Christmas Carols...

To celebrate Christmas, Carol Ann Duffy has release a new collection. 'The Manchester Carols', modernising and changing the traditional favourites is a collaborative work with Sasha Johnson Manning, performed by the National Chamber Orchestra. Here is a podcast of the Poet Laureate and other potential literary Christmas presents.

World Book Night arrives...

As surely as night follows day, so World Book Night will try to emulate the success of World Book Day. The latter is already an established part of the literary calender, as each year tokens are given to school children to redeem on over 600,000 specially-published titles. Yet the new initiative will instead be aimed at adults, with the aim of providing them with 'an accessible work of enduring quality'.

20,000 people will be able to sign up to be a 'giver', and they will be able to chose a title to give away from list, including writers such as Carol Ann Duffy, John le Carre and Margaret Atwood. The 'givers' will be able to donate 48 copies of their chosen title, meaning that almost 1 million books will be given away altogether. Atwood hailed the move, saying that she was 'amazed not only by its magnitude but by its simplicity. The love of writing, the love of reading – these are huge gifts. To be able to give someone else a book you treasure widens the gift circle'.

World Book Night will be held on March 5th 2011.

On this day...

American expatriate Sylvia Beach opened her bookshop-library Shakespeare & Co. in 1919. Located in Paris, the store soon became known for being one the centres for Anglo-American literary culture, and indeed not only were the great books of the age located within its walls, but the writers themselves often could be found there. James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald often visited, and Hemingway actually made a reference to SHakespeare & Co. in his novel 'The Moveable Feast'.

Beach also became renowned for stocking controversial works. Titles such as 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' and 'Ulysses', banned in many countries across the world, could always be bought or borrowed for Beach's store. Although Paris was reduced to only 25,000 citizens, Beach kept the store going through the early years of World War One, until it was shut in 1941, supposedly because to refused to give a German officer her last copy of 'Finnegan's Wake'. Today it exists as 'Le Mistral', with the ethos of being 'a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore'.

A new canon...

The Western canon is full of literary classics. Shakespeare, Hardy, Dickens, to name but a few, all rightly have their place, but what of those authors who produce works ouside the classics? What of those writers, spread far and wide across the globe, who are not necessarily recognise by academics? Here, author Nadifa Mohamed discusses the emergence of a new canon, reflecting the diversity and culture of the 21st century

A book is judged by its cover...

Some are bold and and attratcive, other merely a last resort, yet a book is nearly always judged by it cover. In this video, Simon Garfield discusses the influence of this art and how it complements, enhances or detracts from the work.

Banned books...

This week sees the American Libraries Association celebrating Banned Books Week. Designed to celebrate the freedom of speech of which Americans are so proud, the event highlights the harms of censorship by detailing the most challenged books of the year. The ALA reports that there were 460 attempts in 2009 to have a book withdrawn from a library or classroom, accompanied by angry emails from parents such as 'What gives you the right to take away my child's innocence?'.

The 10 top most challenged books of 2009 include some old classics as well as new releases. They are:

• •ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series) by Lauren Myracle: Drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

• And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson: Homosexuality

• The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: Anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group

• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group

• Twilight (series)by Stephenie Meyer: Religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

• Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult: Drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group, violence

• The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier: Nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

A passion for literature...

Everyone knows the feeling of opening that book which sends a thrill down your spine, that evokes a passion for literature stronger than before. In this video, writers for the Guardian and the Observer share the book which started off their literary journey.

We will not be shushed...

Forget the RMT picket lines, the BA demonstrations, and South African football steward boycotts. New York's public chose a more refined literary manner in which to protest against cost cutting measures, by staging a 24 hour 'read-in' in the steps of Brooklyn public library. From the romantics to the radicals to the rude, (readings of erotica were restricted to the hours of midnight to 7am), volunteers took it in 15 minute shifts to read aloud to passersby from 5pm on Saturday to 5pm on Sunday - an event attended by more than 1,200 people. The 'We Will Not be Shushed' campaign is demonstrating against proposed funding cuts, that would lead to the closure of 40 of the city's libraries, and hopes that the weekend's event, will show that, 'library services are essential to the social, cultural and educational fabric in New York City'.

Lost Larsson rediscovered...

Two short stories by Stieg Larsson, written at the age of 17, have been unearthed, six years after the author's untimely death. Described as his 'first tentative efforts in writing', the science fiction works 'The Crystal Balls', and 'The Flies' were both rejected by Swedish magazine 'Jules Verne', and were only rediscovered when a private donator gave them to the Swedish National Library. Larsson is most famous for his Millenium trilogy crime series, including 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', the first of which was published a year after his death. The series has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. It is now up to the author's heirs to decide whether the stories will be published.

Anne of Green Gables tops children's book list....

In conjucntion with Puffin's 70th anniversary, the publishers have released a list of their top 70 favourite children's books. Here are the top five:

1. 'Anne of Green Gables' - Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. 'Watership Downs' - Richard Adams
3. 'Carrie's War' - Nina Bawden
4. 'Charlotte's Web' - R.B. White
5. 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' - Roald Dahl

Still Puffin' along....

Children's publisher, Puffin Books, will celebrate its 70th birthday this week. Famous for producing titles such as those in the Artemis Fowl series, and authors such as Roald Dahl and Benjamin Zephaniah, here is a video looking back on its succes. 

Most challenged books of 2009...

The American Library Association has revealed its Top Ten list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009. Despite society's supposed advancement, several familiar names crop up. 'The Catcher in the Rye' sits at number 6, cited for sexually explicit and offensive language, and Alice Wlaker's 'The Color Purple', reprimanded for the same, comes in at 9. Another classic, Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird', is higher at 4, yet is instead challenged for racism.

Perhaps a more surprising entry, is Stephenie Meyer's teenage phenomenon 'Twilight', which, at number 5, is decried for both sexually explicit language and its religious viewpoint. Top of the pile, is ' ttyl', a book written entirely in text language, whose long list of 'offences' includes nudity, drugs and unsuitable language for the intended age group, although, as many commenters have since pointed out, surely letting your child read a book entirely in text language in the first place, negates any possible complaints. Top of the Most Challenged Books of the Decade (2000-2009) is J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series. 

Does crime pay?...

From simple detective stories to complex psychological thrillers, crime fiction is a wide-ranging, and ever expanding, genre. Arguably established in the Victorian era, the genre has its roots in authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and, of course, Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous protagonist Sherlock Holmes. As it progressed into the early 20th century, names like Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammet became phenomenally successful, helping to shape the crime fiction of today. In modern times, authors such as C.J. Sansom have developed a sub-genre of historical crime fiction. Here is a podcast on the genre

Books on video...

Today I have discovered a new site. Books videos features reviews of the latest publications from a large variety of genres. From fantasy to health, biographies to graphic novels, it covers it all, collating titles from over 30 different publishers. Yet better than that, the site contains behind-the-story videos for each title, charting the book's rise to fame and the thoughts of the author - well worth a look!

There's an app for that...

You can forecast the weather, check the trains and book a restaurant, and now, you can read 'Wolf Hall'. Hilary Mantel's award winning novel, was today released as an app for the iphone. The historical novel, based on the life of Tudor advisor Thomas Cromwell, became the Man Booker Prize winner in 2009, and is fast on the way to becoming the best-selling Booker winner in history. The app features the full text, a 30 minute discussion between Mantel and historian David Starkey, a Tudor family tree and cast of characters, a essay by Mantel on historical fiction, and regular news feeds and podcasts.

Beam me up Scotty...

Quirk Classics just keep publishing titles. Following the planned release of 'Android Karenina' later this year, and hot on the heels of success 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies', 'Night of the Living Trekkies', is the latest planned novel. This newest combination is said to be 'mixing a zombie apocalypse with the enduring mythology of Star Trek'. Indeed, it 'follows a rag-tag group of 'Trekkies' en route to an annual Star Trek convention...when aliens release a zombie plague upon the Earth, all of this 'Starfleet training' suddenly becomes a lot more relevant'. 'Night of the Living Trekkies' will hit our shelves in September this year.

End of decade spells the beginning for Rowling...

'Harry Potter' has yet again topped a nationwide poll, on this occasion winning the accolade of the book that people would most like to hand on to the next generation. Commissioned for World Book Day, more than 1,000 people from the ages of 16-64 were asked to cast a vote for a book in the last decade that they would give to young people. The full list was as follows:

1. The 'Harry Potter' series  -  J.K. Rowling
2. 'The Da Vinci Code' - Dan Brown
3. 'Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze' - The New Scientist
4. 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' - Bill Bryson
5. 'Twilight' - Stephenie Meyer
6. 'The Kite Runner' - Khaled Hosseini
7. '9/11 Commission Report' - National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
8. 'You Are What You Eat' - Gillian McKeith
9. 'The God Delusion' - Richard Dawkins
10. 'Dreams From My Father' - Barack Obama

Rushdie reveals all...

Salman Rushdie, is planning to write a book about the decade he spent in hiding. 2008 marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of 'The Satanic Verses', a novel which provoked street protests and book burnings across much of the Arab world. For many believed the book to have insulted Islam, and indeed Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, issued a fatwa against Rushdie, calling for his execution.

Such was the threat to Rushdie's safety, that, under police protection, he spent the next 10 years in hiding. 'It's my story, and at some point, it does need to be told. That point is getting closer, I think', said Rushdie. Indeed, as comments John Howells of Waterstones, 'The ironic thing is that this may be his most commercial book in years...this is one of the most fascinating chapters in recent literary history, and cannot but have affected Rushdie as a writer and as a man'.

Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich...

Old news it may be, but still worth a look. Last week, the shortlist for the 'Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year' was announced. A hotly contested title, there have been two occasions, since the award's conception in 1978, that no prize has been given out as no title title was deemed odd enough. Voted for by the public since 2000, the prize last year, saw more votes than the 'Best of Booker Prize'. The current champion is 'The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais', but these are the contenders for this year.....

• 'Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter' by David Crompton
• 'Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich' by James A Yannes 
• 'Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes' by Daina Taimina 
• 'Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots' by Ronald C. Arkin 
• 'The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease' by Ellen Scherl and Maria Dubinsky
• 'What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua?' by Tara Jansen-Meyer

The winner will be announced on March 26th and will receive either a magnum of champagen or a bottle of claret.

Is Potter just plagiarism?...

'Harry Potter' publishers Bloomsbury could face legal action over claims that J.K. Rowling stole her ideas for the best-selling series. Earlier this week, the estate of Adrian Jacobs, extended its claim, originally filed against Bloomsbury, to include the author herself. A spokesperson for the estate said, 'we believe that she personally plagiarised the Willy the Wizard book...all of Willy the Wizard is in "The Goblet of Fire"...we now have a case which is not just against Bloomsbury.'

Claims surround an episode in the Rowling novel, in which Harry is required to solve a task as part of a contest, which he achieves in a bathroom by the aid of clues. A similar episode is to be found in Jacob's 36-page work. Rowling challenged the suit, saying, 'I am saddened that yet another claim has been made that I have taken material from another source to write Harry. The fact is I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author's estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book'.