The Beijinger Blog - Books

Portable Library: The Latest E-Book Readers

thebeijinger — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0800

How much do you know about the latest e-readers? There's Amazon's Kindle, of course, and the Apple iPad has gotten a lot of people excited about its potential to revolutionize the book publishing industry. Meanwhile, there's several other e-readers on the market that offer very similar features for a lower price.

Beijing Bookshelves: Ian Johnson, Pulitzer-winning author

thebeijinger — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0800

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's what Ian Johnson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former Beijing correspondent for the Wall Street Journal said:

My favorite childhood book is House at Pooh Corner.

Slammin'! Poets Zephaniah and Connell Talk Shop

thebeijinger — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0800

Poetry seems daunting to many of us. Years of staring at print in classrooms made us feel that way. The answer to our struggles to love verse might be the genre of spoken word. We spoke to two of its most acclaimed exponents – British legend Benjamin Zephaniah and slam-winning Steven Connell – on the eve of their performance at 2 Kolegas this Saturday (March 13) as part of the Bookworm International Literary Festival.

Beijing Bookshelves: Dominic Johnson-Hill, owner of Plastered T-Shirts

thebeijinger — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0800

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how expat entrepreneur Dominic Johnson-Hill answered:

Beijing Bookshelves: Evan Osnos of the New Yorker

thebeijinger — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0800

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Evan Osnos, China correspondent for the New Yorker magazine, answered:

Beijing Bookshelves: Dr. Geoff Raby, Australian ambassador to China

thebeijinger — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0800

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Dr. Geoff Raby, the Australian ambassador to China, answered:

Bookworm Update: Additions, Cancellations & a Refused Visa

thebeijinger — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:37:00 +0800

Last week we reported Peter Hessler’s last minute withdrawal from the Bookworm Literary Festival for unspecified personal reasons. Since then several other events have been canceled or changed, with one session altered after the author was refused a visa for China.

A Brief Wondrous Talk with Junot Diaz

thebeijinger — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0800

Junot Diaz, who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, is coming to town as part of The Bookworm International Literary Festival. Ahead of his visit, we had the chance to ask him about the challenge of teaching at M.I.T., his thoughts on the Haiti earthquake, and why people who read can be considered a special tribe.

Taking Chinese Literature to the World: Harvey Thomlinson of Make Do Publishing

thebeijinger — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0800

Selling Chinese literature to the English-speaking world is tough – especially when it’s by contemporary authors little known outside China. But Harvey Thomlinson is doing just that, with his new Hong Kong-based venture Make Do Publishing. On the eve of his appearance at the Bookworm Literary Festival, Dan Edwards talks to Harvey about Make Do and China’s online writing revolution.

Dark Visions of Sex & Corruption: Chinese Novelist Murong

thebeijinger — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0800

“This society is like a dirty river,” Chinese novelist Murong Xuecun says, his words tumbling out in a rapid-fire stream. “The river holds all kinds of people and all kinds of behaviour. Some can melt into the river, others can’t.” Murong’s dark world view has informed a string of Chinese bestsellers and made him the enfant terrible of the country’s often staid literary scene. With the publication of an English edition of Leave Me Alone – A Novel of Chengdu in Hong Kong, and Murong’s appearance at the Bookworm Literary Festival, Beijingers now have the chance to experience Murong’s hard-boiled style.