Writer dubs World Book Night "World Bollocks Night"

Tomorrow's World Book Night is ruffling  feathers, with For Books' Sake's Beulah Devaney lambasting the event's organisers - the Reading Agency - for a lack of titles by female authors. This years WBN event has cast its focus on engaging male readers, following a study reporting 63% of men hardly read. The way that focus is being applied is by having 14 of this year's 20 WBN titles from male authors.

In a piece definitely worth viewing, the decision has brought Devaney to write:

Basically, they’ve decided the best way to get men reading more is to reinforce the idea that men should only read books by male authors.

The balance of the comment may be questioned, but it again raises the issue of gender stereotypes, reading preferences and 'relevant content'; topics brought to the fore recently as author and illustrator Jonathan Emmett voiced views on feminine influence in the book industry.

For our part, we're fairly sure that men aren't only interested in reading the works of male authors. Yet in a situation where many men in the UK don't read much (if at all) might it be plausible that new readers - rightly or wrongly - are swayed by the gender of the author as one of several factors?

And if that author is of the same gender as the reader surely it doesn't necessarily follow that all future reading will be of same-gender authors.

Ultimately, whether the Reading Agency's approach is justified - or will be effective - is up for debate. It's probably even quite hard to quantify.

Devaney though clearly feels strongly about the situation. In her view, "WBN are reinforcing the gender divide between men and women readers", and "doing more of what’s already been shown not to work".

What do you think?

A Manly Triumph: Poems That Make Grown Men Cry

Poems That Make Grown Men Cry is misting eyes for all the right reasons, having entered The Sunday Times' bestseller list at number two. The anthology - published by Simon and Schuster, and edited by Anthony and Ben Holden - looks at 100 men and the poems which move them to tears.

"Grown men aren't supposed to cry', reads the description, "But in this fascinating anthology, one hundred men - distinguished in literature and film, science and architecture, theatre and human rights - confess to being moved to tears by poems that haunt them."

Those men include Stephen Fry, Daniel Radcliffe, Salman Rushdie and J.J Abrams, with the anthology providing an insight into the impact of emotive writing on famous male readers.

The title might also offer a shot in the arm for the wider male readership. After all, at time when most men aren't reading, the warming reception of Poems That Make Grown Men Cry is as promising as it is potentially triumphant.

Sales of the anthology may not, of course, be solely down to male readers. Yet the title clearly demonstrates that men can feel connected to writing in a way not typically promoted.

And honestly, with emotional health an important facet of modern living, it's encouraging to see such a book providing and inspiring a less-seen view.

George R.R. Martin offers World of Ice and Fire sample

George R.R. Martin, author of the ASong of Ice and Fire series - which American network HBO commissioned as 'Game of Thrones' - has provided a sample of his new book. The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones, is set to be released in October 2014, with the author posting a generous extract on his website.

The extract isn't easy to find - that's our excuse for not seeing it sooner - but includes a history of the Targaryen king Aegon the Conqueror. Aegon, as Martin fans will know, is a figure often referenced in the author's richly imagined world. Westerosi history recounts 'The Conquest' as Aegon's defining triumph in uniting six of the seven realms under his rule.

In creating the book, being referred to as a companion to his previous works (as well as to the Game of Thrones TV series), Martin has had quite the project on his hands. As the book's pre-release Amazon page offers:

If the past is prologue, then George R. R. Martin’s masterwork—the most inventive and entertaining fantasy saga of our time—warrants one hell of an introduction.

It would be hard to put it better, as Martin looks to offer a comprehensive and detailed history of his world in around 400 pages. Still, the author's UK publisher, Jane Johnson, clearly feels that at least 'comprehensive and detailed' has been achieved. Ms Johnson posted on Twitter last week:

#amreading George RR Martin's World of Ice & Fire, the history of Essos and Westeros. It's fan-bloody-tastic, and coming soon.

The October release should quench some of the thirst for those eagerly awaiting the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire title. There is currently no projected publishing date for the next installment, The Winds of Winter, with Ms Johnson suggesting in January it"almost certainly" wouldn't be published before 2015.

Happily though, we do already have an excerpt from the title to peek at.

And we now also have a Martin book coming this year!

Boys not reading because women are "gatekeepers" to children's books

Author and illustrator Jonathan Emmett has added his thoughts to the conversation about why boys (and later, men) don't read. And, with a view guaranteed to carry the debate further, he believes it's due to female influence.

In comments offered to the The Times, Emmett believes that there isn't enough to hold young boys interest in books, with one of the key reasons being that the the "industry is dominated by female gatekeepers".

To illustrate his point - and referencing the known gap in literacy levels between girls and boys - Emmett looked at 450 reviews of children's books in national papers. He found that while men wrote 47% of picture books, 87% of reviewers were women.

Of course reviewers may be employed in such roles for their balance and appreciation of readers' likes, yet Emmett draws on further examples to add weight to his view.

He tells how just two of the 50 editors he has worked with have been men, and how he feels that has directly affected his own work in, "The number of times I have tried to get technical information into a book and it is deemed inappropriate."

Emmett also offers comment on the content which makes it into published titles. Titles which are then bought by a group which - according to an unnamed publisher - is 95% women.

'Mums and grans buy books - that’s what’s driving the market. They read the book also and then there’s a tendency for the book to reflect their tastes as well. So there may be a pirate but that pirate will not be engaged in a battle.'

In views which touch upon ideas of stereotypical gender interests, and which claim that "boys and girls with 'boy-typical' tastes", prefer the content of computer games, Emmett admits his opinions aren't easy to present.

"It is a really difficult argument to make", he concedes "because 99 times out of 100 it is women that are under-represented."

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What are your thoughts? Tell us below.

Books Afloat - The Book Barge

We've probably all considered it. To hell with the consequences, let's do something daring. Let's...go travelling or move home. For Sarah Henshaw, the idea was this: let's buy a barge and travel that nation's canals.

Yet Sarah had an even more unique take on things. Bored and uninspired with life as an entertainment journalist, she considered that a barge might be the perfect place for a shop.  A bookshop.

That was five years ago. Sarah's idea has long since been a reality; one which has taken her on a journey of five years, over 1,000 miles and through 707 locks. In that time she's sold 1,395 books.

The shop has graced the canals of London, Bristol, Oxford, Brimingham, Llangollen Leeds, Manchester. It has also doubled as a home for Sarah and mascots, including the current resident: Napoleon Bunnyparte.

It all sounds a bit like the introduction to a book, doesn't it? Well that's exactly what it's become. A story to tug at all the hearts of all those seeking A change, The Bookshop That Floats is available now., published by Constable.

Honestly though, the captivating introduction to Sarah's journey is far better read than described. So here it is:

In early 2009 a strange sort of business plan landed on the desk of a pinstriped bank manager. It had pictures of rats and moles in rowing boats and archaic quotes about Cleopatra's barge. It asked for a £30,000 loan to buy a black-and-cream narrowboat and a small hoard of books.

The manager said no, and so did others, but...well Sarah made it work anyway. And still, through tough times, it works. Sometimes books were used to barter for goods and services. Sometimes a barge-based disaster occurred. But Sarah kept on. And it gladdens the heart, she did.

The Bookshop that Floats  currently sits 6th in Amazon's 'Biography > Business & Finance' section. It also sits among the top ten of 'Travel & Holiday > Travel Writing', and 'Business, Finance & Law > Biographies and Histories' (imagine that!).

Happily, Sarah is still running the shop - apparently moored near Broadway Market, Hackney over Easter. She's still selling others' books as well; although now she has her own to add to her story.

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Appreciating... Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Over the Easter holiday, or some time in the near future, you may be in need of a new book to read. Something offering escape, but at once engaging attachment and truth. If that book should also contain masterfully crafted escapism heavy with wisdom, then the late Garcia Marquez' bibliography may provide.

The 87 year-old Columbian author sadly passed away yesterday, but there is little doubt his works will live on for generations. There is little doubt, not because he was awarded the Nobel prize in literature, but because of his skill at guiding wisdom, insight and a personal fascination to his works.

Barack Obama yesterday said the world mourned "one of its greatest visionary writers". Juan Manuel Santos, president of the author's native Columbia gave a hint of the loss his country  feels:

 "A thousand years of solitude and sadness at the death of the greatest Colombian of all time. Solidarity and condolences to his wife and family ... Such giants never die."

Garcia Marquez was, and will remain a Columbian hero, and a global literary icon. But for all those who have yet to experience the author's works, what examples can be offered to convey the quality of his talents?

Well, the height of the acclaim for his works may be enough, yet - though to do so is to pick morsels from what many millions would consider a feast - a look at some of the writer's extracts sheds light. Familiarisation through The Guardian, or even Goodreads, the result will be largely the same.

Among the many perfectly pitched lines, is the often misquoted, perhaps impossible, yet strikingly perfect phrase, "Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry.” Alongside may be placed, “A lie is more comfortable than doubt, more useful than love, more lasting than truth.”

Such semantic elegance might be the hallmark of a brilliant writer, but also of a person who knows something of life and so-called 'universal truths'. Garcia Marquez may not have claimed such a lofty perch.

Born in Aracataca, a place which would inspire his own fictional village of Macondo, he was raised from a young age by his grandparents. A young Columbian, inspired by his liberal grandfather, he would later attend law-school but opt for journalism.

He was a brother, a husband, and father to two sons. He was an observer of life and he felt the lives of individual were fascinating: "All human beings have three lives", he once noted, "public, private, and secret".

It was secret lives which helped produce Love in the Time of Cholera. Concerned with the love of elderly people, the title was inspired by a couple in their late 70s who met every year. One tragic year the couple were murdered onboard a boat by their boatman. Garcia Marquez noted:

"Through their death, the story of their secret romance became known. I was fascinated by them. They were each married to other people."

Of Garcia Marquez' own life we know a fair bit. Perhaps not of any of the 'secret', although a fair portion of the 'private' - such information a by-product of fame and renown. Mostly, we have known of his public life. Yet should we wish to have a hint of the others, his works could at best provide clues.

At worst, they may delight and enrich and inspire our own lives.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies

Some very sad news. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Columbian Nobel prize-winning author  has died in Mexico aged 87, the BBC has reported.

Garcia Marquez, was forced to end his writing career in mid-2012 due to the onset of dementia, following a battle with lymphatic cancer beginning in 1999.

The author produced the very highly regarded One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera among his works.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez was was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1982.

63% of men hardly read; we should act

If you're a man the chances are that you don't really read much at all. In fact, a new study suggests you'd prefer to watch...say, Game of Thrones over reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

The study, commissioned by The Reading Agency and carried out by OnePoll, uncovered the rather saddening revelation of male disinterest, reporting that 63% of men were not reading as much as they might do.

Why? Reasons include a lack of time, a feeling of finding it difficult, or simply because they don't enjoy it.

The results form part of the research into the reading habits of 2,000 British men and women and Sue Wilkinson, CEO of the Reading Agency, highlights the key factors affecting male interest:

“It seems that men recognise the value of reading books but admit that they don’t do it as much as they might for several reasons. TV shows and films, and the Internet, are competing for people’s time these days, especially that of young men, and our focus is to remind them of the pleasure that can be derived from reading a book as well.

That's a sentiment we'll certainly support. And, to its credit, the Reading Agency has already thought about addressing the problem. Ms Wilkinson reminds us, "This year’s World Book Night list of 20 books was selected with these young men in mind.’’

Authors, understandably, are disappointed with the findings. Novelist and former SAS sergeant Andy McNab has highlighted his own experiences as further proof of the issue, speaking to The Guardian:

"When I joined the Army straight out of juvenile detention I had the reading age of an 11-year-old, and I meet kids at the schools where I'm doing talks who are just the same."

Saying he himself has "years of books to catch up on", McNab says he is enjoying doing just that. Matt Haig, author of The Humans, makes clear that if the trend continues it would be very bad news:

"...the danger is that the fewer books men buy, the less incentive publishers and booksellers will have to reach out of them. Without books, civilisation falls into the dark ages. It wouldn't just be a shame, but a catastrophe if half the population stopped reading."

Haig has a point, but on a more positive note adds,  "There are as many books being written as ever for men to enjoy. It's just about making them feel relevant"

Knowing about time and attention pressures ourselves, we'd have to agree that revelance is the first step on the road to getting guys reading again.

Hopefully this year's World Book Night can go some way towards doing that, but perhaps we can all do a little more to help the cause.

Kindle for Samsung offers free ebooks

Do you own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet? If you do, Samsung and Amazon's new 'Kindle for Samsung' service offers you free ebooks. The service, announced today, comes in the shape of a custom-built app which you can have installed on any Galaxy device running Android version 4.0 or later (if you need to check your Android version, go into the Settings app, and look for the 'About Tablet/Phone' option).

If your device is up to scratch, the Kindle for Samsung app is available for install via Samsung Apps (not Google Play), and offers users a choice of one free title per month from a selection of four. That's not all it offers; there are around 500,000 ebooks, newspapers and magazines from the Kindle store too.

The service includes amazon's WhisperSync functionality, alongside the extra features 'Worry Free Archive' (a backup of your titles to the cloud), and Time to Read (which estimates how long you will take to finish your chapter).

Both Amazon and Samsung seem rather delighted about the partnership, and if we're honest free books - digital or otherwise - are always an interesting proposition.

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Here are some quotes to make it all official:

“We’re delighted to be able to deepen our long-standing relationship with Amazon and offer Kindle for Samsung as the perfect app for reading on a smart device. With this service we demonstrate our commitment to creating and broadening key content partnerships that deliver rich and personalised experiences for our customers.”

~ Lee Epting, VP of Samsung Media Solution Centre Europe.

" “With Kindle for Samsung, people around the world will have instant access to the best digital bookstore and reading experience, including more than half a million titles that are only available from the Kindle Store, and innovative features like Whispersync, Time to Read and much more.”

~ Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President of EU Kindle.

New site allows Harry Potter fans to Enroll at Hogwarts

The wonder of the Internet has finally put right the slightly disappointing fact that Harry Potter's Hogwarts isn't real (sorry). Now, thanks to an unofficial website, Harry Potter fans can enroll online to study at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry. Really.

The site, Hogwarts Is Here, is a cross between a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC), and a sort of online role-playing game. It allows visitors to sign up and browse or to join one of the four Hogwarts houses, and take courses crucial to the acquisition of magical knowledge.

Studies include Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration and Defence Against The Dark Arts, and are apparently maintained and supported by attentive academic staff (volunteers).

The site seems an incredibly polished and engaging affair, especially for something not officially endorsed or linked to film licenses. With sections on student life, academic standards and a careers page, there's even  a considerable FAQ section on hand. Likely because even Hogwarts students want to see when their deadlines are.

Essentially Hogwarts Is Here is a site created and maintained by fans because they love the world of Harry Potter. And honestly we hope it's able to keep running on that basis.

If you're interested in having a look, why not head over now; you can even generate a Hogwarts acceptance letter. Oh, and one more thing: if you do sign up, perhaps consider joining House Hufflepuff.

They always seem to get the least amount of love, don't they...

A readable book on economics?

Economy-focused titles might generally be thought quite inaccessible.  But Professor. Thomas Picketty is apparently challenging the norm The French professor's new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century isn't a short one, but its pages are said hold the burden of an economic revelation.

That is, as Picketty has told The Guardian, "I have proved that under the present circumstances capitalism simply cannot work."

If that seems like a read which might not be up your street, you may yet be convinced. New Yorker contributor Branko Milanovic (formerly a senior economist at the World Bank) believes the title is "one of the watershed books in economic thinking".

Not the most persuasive perhaps, but that the title is currently causing a stir in academic and wider circles, hints at the strength of a book which The Guardian's Andrew Hussey calls "surprisingly readable".

And that's a relief. At 640 pages, and costing £30 in its hardback form, it's probably not a book to tempt everyone. But Prof. Picketty does hope it will reach more than the usual audience for economics-themed titles:

"I did deliberately aim the book at the general reader", Picketty has said. Adding, "although it is obviously a book which can be read by specialists too, I wanted the information here to be made clear to everyone who wants to read it."

Because here's  a man who knows inequality simply won't do.

London hosts UK's first edible book launch

We're all familiar with book launches, but add the word 'edible' and it might seem a tasteless way to undo the author's hard work. Never fear though, it's all part of debut novelist Sarah Holt's plan for the booklaunch of Love and Eskimo Snow, a novel published by Valley Press next month. The launch of the title - which is available now - no doubt took some planning, and is helped in large part by Edible Stories.

The company is charged with delivering a six-course meal to intrigue and excite the senses, as attendees consider the central question of Holt's title: the varied experience of love. A fascinating evening surely awaits, and those interested enough can quite possibly attend.

The book launch will be in the Shoreditch area of East London on the 25th May, and tickets are available for £57:50. If supporting a debut novelist needs any sweetening, such a unique experience - alongside the promises of a key insight into the plot - might be just the thing.

Amazon now backs up Kindle documents

Amazon has tweaked its Amazon Cloud Drive service to automatically back up all documents users send to their Kindles using the "send to Kindle feature". Available on desktop and mobile devices, send to Kindle allows users to send documents, texts and ebooks to their devices - useful for reading materials not part of your Amazon ebook library. The change has reinforced that functionality in a rather intuitive manner.

Now Amazon will backup any documents you send to Kindle devices to your personal Cloud Drive folder for safe-keeping. It also means there's some changes to the 'Manage Your Kindle' section of Amazon accounts, and an Amazon email details those:

"You can use Manage Your Kindle to see a list of your documents, re-deliver them to Kindle devices and free reading apps, delete them, or turn off auto-saving of documents to the cloud".

The feature to back up documents can be disabled in the Your Kindle Account section of Manage Your Kindle - under the Personal Document Settings heading. You might want to leave it on though; the 5GB of free storage for document is added to the existing 5GB all Amazon account holders are given.

10GB of free storage is rather handy, and even 5GB will take a while to use up with documents unless you're a particularly heavy or regular 'sender'!