, you may be given some whimsy to take home with you. You see what I’m saying. But, oh, that is not a bad thing! Just look at the cover, which I have helpfully produced here in a larger-than-usual size. It looks gorgeous, it feels gorgeous, and you want to put it somewhere public so people will go “Oh what’s that?” and pick it up and then you can bore them silly on how they should read it because of, yes, whimsy. And so you [...read more...]
Oct 262011
Ragnarok : The End of the Gods by A.S. Byatt, Text Publishing, RRP $27, ISBN 9781921656835, Available now. In all the general flarff about the Booker Prize* judging this year and the on-going debate about readability there’s one truth that’s been overlooked: authors such as A.S. Byatt may not always be easy to read or have mass appeal but, by god, reading their stunningly well-crafted confluence of words can be immensely satisfying. Reading Ragnarok is like drowning in a huge sea of language, a rich, wild, smelly and bloody sea. Ragnarok is part of the Canongate “Myth series” (of which I’ve been fortunate to read The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman) which has top writers from around the world retelling myths. To state the obvious, the myth A.S. Byatt is retelling is Ragnarok – the end of the world [...read more...]
Book Review : Brother/Sister by Sean Olin
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Oct 212011
Brother/Sister by Sean Olin, Penguin, RRP $26, ISBN 9780141338453, Available now. I’m not going to lie, I was rather nonplussed by Brother/Sister. Perhaps I am entirely the wrong audience, perhaps I am more nana-ry than your nana-riest nana on World Nana Day but I had a lot of trouble with Brother/Sister – I found it glib when it was trying to be deep, and predictable when it was trying to be suspenseful. Brother/Sister is written for a Young Adult audience and is bound to elicit gasps of horror from some more right-thinking folk regarding the “crime spree” plot along with some interesting language. It’s hard to discuss specifics without spoilering so apologies if this seems a bit light on plot detail . Asheley (Asheley? Asheley? I don’t even) and Will are brother and sister, living with their alcoholic mother and the memory of their absent father. In one day their [...read more...]
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