News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Book News
- Darwin’s annotated copy of On the Origin of Species goes to auction (The Guardian)
- John Lewis plagiarism row gives Christmas sales boost to Mr Underbed. The British department store’s Christmas ad is remarkably similar to a children’s book by Chris Riddell. (The Guardian)
- The “vast library” of Watership Down author Richard Adams goes to auction next week. It contains first editions of a number of 19th-century authors, including Austen, Dickens, and Eliot, as well as a rare Shakespeare Second Folio. (The Guardian)
Worth Reading/Viewing
- How 11 Writers Organize[d] Their Personal Libraries (Emily Temple, Lit Hub)
- Terry Brooks received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Fantasy at this year’s World Fantasy Convention. His acceptance speech was full of gratitude to those who have helped him through 40 years of writing: editors, publishers, his wife, and the writers who inspire him. (Unbound Worlds; the article includes a video of his short speech.)
- Star Wars has sparked a new religion. Yes, really. Publishers Weekly interviewed the founder of the Church of Jediism.
- 3 Fantasy Romance Series to Sweep You Away (Book Riot) Jessica Avery explores what fantasy romance is, and why it is growing in popularity, ending with three series recommendations. (None of which I’ve read, and all of which are going on my want-to-read list.)
- Science fiction triggers ‘poorer reading’, study finds (The Guardian) Or rather, people tend to read less deeply when they think they’re reading SF, which one author of the study attributes to bias against the genre.
For Writers and Bloggers
- Improve Your Story’s Setting With a Floor Plan (V. V. Wedding Writes)
- COYER Winter Switch is gearing up. The upcoming Clean Out Your E-Reader challenge runs from Dec. 16 through Mar. 9. There are some twists on it this winter, so check it out if you need to tackle your ebook or audiobook TBR.
Awesome Lists
- Must-Read Science Nonfiction in Honor of Origin of Species (Book Riot)
- The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017 (Barnes & Noble blog)
- 7 Fantasy Book Adaptations We’d Love to Binge-Watch (Unbound Worlds)
Bookish Quote
That’s it for this week!
Jo
I love your book news/worth reading sections 🙂
Lark_Bookwyrm
Thanks, Jo! It’s fun to put together. (If a bit time-consuming, as I end up diving down a lot of rabbit-holes.) 🙂
Trish @ Between My Lines
I loved the article on how writers organised their personal libraries.
Trish @ Between My Lines recently posted…The Sunday Post : Get your bookish news – confession time
Lark_Bookwyrm
Me too! I thought it was really interesting how varied the styles are.