Monday, December 23

Tag: Books and literature

Apple Store – Top Books
16Apr By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Apple Store – Top Books

Top Paid Books (US Bestseller List):1. Toxic Prey by John Sandford (Penguin Publishing Group)2. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Publishing Group) 3. A Taste of Whiskey by Melissa Foster (World Literary Press) 4. Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Avon)5. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Publishing)6. She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica (Park Row Books)7. Table for Two by Amor Towles (Penguin Publishing Group) 8. The Beloved by J.R. Ward (Gallery Books) 9. Camino Winds by John Grisham (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)10. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Grand Central Publishing) Top Paid Audiobooks (US Bestseller List):1. The Most Fun We Ever Had: A Novel (Unabridged) by Claire Lombardo (Penguin Random House, LLC)2. The Women by Kristin Hannah (Ma...
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Faith Ringgold, pioneering Black quilt artist and author, dies at 93
14Apr By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Faith Ringgold, pioneering Black quilt artist and author, dies at 93

NEW YORK -- Faith Ringgold, an award-winning author and artist who broke down barriers for Black female artists and became famous for her richly colored and detailed quilts combining painting, textiles and storytelling, has died. She was 93. The artist's assistant, Grace Matthews, told The Associated Press that Ringgold died Friday night at her home in Englewood, New Jersey. Matthews said Ringgold had been in failing health.Ringgold’s highly personal works of art can be found in private and public collections around the country and beyond, from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art to New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Atlanta’s High Museum of Fine Art. But her rise to prominence as a Black artist wasn’t easy in an art world dominated by white males and in a political cultura...
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Posthumous memoir by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be published Oct. 22
11Apr By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Posthumous memoir by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be published Oct. 22

NEW YORK -- A memoir Alexei Navalny began working on in 2020 will be published this fall. “Patriot,” which publisher Alfred A. Knopf is calling the late Russian opposition leader's “final letter to the world,” will come out Oct. 22.Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement released Thursday by the publisher, “This book is a testament not only to Alexei’s life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship—a fight he gave everything for, including his life. Through its pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply—a man of profound integrity and unyielding courage. Sharing his story will not only honor his memory but also inspire others to stand up for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that truly matter.”Navalny, 47, died in Febr...
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Marisha Pessl’s ‘Darkly,’ her first novel in six years, to come out Nov. 12
10Apr By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Marisha Pessl’s ‘Darkly,’ her first novel in six years, to come out Nov. 12

Marisha Pessl’s first novel in six years is a psychological thriller with the kinds of intricate clues and connections she has been known for since her acclaimed debut, “Special Topics in Calamity Physics.”NEW YORK -- Marisha Pessl's first novel in six years is a psychological thriller with the kinds of intricate clues and connections she has been known for since her acclaimed debut, “Special Topics in Calamity Physics.”On Wednesday, Delacorte Press announced that Pessl's young adult novel, "Darkly," will be published on Nov. 12. The story is centered around a mysterious game designer, Louisiana Veda, and the terrifying creations that gave her foundation special appeal to young people. The foundation is offering an internship with the tagline: “What would you kill for?”“'Darkly' was inspi...
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Finding new dimensions, sisterhood, and healing in ‘The Color Purple’
24Dec By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Finding new dimensions, sisterhood, and healing in ‘The Color Purple’

It’s not a secret that Fantasia Barrino did not want to play Celie again. The “American Idol” winner hadn’t had the best time doing “The Color Purple” on Broadway.The protagonist of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel tells her story of sexual, physical and psychological abuses in the early 20th century South in a series of letters to God. And it was a character she found it difficult to leave behind at the end of the day. Even the prospect of starring in her first major motion picture didn’t seem worth it. But director Blitz Bazawule had a different vision: He wanted to give Celie an imagination. This Barrino found intriguing.“Once she understood the assignment, she quickly agreed," Bazawule said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.Now, four decades after “The Color P...
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Russia adds author Boris Akunin to a register of extremists and opens a criminal case against him
18Dec By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Russia adds author Boris Akunin to a register of extremists and opens a criminal case against him

Russian authorities have added popular detective novelist and dissident Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin, to its register of “extremists and terrorists."MOSCOW -- Russian authorities on Monday added popular detective novelist and dissident Grigory Chkhartishvili – known under the pen name Boris Akunin – to its register of “extremists and terrorists."On the same day that Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, added the Russian-Georgian writer to the register, state media reported that a criminal case had been opened against Akunin for “discrediting the army" — specifically for “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the Russian military.Discrediting the Russian military is a criminal offense under a law adopted after Russia sent troops in...
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Earliest version of Mickey Mouse set to become public domain in 2024, along with Minnie, Tigger
14Dec By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Earliest version of Mickey Mouse set to become public domain in 2024, along with Minnie, Tigger

LOS ANGELES -- M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me.With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024.In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney's copyright as his first screen release, the 1928 short “Steamboat Willie," featuring both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, becomes available for public use.“This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic," said Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke’s Center for the Stud...
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Winner of the Booker Prize for fiction set to be announced in London
26Nov By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Winner of the Booker Prize for fiction set to be announced in London

The winner of the Booker Prize for fiction will be announced on SundayByThe Associated PressNovember 26, 2023, 7:40 AMFrom left, Irish author Paul Lynch, British author Chetna Maroo, American author Jonathan Escoffery, Canadian author Sarah Bernstein, Irish author Paul Murray and American author Paul Harding pose with their books during a photocall for the Booker Prize 2023, in London, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023 ahead of the award ceremony on Nov. 26 in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)The Associated PressLONDON -- The winner of the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction will be announced on Sunday. If bookmakers are right, the victorious writer will be named Paul.Three of the six books competing for the 50,000 pound ($63,000) award are by authors of that name: American novelist Paul Harding’s his...
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Story of a devastating wildfire that reads ‘like a thriller’ wins Baillie Gifford nonfiction prize
17Nov By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Story of a devastating wildfire that reads ‘like a thriller’ wins Baillie Gifford nonfiction prize

LONDON -- A book about a fire that ravaged a Canadian city and has been called a portent of climate chaos won Britain’s leading nonfiction book prize on Thursday.John Vaillant’s “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World” was awarded the 50,000 pound ($62,000) Baillie Gifford Prize at a ceremony in London.The chair of the judging panel, Frederick Studemann, said the book tells “a terrifying story,” reading “almost like a thriller” with a “deep science backdrop.”He called “Fire Weather,” which was also a U.S. National Book Award finalist, “an extraordinary and elegantly rendered account of a terrifying climate disaster that engulfed a community and industry, underscoring our toxic relationship with fossil fuels.”Vaillant, based in British Columbia, recounts how a huge wildfire engulfe...
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