LISTENER PICKS THE BEST BOOKS FOR 2006
The issue on sale today, dated December 9,is a must-read for book lovers with a massive eleven pages devoted to their top picks for the year. A number of them slipped by me unoticed but I'm pleased to say that I have read and enjoyed their Best of the Best, the top three.
Don't miss this feature.
I wish I agreed with David Larsen about The Cowboy Dog.
ReplyDeletebut I'm afraid his western just doesn't work for me
I buy the Listener every week, and read their books pages with interest.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth do they think I might want to read a summary of reviews I have already read?
This means that, among other titles, important books like Damien Wilkins's The Fainter can't be picked or recommended because the Listener hasn't yet got round to running a review.
Now, if they had asked some lively writers and readers and public figures for Christmas and holiday recommendations, I'd be rivetted.
What a spectacular waste of potentially important pages!
I agree with the previous comment.In years gone by the Listener used to invite a number of well-read people to select their best books of the year and to write a sentence or two about why they chose them.I always found that most interesting. Perhaps the Listener is summarising previously published reviews in order to reduce costs.If that is the case then one can understand that but it doesn't make for interesting reading if you have already read these reviews.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love this time of the year when everyone is picking their "best of" but I preferred it when The Listener chose literate types who were well known for their wide reading and got them to select their best.
ReplyDeleteYes but for those of us in Europe and other parts of the world who do not see your Listener then this summary of the reviews of the best books is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing this to my notice. I didn't know about the New Zealand Listener but will check their website occasionally from now on.
My parents were born in New Zealand and I have visited several times although never lived there so I am enjoying your blog with all its NZ book news.And Amazon are benefitting as I have bought several titles since your blog was brought to my notice by a friend who lives in Ireland.All power to your arm.
And where were the children's books. The Listener often features reviews of books for children, surely a list of the best of picture books and best of novels would have been a great addition.
ReplyDelete