Reading Copy Book Blog

I’m sure many of you remember the online charity auction we staged in conjunction with Penguin last December. We sold four special editions of books redesigned by famous designers and raised $13,000 for English PEN – a charity that supports the rights of authors and freedom in literature. Well, we’ve teamed up with Penguin again [...]

Those interested in rare and antiquarian books should take a look at AntiquarianBookNews.com. This new site gathers news stories about rare and antiquarian books from around the globe. The man behind it is Herv̩ Fulchiron Рa Parisian web consultant who is passionate about rare books.

Canada’s Globe and Mail has some fun with AbeBooks.com’s list of bestselling sex manuals. The list was topped by a Christian sex manual – Intended For Pleasure. “You have God’s permission to enjoy sex within your marriage. He invented sex; he thought it up to begin with. You can learn to enjoy it, and, husbands, [...]

Our friends at BookFinder.com have published their annual report into the most sought after out-of-print books. As always it’s a very interesting list – sometimes you have to wonder how some of these books are allowed to go out-of-print. I can understand how Jessica Simpson’s I Do: Achieving Your Dream Wedding can be allowed to [...]

You’ve written a great book but no-one will publish it. The Boston Phoenix reports that you’re probably too ugly to get into print. Jhumpa Lahiri, author of Interpreter of Maladies, would turn anyone’s head. She’s also got one of the best names in literature too.

Patrick Reardon at the Chicago Tribune writes about the ethics of handling books and makes several very valid points. As far as I’m concerned, folding down corners of pages to bookmark your place and leaving a book open and face down are huge no-nos.

The Guardian lists author Gemma Malley’s top 10 list of dystopian novels for teenagers – we all love top 10s but I’ve never sat on the bus and put together my list of top dystopian novels. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is my favourite from Gemma’s list.

Stars and Stripes, a publication we rarely get to link to, has a feature about booktowns around the world.

In Britain, the papers called August the Silly Season as there’s no real news with most politicians and key figures in public life on holiday. Here’s an example of the type of story that can make the papers. Travelodge, a hotel/motel chain, has listed the 10 books most commonly left behind in its bedrooms. Alistair [...]

Have you ever seen an author with a panda sitting on their lap? No, neither had I until I looked at Neil Gaiman’s blog today. The author of Stardust, American Gods and Anansi Boys is in China along with Robert J Sawyer.