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Tag: Books and literature

  • Barbara Kingsolver returns with ‘Partita,’ her first novel since ‘Demon Copperhead’

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    NEW YORK — For her first novel since the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver is taking on a subject she rarely discussed in public while growing up in a small Kentucky town: classical music.

    Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Thursday that “Partita” will be published Oct. 6. (Faber will release the book two days later in the UK). Like “Demon Copperhead,” “The Poisonwood Bible” and other Kingsolver novels, it’s centered on a rural community. But in “Partita,” the main character is a married woman and onetime pianist haunted by a passion for music that she never lived out.

    In the 1970s, Kingsolver herself was a music scholarship student at DePauw University who switched her major to biology after deciding she stood little chance of making a career out of playing classical piano. At the same time, she had ambitions to become a writer. She worked in journalism and published poetry and short fiction before completing her first novel, “The Bean Trees,” which came out in 1988.

    “All my life, I’ve loved both language and music in a hungry, passionate way that happily entwines them in my brain. A novel about a classical musician never occurred to me, though, because of the sorts of people I write about,” Kingsolver said in a statement. “I was the weird country kid who loved reading Tolstoy and playing Bach, but I kept those interests to myself. Finally, now, it strikes me as a worthy project to ask who made these rules, that small-town fiddlers and country music fans don’t feel welcome in a symphony hall, and vice versa?”

    Kingsolver, 70, has long been known for her socially conscious fiction, often working in themes of class, community, immigration and the environment. The bestselling “Demon Copperhead” was a reworking of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield” that Kingsolver set in modern Appalachia. Published in 2022, it was an Oprah Winfrey book club pick that shared the fiction Pulitzer with Hernan Diaz’s “Trust.”

    Her other honors include a National Humanities Medal, a National Book Award for lifetime achievement and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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  • A movie that takes liberties with ‘Wuthering Heights’? Scholars are OK with that

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    NEW YORK — If you’re looking for someone to debate the new “Wuthering Heights” movie with, you might want to start with Lucasta Miller. She’s a British author, editor and critic who has published an acclaimed study of the Brontë sisters and wrote the preface for the Penguin Classics edition of “Wuthering Heights.”

    When she had the chance to see Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel last week, she was well aware of the liberties taken by the director, but was otherwise unbothered.

    “It would be meaningless to criticize it for that, just as it would be to criticize a grand opera that plays fast and loose with the plot,” Miller says. “I wasn’t asking for a faithful adaptation of ‘Wuthering Heights,’ but whether it works on its own terms. And my sense is that it does.”

    Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” was the box office leader last weekend, bringing in more than $34 million in North America alone, despite mostly negative reviews that found the movie both overdone and unsatisfying. Even before its release, Brontë obsessives questioned some of Fennell’s choices: casting Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff instead of a dark-skinned actor closer to how Brontë described the character; making explicit the sexual attraction between Heathcliff and Cathy that is suppressed in the book; having the famously dark-haired Cathy, her coloring a literary signpost for danger and allure, played by the blond Margot Robbie.

    “All adaptations choices in terms of casting that don’t always fit character or character descriptions — and this film has certainly been in the spotlight for that reason,” says Brontë scholar Claire O’Callaghan, a senior lecturer at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England. “In terms of Cathy, I was skeptical initially, but having seen the film, it is a good performance, and Margot Robbie really brings out Cathy’s spoiled and selfish nature in ways that other adaptations have paid less attention to.”

    Authors have long lamented the fates of their books once filmmakers acquire rights. But countless adaptations have served as showcases for artful crystallization, or innovative license. “The Godfather” movies are widely regarded as superior to the original Mario Puzo novel, and differ notably from the book, even with Puzo assisting on the screenplays. Billy Wilder’s film version of the James M. Cain thriller “Double Indemnity” had the main protagonist, played by Fred MacMurray, tell his story through a dictation machine, a twist that Cain himself thought so ingenious he wished he had used it in the book.

    Among current Oscar contenders, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is the loosest of takes on Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland,” while Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” departs from the Maggie O’Farrell novel of the same name in various ways common to adaptations, from compressing characters to altering the narrative structure. O’Farrell, who helped write the screenplay, has said her collaboration with Zhao was an education in how to condense a story for film.

    “You know, the book is mine, it’s my baby, but the film is Chloé’s adaptation,” she told The Associated Press in December. “And the film feels not like my child, more like a kind of niece or nephew. And that’s exactly as it should be.”

    “Wuthering Heights” fans are likely to care much more about fidelity to the novel than would the average reader of “The Godfather.” But as O’Callaghan and other Brontë experts note, you’d need a multi-hour streaming series to faithfully replicate the 1847 book, which runs some 400 pages and has a timeline extending beyond the lives of Cathy and Heathcliff. The best known versions, including Fennell’s and the 1939 movie starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, essentially eliminate the second half of the book.

    “Some TV versions have attempted to capture the whole book, as have some films, like the 1992 adaptation (starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche),” O’Callaghan says. “But what film and TV can’t do is maintain the ambiguity in Emily’s novel — the fact that her book is both a tragic love story and a revenge novel and a tragedy. Film and TV tend to focus on one of those for clarity and to focus dramatic tension.”

    Fennell told the AP during a recent interview that she was inspired by her early memories of the novel, how she responded to it as a teenager: “There are things I have added for my own needs, because I loved the book so much and I always desperately needed some kind of sense for it to go a little further,” she said.

    Miller likened the movie to a fairy tale, “stylized and extravagant,” and thought Fennell “quite insightful about using the language of fairy tales.” O’Callaghan found it “quite Tim Burton-esque in its surreal perspective.”

    “It radically departs from the book, but I still found it entertaining even if I’m unsure if I’d claim to like it,” she says.

    ___

    Associated Press journalist Sarah Jones-Smith contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

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  • Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

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    Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s regular quiz about books, authors and literary culture. In honor of Gen. George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22, this week’s super-size challenge is focused on the literature and history related to the American Revolution. In the 10 multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to exhibits, books and other materials related to this intense chapter in the country’s story, including an award-winning biography of the general and first U.S. president.

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    J. D. Biersdorfer

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  • After 200 years, the Farmers’ Almanac bets on a digital reboot and new owner

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    PORTLAND, Maine — The Farmers’ Almanac isn’t going out of business after all, but it is leaving Maine for the bright lights of New York City and a new owner.

    Beloved by farmers and gardeners, the almanac was first printed in 1818 and — like the arguably more famous Old Farmer’s Almanac — relies on a secret formula of sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts.

    It’s been acquired by Unofficial Networks, a digital publisher focused on skiing and outdoor recreation. That means the almanac will keep operating despite announcing in November that its 208-year run was coming to an end.

    A new Farmers’ Almanac website will be “a living, breathing publication with fresh, daily content” and there are plans to bring back a print edition, said Tim Konrad, founder and publisher of New York-based Unofficial Networks.

    “I saw the announcement that one of America’s most enduring publications was set to close,” Konrad said, “and it felt wrong to stand by while an irreplaceable piece of our national heritage disappeared.”

    The deal will prioritize “preserving and sustaining the iconic publication,” according to a statement from Unofficial Networks and Peter Geiger, the almanac’s longtime publisher.

    The Farmers’ Almanac was founded in New Jersey before moving its headquarters to Lewiston, Maine, in 1955. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is based in New Hampshire.

    Over the years, scientists have sometimes chafed at the publications’ predictions. Studies of their accuracy have found them to be a little more than 50% accurate. That is about on par with random chance.

    But Geiger, whose family had the Farmers’ Almanac for more than 90 years, said they’re “going out a winner” by having predicted a cold and snowy 2026.

    “For more than 200 years, the values and wisdom of the Farmers’ Almanac have been protected and nurtured by four owner-publishers,” Geiger said. “I am grateful to have found the right next custodian in Tim Konrad. I am also confident he will honor its heritage and carry it forward for generations to come.”

    Unofficial Networks was started in 2006 by Konrad and his brother John in a California basement, according to the company’s website.

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  • Try This Quiz on Book Titles Inspired by Shakespeare Lines

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    See how many novels you can connect with phrases from the plays of William Shakespeare.

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    J. D. Biersdorfer

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  • Mattel and Alex Aster team up for Barbie young adult novel, ‘Barbie: Dreamscape’

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    NEW YORK — The publishing arm of Mattel Inc. is teaming with million-selling novelist Alex Aster on a Barbie young adult novel in which the iconic doll embarks on a journey across “treacherous, magical lands.”

    “Barbie: Dreamscape,” scheduled for July 28, is the first novel for young adults out of Mattel Publishing since the imprint was announced three years ago. The novel is not tied to the blockbuster 2023 “Barbie” movie and no screen adaptation is currently planned, according to Mattel.

    The toy and family entertainment company is calling Aster’s book a “coming-of-age story” that finds Barbie declared “Fateless” at the graduation ceremony of the “enchanted” Swancrest Academy.

    “To earn a Fate, she must journey across treacherous, magical lands in search of the mysterious beings who control the destinies of everyone in Heartland — and the buried truths that could change her world forever,” Thursday’s announcement reads in part. “Because to forge her own path, Barbie must step out of the box … and into the unknown.”

    The publishing imprint is focused on Mattel’s “extensive catalog of children’s and family entertainment franchises,” including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Polly Pocket. Earlier this week, Mattel Inc. announced it had created an autistic Barbie doll, part of the Fashionistas line committed to diversity.

    Aster, a social media favorite best known for her “Lightlark” series and for the adult novel “Summer in the City,” said in a statement that Barbie dolls were a formative part of her childhood.

    “I spent countless hours making up stories starring each of my dolls, and I still remember the excitement of opening a new box, adding another character to my tales, marveling at each accessory,” she said.

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  • ‘Chariots of the Gods’ author Erich von Däniken dies at 90

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    BERLIN — Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling books about the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn from the scientific community, has died. He was 90.

    Von Däniken’s representatives announced on his website on Sunday that he had died the previous day in a hospital in central Switzerland. His daughter Cornelia confirmed the information to Swiss news agency SDA.

    Von Däniken rose to prominence in 1968 with the publication of his first book “Chariots of the Gods,” in which he claimed that the Mayans and ancient Egyptians were visited by alien astronauts and instructed in advanced technology that allowed them to build giant pyramids.

    The book fueled a growing interest in unexplained phenomena at a time when thanks to conventional science man was about to take its first steps on the Moon.

    “Chariots of the Gods” was followed by more than two dozen similar books that sold 60 million copies in 32 languages, spawning a literary niche in which fact and fantasy were mixed together against all historical and scientific evidence.

    While von Däniken managed to shrug off his many critics, the former hotel waiter had a troubled relationship with money throughout his life and frequently came close to financial ruin.

    Born in 1935, the son of a clothing manufacturer in the northern Swiss town of Schaffhausen, von Däniken is said to have rebelled against his father’s strict Catholicism and the priests who instructed him at boarding school by developing his own alternatives to the biblical account of the origins of life.

    After leaving school in 1954, von Däniken worked as a waiter and barkeeper for several years, during which he was repeatedly accused of fraud and served a couple of short stints in prison.

    In 1964, he was appointed manager of a hotel in the exclusive resort town of Davos and began writing his first book. Its publication and rapid commercial success were quickly followed by accusations of tax dodging and financial impropriety, for which he again spent time behind bars.

    By the time he left prison, “Chariots of the Gods” was earning von Däniken a fortune and a second book “Gods from Outer Space” was ready for publication, allowing him to commit himself to his paranormal passion and travel the world in search of new mysteries to uncover.

    Throughout the 1970s von Däniken undertook countless field trips to Egypt, India, and above all Latin America, whose ancient cultures held a particular fascination for the amateur archaeologist.

    He lectured widely and set up societies devoted to promoting his theories, later pioneering the use of video and multimedia to reach out to ever-larger audiences hungry for a different account of history.

    No amount of criticism dissuaded him and his fans from believing that Earth has been visited repeatedly by beings from Outer Space, and will be again in the future.

    In 1991 von Däniken gained the damning accolade of being the first recipient of the “Ig Nobel” prize for literature — for raising the public awareness of science through questionable experiments or claims.

    Even when confronted with fabricated evidence in a British television documentary — supposedly ancient pots were shown to be almost new — von Däniken insisted that, minor discrepancies aside, his theories were essentially sound.

    In 1985 von Däniken wrote “Neue Erinnerungen an die Zukunft” — “New Memories of the Future” — ostensibly to address his many critics: “I have admitted (my mistakes), but not one of the foundations of my theories has yet been brought down.”

    Although his popularity was waning in the English-speaking world by the 1980s, von Däniken’s books and films influenced a wave of semi-serious archaeological documentaries and numerous popular television shows, including “The X-Files,” which featured two FBI agents tasked with solving paranormal mysteries.

    His last major venture, a theme park based on his books, failed after just a few years due to lack of interest. The “Mystery Park” still stands, its man-made pyramids and otherworldly domes rotting as tourists prefer to explore the charms of the nearby town of Interlaken and the imposing Swiss Alps that surround it.

    Erich von Däniken is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elisabeth Skaja, Cornelia and two grandchildren.

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  • Brain Health Challenge: Try a Brain Teaser

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    Welcome back! For Day 4 of the challenge, let’s do a short and fun activity based around a concept called cognitive reserve.

    Decades of research show that people who have more years of education, more cognitively demanding jobs or more mentally stimulating hobbies all tend to have a reduced risk of cognitive impairment as they get older.

    Experts think this is partly thanks to cognitive reserve: Basically, the more brain power you’ve built up over the years, the more you can stand to lose before you experience impairment. Researchers still don’t agree on how to measure cognitive reserve, but one theory is that better connections between different brain regions corresponds with more cognitive reserve.

    To build up these connections, you need to stimulate your brain, said Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at NYU Langone Health and the founder and chief medical officer of the telehealth platform Isaac Health. To do that, try an activity that is “challenging enough that it requires some effort but not so challenging that you don’t want to do it anymore,” he said.

    Speaking a second language has been shown to be good for cognition, as has playing a musical instrument, visiting a museum and doing handicrafts like knitting or quilting. Reading is considered a mentally stimulating hobby, and experts say you’ll get an even bigger benefit if you join a book club to make it social. Listen to a podcast to learn something new, or, better yet, attend a lecture in person at a local college or community center, said Dr. Zaldy Tan, the director of the Memory and Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai. That adds a social component, plus the extra challenge of having to navigate your way there, he said.

    A few studies have found that playing board games like chess can be good for your brain; the same goes for doing crossword puzzles. It’s possible that other types of puzzles, like those you find in brain teaser books or from New York Times Games, can also offer a cognitive benefit.

    But there’s a catch: To get the best brain workout, the activity should not only be challenging but also new. If you do “Wordle every day, it’s like well, then you’re very, very good at Wordle, and the Wordle part of your brain has grown to be fantastic,” said Dr. Linda Selwa, a clinical professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “But the rest of your mind might still need work.”

    So play a game you’re not used to playing, Dr. Selwa said. “The novelty seems to be what’s driving brain remodeling and growth.”

    Today, we want you to push yourself out of your cognitive comfort zone. Check out an online lecture or visit a museum with your challenge partner. Or try your hand at a new game, below. Share what novel thing you did today in the comments, and I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 5.

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    Dana G. Smith

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  • Michael Schumacher, author of Alan Ginsberg and Eric Clapton biographies, dies at 75

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    Wisconsin author Michael Schumacher, who produced an array of works ranging from biographies of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and musician Eric Clapton to accounts of Great Lakes shipwrecks, has died at age 75

    MADISON, Wis. — Michael Schumacher, a Wisconsin author who produced a diverse array of works ranging from biographies of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and musician Eric Clapton to accounts of Great Lakes shipwrecks, has died. He was 75.

    Schumacher’s daughter, Emily Joy Schumacher, confirmed Monday that her father passed away on Dec. 29. She did not provide the cause of death.

    Schumacher produced such varied biographies as “Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker’s Life;” “Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton;” and “Dharma Lion: A Biography of Allen Ginsberg” — a prominent Beat Generation poet and writer.

    Other biographies included “Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers & the Birth of the NBA” and ”Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics.” Eisner was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in American comic books and was a pioneer of the graphic novel concept.

    Though he was born in Kansas, Schumacher lived most of his live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He studied political science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside but left the school just one credit short of graduating, his daughter said. He gravitated toward writing at a young age, she said, and basically built two writing careers — one focused on biographies and another on Great Lakes lore.

    Living on the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Schumacher produced accounts of how the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm on Lake Superior in 1975; a November 1913 storm that claimed the lives of more than 250 Great Lakes sailors; and how four sailors fought to survive on Lake Michigan after their ship sank in a storm in 1958.

    Emily Joy Schumacher described her father as “a history person” and “a good human.” She said he worked longhand, filling countless flip notebooks and later transcribing them on a typewriter. She said she still remembers the sound of the keys clacking.

    “My dad was a very generous person with people,” Emily Joy Schumacher said. “He loved people. He loved talking to people. He loved listening to people. He loved stories. When I think of my dad, I think of him engaged in conversation, coffee in his hand and his notebook.”

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  • Do You Know the Notable Buildings Mentioned in These Books?

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    A strong sense of place can deeply influence a story, and in some cases, the setting can even feel like a character itself. This week’s literary geography quiz highlights buildings that inspired authors, often to the point of including the structures in their novels. (Many of the buildings are still open to visitors.) To play, just make your selection in the multiple-choice list and the correct answer will be revealed. At the end of the quiz, you’ll find links to the books if you’d like to do further reading.

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    J. D. Biersdorfer

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  • Children’s author David Walliams denies inappropriate behavior after publisher drops him

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    LONDON — British children’s author and comedian David Walliams has denied allegations of inappropriate behavior after publisher HarperCollins dropped him.

    Walliams, 54, is one of the U.K.’s bestselling children’s book authors and a former judge on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.”

    In a statement on Friday, HarperCollins said: “After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision.”

    A spokesperson for Walliams said in a statement that he “has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.”

    “He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice,” the statement said.

    The publisher said it would not comment on internal matters, “to respect the privacy of individuals.”

    “HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns,” it said.

    Walliams has published over 40 children’s books and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, according to his website. Several of them, including “Gangsta Granny,” have been adapted into a BBC comedy dramas and stage productions.

    Walliams left his role as judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.

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  • Try This Quiz and See How Much You Know About Jane Austen

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    “Window seat with garden view / A perfect nook to read a book / I’m lost in my Jane Austen…” sings Kristin Chenoweth in “The Girl in 14G” — what could be more ideal? Well, perhaps showing off your literary knowledge and getting a perfect score on this week’s super-size Book Review Quiz Bowl honoring the life, work and global influence of Jane Austen, who turns 250 today. In the 12 questions below, tap or click your answers to the questions. And no matter how you do, scroll on to the end, where you’ll find links to free e-book versions of her novels — and more.

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    The New York Times Books Staff

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  • Bestselling British writer Joanna Trollope dies at 82

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    LONDON (AP) — British writer Joanna Trollope, whose bestselling novels charted domestic and romantic travails in well-heeled rural England, has died, her family said Friday. She was 82.

    Trollope’s daughters, Antonia and Louise, said the writer died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire, southern England, on Thursday.

    Trollope wrote almost two dozen contemporary novels, including “The Rector’s Wife,” “Marrying the Mistress,” “Other People’s Children” and “Next of Kin.” They were often dubbed “Aga sagas,” after the old-fashioned Aga ovens found in affluent country homes.

    Trollope disliked the term, noting that her books tackled uncomfortable subjects including infidelity, marital breakdown and the challenges of parenting.

    “That was a very unfortunate phrase and I think it’s done me a lot of damage,” she once said. “It was so patronizing to the readers, too.”

    Trollope’s most recent novel, “Mum & Dad,” examined the “sandwich generation” of middle-aged people looking after both children and elderly parents.

    Trollope also published 10 historical novels under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey.

    Trollope, a distant relative of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, was born in Minchinhampton in the west of England in 1943. She studied English at Oxford University, then worked in Britain’s Foreign Office and as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1980. She became a household name after “The Rector’s Wife” was adapted for television in 1991.

    Trollope’s novel “Parson Harding’s Daughter” won a novel of the year award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association in 1980. In 2010, the association gave her a lifetime achievement award for services to romance.

    In 2019, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II.

    Her literary agent, James Gill, called Trollope “one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.

    “Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and — of course — her readers,” Gill said.

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  • Bestselling British writer Joanna Trollope dies at 82

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    British writer Joanna Trollope, known for her bestselling novels about romantic escapades in rural England, has died at 82

    LONDON — British writer Joanna Trollope, whose bestselling novels charted domestic and romantic travails in well-heeled rural England, has died, her family said Friday. She was 82.

    Trollope’s daughters, Antonia and Louise, said the writer died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire, southern England, on Thursday.

    Trollope wrote almost two dozen contemporary novels, including “The Rector’s Wife,” “Marrying the Mistress” and “Next of Kin.” They were often dubbed “Aga sagas,” after the old-fashioned Aga ovens found in affluent country homes.

    Trollope disliked the term, noting that her books tackled uncomfortable subjects including infidelity, marital breakdown and the challenges of parenting.

    “That was a very unfortunate phrase and I think it’s done me a lot of damage,” she once said. “It was so patronizing to the readers, too.”

    Trollope also published 10 historical novels under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey.

    In 2019, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II.

    Her literary agent, James Gill, called Trollope “one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.

    “Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and — of course — her readers,” Gill said.

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  • 5 notable books by author Sophie Kinsella, who died at age 55

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    Sophie Kinsella, who has died at age 55, had a special talent for characters who persevered through the most embarrassing mishaps — often of their own making.

    Here are five novels that helped keep readers laughing, and relating, over the past 30 years.

    “The Tennis Party” (1995)

    Fellow writers could only envy Kinsella’s success, how early it came and how seemingly easy. As the author would remember, she was a 24-year-old financial journalist who, while commuting by train one day, thought to herself, “I want to have a go at this, I want to write a book.” Within two years, she was the bestselling author of “The Tennis Party,” under her real name, Madeleine Wickham.

    Released in the U.S. as “40 Love,” her debut novel centered on the misadventures of a weekend tennis party and introduced readers to her conversational touch about everything from love to money to … tennis.

    “They all have a lot of baggage,” the author explained on her website. “They sleep with each other, they behave very badly, drink a lot of Pimms, thrash tennis balls around, and things come to a head quite intensely.”

    “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic” (2000)

    She published her first several books as Wickham, before becoming a global brand as “Sophie Kinsella.” Spurred by this first “Shopaholic” novel, millions would cheer on the hopelessly indebted financial journalist Becky Bloomwood, who helps keep the economy turning with her “investments” in clothing, household and other products.

    Among the most cherished fantasies in her dreamworld: that some “dotty old woman in Cornwall” will mistakenly receive her “humongous” credit card bill and pay if off without checking the name. Becky, meanwhile, will be sent the woman’s bill for three tins of cat food, “which, naturally, I’ll pay without question.”

    The 2009 film “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” based on the first two of Kinsella’s nine-novel series, starred Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

    “Can You Keep a Secret?” (2003)

    As Kinsella, the novelist had a mission to get her characters in trouble. Emma Corrigan has a proper job as a marketing assistant and a proper and “heartbreakingly handsome” boyfriend. She is also prone to panic and distraction, to going about in public with her blouse unbuttoned or unleashing a spurt of soda on a client’s shirt. And she has a few secrets she would like to hold on to, whether it’s pouring orange juice on the plant of a colleague who annoys her or how she sometimes holds back laughter while having sex — “just normal, everyday little secrets.”

    This book was adapted into a 2019 movie starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin.

    “The Undomestic Goddess”

    (2005)

    Her alliteratively named characters were ever fish out of water, sometimes on the driest land. Samantha Sweeting is a London lawyer who can’t take it anymore, boards a train to the countryside and finds herself working as a housekeeper, for which she has no known skills.

    “I had so much fun charting Samantha’s comedy disasters in the kitchen, her battles with the ironing board, her gradual slowing down and relaxing and finding love,” the author writes on her website. “It’s a story of an uber-professional realizing there’s more to life than work, and starting to appreciate the little things.”

    “Twenties Girl” (2009)

    Just your typical supernatural adventure, in which 27-year-old Lara Lington is visited by the ghost of her flapper-great aunt Sadie and sent off to retrieve Sadie’s long-lost necklace. Subplots include Lara being dumped by her boyfriend and Lara wondering if she can succeed in business as a headhunter.

    She also lies a lot, to her parents. Yes, her work is going great. Yes, she loved their Christmas gift. No, she doesn’t just subsist on pizza and yogurt and vodka. And so on: “Seven lies. Not including all the ones about Mum’s outfit.”

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  • Nobel laureate Han Kang’s first nonfiction book in English to be released next spring

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Nobel laureate Han Kang’s first book of nonfiction to come out in English will be released next spring.

    The Korean author’s “Light and Thread” is scheduled to be published March 24 by Penguin Random House imprints in the U.S., the United Kingdom and other English-speaking regions. Published in Korean this year and translated into English by Maya West, e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris, “Light and Thread” includes Han’s Nobel lecture from 2024, along with other writings and photographs.

    “As I arranged the essays, poems, diary entries, and photographs to be included in this book, I imagined all of its spaces — from the first page to the last — enveloped in light,” Han said in a statement released Friday. “I am grateful and glad that this light, imbued into this English translation, continues to encounter readers.”

    Han, the first South Korean to win the Nobel literature prize, is best known for the novel “The Vegetarian,” winner of the International Booker Prize in 2016.

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  • US Santa Barbara selects ‘Crying in H Mart’ for 2026 common book program

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    Next year, booklovers at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) will be encouraged to read “Crying in H Mart,” a bestselling memoir about cultural identity and grief, the university announced this week.

    As the university’s community-reading initiative, UCSB Reads, which invites students and faculty to read the same book for discussions every year, has selected “Crying in H Mart” as the 2026 book.

    In “Crying in H Mart,” its author Michelle Zauner (also the frontwoman of the indie pop band Japanese Breakfast) explores grief and losing her Korean mother to terminal cancer. 

    Zauner, a biracial Korean American who grew up in Oregon, stayed connected to her roots through Korean food, especially after her mother’s death. In her New York Times bestselling memoir, Zauner processes her grief by embracing the Korean traditions with the backdrop of Korean grocery chain H Mart.

    Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast at The 16th Governors Awards held at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on November 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

    “In a series of personal essays, Zauner recounts growing up as one of a few Asian-Americans in her Oregon town and reconnecting with her Korean identity as a young adult,” UCSB Reads said in explaining its 2026 pick. “The book chronicles her coming of age and complex family dynamics, showing how she navigates the profound grief of a parent’s illness and death by embracing the traditions that define her.”

    UCSB Reads 2026 will launch in January, giving away free books to students. Then, readers can attend free and social events to explore the book together throughout the winter and spring quarters. 

    Instructors are also encouraged to incorporate the book into their courses, the university said.  Free copies of the book will be available for students through the university library as well.

    Zauner herself will speak at a free public event at the school in May 2026. 

    Published in 2021, “Crying in H Mart” was a critical and commercial hit as it spent 60 weeks on the New York Times hardcover non-fiction bestseller list and was named a top book by TIME and the Atlantic. 

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    Helen Jeong

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  • Rick Atkinson’s Revolutionary War trilogy to be adapted into graphic editions

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    Military historian Rick Atkinson, known for his Revolutionary War trilogy, is venturing into graphic books

    NEW YORK — Prize-winning military historian Rick Atkinson, a comic book fan growing up, hadn’t imagined his own work being suitable for the illustrated format.

    Ten Speed Graphic announced Tuesday that a graphic edition of “The British Are Coming,” the first volume of Atkinson’s acclaimed Revolutionary War trilogy, will be out next June, shortly before the country’s 250th anniversary. Five more graphic books are planned, to be written by Nora Neus and illustrated by Federico Pietrobon, with Atkinson in close collaboration.

    “They are entirely amenable to my suggestions, ‘This isn’t quite right,’ or ‘I think this needs to be explained,’” Atkinson told The Associated Press. “With the drawings, I pointed out that John Adams, at the time the revolution began was a relatively young man. And they had made him look like the paunchy, bald John Adams of the vice presidency. And they fixed it.”

    Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize winner for his World War II book “An Army at Dawn,” has been working on his revolutionary trilogy for a decade and published the second volume, “The Fate of the Day,” this spring. Widely regarded as among the best living military historians, he was a featured commentator in Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution” documentary and has made numerous joint appearances with the filmmaker. He is currently working on the final book of his trilogy.

    The author says that he was initially skeptical about the new project. With early memories of Superman comics, he wondered how any illustrator might adapt deeply-researched books that run longer than 500 pages. But the graphic format has been used on everything from “The Odyssey” to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. Atkinson changed his mind after Ten Speed Graphic, a Penguin Random House imprint, sent him several adaptations, including of the life of Frederick Douglass and Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny.”

    “I saw that the comic books of my youth have evolved considerably and I was enthused about it,” Atkinson said. “They said, ‘We acknowledge this is serious history that you do. We don’t intend to dumb it down. Our ambition is to widen the audience, to pitch this story of the American founding to an audience that perhaps might be intimidated by a 560 page book.’”

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  • Can You Identify Lines From These Classic Science Fiction Novels?

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    Welcome to Literary Quotable Quotes, a quiz that tests your recognition of memorable lines. This week’s installment highlights lines from notable 20th-century science fiction novels. In the five multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to the books if you want to experience the entire work in context.

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    J. D. Biersdorfer

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  • Ex-French President Sarkozy to publish prison memoir as appeal looms

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    PARIS (AP) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will publish a book about his recent time behind bars, titled “Diary of a Prisoner,” on Dec. 10, his publisher Fayard announced Friday. The house is part of the media group controlled by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré.

    Sarkozy trailed the release in a post on X, writing that in La Santé prison “the noise is, unfortunately, constant” and that “the inner life of man becomes stronger in prison.” He spent three weeks in detention there this autumn.

    The former head of state, who governed France from 2007 to 2012, was convicted on Sept. 25 of participating in a criminal organization over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign. He was released pending appeal on Nov. 10, and his appeal against the conviction is scheduled to be heard from March 16 to June 3.

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