Books - The Malaysian Insider

‘The Girl on the Train’ holds spot at top of US bestsellers list

"The Girl on the Train," a thriller by author Paula Hawkins, kept its perch on Thursday at the top of the US bestsellers list, a spot it has held for a dozen weeks. Data from independent and...

Moleskine debuts Alice in Wonderland edition notebooks

A new collection from the premium notebook maker inspired by Lewis Carroll's timeless children's classic are now on sale in the US and in Europe. The series consists of four hardcover books,...

Finished days before death, Charlie Hebdo director’s book unveiled

"One day, for a laugh, I will have to publish all the threats I received at Charlie Hebdo," French cartoonist Charb wrote in a book he finished just two days before being mowed down by jihadist...

Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu to co-write book

Work on "The Book of Joy: Finding Enduring Happiness in an Uncertain World" is set to start this weekend when the two Nobel Peace Prize laureates meet to celebrate the Dalai Lama's 80th...

Rook e-reading app lets you sample on the go

In the quest to bring new readers into the fold, a soon-to-launch app called “Rook” is to offer free e-books to users in certain public places – but they'll have to pay for the book, if they wish...

Ali Smith, Anne Tyler make Baileys Women’s Prize shortlist

Ali Smith's highly praised "How to be Both" and Pulitzer-winning American novelist Anne Tyler's "A Spool of Blue Thread" are among the six books short-listed for the Baileys Women's Prize for...

Nobel prize winner Guenter Grass, author of ‘The Tin Drum’, dies at 87

German novelist Guenter Grass, the Nobel Prize-winning author of "The Tin Drum", an epic treatment of the Nazi era, died on Monday at the age of 87, his publishers said. A broad-shouldered man...

5 upcoming international literary festivals

Next month, the 28th annual Hay Festival will welcome its usual star-studded mix of authors, readers, thinkers and entertainers for 11 days of talks, readings and shows. Famously dubbed "the...

Self-published authors land major book deals proving romance is alive and well

Meredith Wild and Jasinda Wilder (pic) have both gone from the self-publishing realm to land significant book deals over the past week, following in the vaunted footsteps of E.L...

Harry Potter fans become wizards in Hogwarts-style role play

Clad in robes and pointed hats, would-be sorcerers wave their wands and cast spells as they hone their magic skills at their very own College of Wizardry. In scenes inspired by Hogwarts from...

Toil and trouble: researchers link Shakespeare to disputed play

“This is the short and the long of it”, as William Shakespeare wrote in “The Merry Wives of Windsor”. A play called "Double Falsehood" published in 1728 by a man who claimed it was based on a...

Startup Oyster signs big publishers for e-bookstore

Subscription e-book service Oyster announced Wednesday it has signed all five major publishers for its new US online bookstore, a move which could ramp up competition against Amazon. Oyster,...

Terry Pratchett’s final ‘Discworld’ book out in September

"The Shepherd's Crown" book by the late British sci-fi and fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, is to be published on September 10 of this year. Pratchett, who died last month at the age of 66,...

J.K. Rowling’s ‘Very Good Lives’, commencement speeches turned books

On April 14, a speech that "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling (pic) gave to the graduating class at Harvard will be immortalised in print. She joins authors including David Foster Wallace and...

Bring on the memoirs: John Fogerty, Elvis Costello, Johnny Marr

John Fogerty is the latest in a recent string of musicians to announce they have memoirs on the way. Here is a look at some musical autobiographies coming up in 2015 and beyond. John Fogerty:...

‘Game of Thrones’ author posts ‘Winds of Winter’ excerpt

“Game of Thrones” author, George R. R. Martin, has uploaded a third sample chapter from George R. R. Martin has uploaded a third sample chapter from "A Song of Ice And Fire" on his website, offering another preview of the series' sixth entry. The scene-setting 6,700-word excerpt...