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☆ Booker Prize 2024: Samantha Harvey’s space-station novel ‘Orbital’ wins annual literature award
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London AP —British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of Earth. The prize is open to English-language writers of any nationality and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. De Waal praised the “crystalline” writing and “capaciousness” of Harvey’s succinct novel — at 136 pages in its UK paperback edition, one of the shortest-ever Booker winners. Harvey is the first female Booker winner since 2019, though one of five women on this year’s shortlist, the largest number in the prize’s 55-year history. Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to novels originally written in English published in the UK or Ireland.

Persons: Samantha Harvey, Booker, Harvey, ”, Edmund de Waal, ” Gaby Wood, ” Harvey, Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Hilary, Waal, Percival Everett, “ James, Twain’s, Huckleberry Finn ”, Jim, Rachel Kushner’s, Canadian Anne Michaels, Charlotte Wood’s, Yael van der, De Waal, Paul Lynch, ” Lynch Organizations: London AP, Space, Prize Foundation, Ireland Locations: British, Canada, United States, Australia, Netherlands, Canadian, London, Japan

☆ Sales of 'The Handmaid's Tale' rose nearly 7,000% this week on Amazon — but 'Melania' takes the No. 1 bestseller spot
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sales of "The Handmaid's Tale" surged by nearly 7,000% on Amazon as of Thursday, CNN reported. "Melania," the memoir by Melania Trump. 1 book on Amazon's Best Sellers list as of Friday afternoon was Melania Trump's memoir "Melania," which came out last month. AdvertisementIn the foreword to her book, Melania Trump wrote: "I believe it is important to share my perspective, the truth, especially in these times of division and uncertainty. AdvertisementGeorge Orwell's "1984," which warns of the rise of totalitarianism, rose 250% in Amazon sales.

Persons: Melania Trump, —, Donald Trump, Margaret Atwood's, Barnes & Noble, Chip Somodevilla, Atwood, Roe, Wade, Kamala Harris, George Orwell's, Ray, JD Vance's Organizations: CNN, Service, Barnes &, Trump

☆ The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984 and other books are flying off the shelves after the election
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-07 | by ( Erika Tulfo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

(CNN) – Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a novel set in a totalitarian society, has shot to the top of Amazon’s bestselling books list following Donald Trump’s reelection. Former president Trump clinched a victory against Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, securing a second term, non-consecutive after he lost in 2020. “The Handmaid’s Tale” takes place in a theocratic, male-dominated future America where the US Constitution is suspended, media is censored and women (the titular “handmaids”) are forced to bear children for the ruling class. Many have harnessed comparisons to Atwood’s classic in the lead-up to the election, particularly around the topic of reproductive rights. Calm drew attention on social media after airing ads that gave viewers “30 seconds of silence” amid continuous election coverage.

Persons: – Margaret Atwood’s “, ”, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Kamala Harris, Harris, Roe, Wade, handmaids, Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Joe Biden’s, Hillary Clinton, Atwood, X, It’s, Brett Kavanaugh’s, George Orwell’s “, Ray Bradbury’s, Melania Organizations: CNN, Barnes, Trump, US Supreme, MSNBC, Apple Locations: skyrocketing, Tuesday’s, America

A political video reminded women that they can vote for Vice President Kamala Harris without telling their husbands, enraging prominent conservatives and reigniting a fiery discourse that highlights the central role of gender in this year’s election. “Did you make the right choice?” one of the husbands asks. “Sure did, honey,” his wife responds with a smile, sharing a knowing glance with the woman beside her. Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has embraced an image of traditional masculinity, actively courting influencers and comedians who are popular among young men. In the wake of the discourse, Atwood shared a political cartoon of women entering a voting booth dressed in handmaids’ attire and shedding their red uniforms upon exiting.

Persons: Kamala Harris, enraging, Harris, “, Julia Roberts, Donald Trump, Harris ’, Trump, influencers, Doug Pagitt, ”, Pagitt, Julia Roberts ”, ” Trump, you’re, Jesse Watters, Emma, that’s, ” Watters, Charlie Kirk, Newt Gingrich, Margaret Atwood’s, Atwood, ” Pagitt, We’re Organizations: “, Trump, Fox News, ” Fox News, Conservative, Republican, NBC News Locations: America, Trump, ”

Two reports released Monday provide a mixed but compelling outlook on the wave of book removals and challenges as the annual Banned Books Week begins for schools, stores and libraries nationwide. The ALA attributed the decline in book challenges in the first eight months of 2024, in part, to the work of anti-censorship activists and “success in courts” against laws that restrict book access. “But, you know, the First Amendment protects the rights of minors as well.”While the ALA’s report shows signs of book challenges abating, objections to certain titles still persist. Like the ALA, PEN said a large portion of the books targeted have racial or LGBTQ themes. It is supported by the ALA, PEN, the Authors Guild, the National Book Foundation and more than a dozen other organizations.

Persons: “, ” Deborah Caldwell, Stone, ” Caldwell, Toni Morrison’s “, Maia Kobabe’s, George M, shouldn’t, abating, Judy Blume, Margaret Atwood, ”, Kasey Meehan Organizations: American Library Association, PEN, Intellectual, Labor, ALA, “, NBC, New College of Florida, Utah State Board of Education, Read, Book Foundation Locations: PEN America, Florida and Iowa, United States, Nassau County , Florida, Utah, Florida

☆ 130 Years After Sinking, Ship is Found on the Bottom of Lake Michigan
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Sara Ruberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Early on Sept. 30, 1893, the Margaret A. Muir schooner, carrying cargo of bulk salt, cleared the narrow Straits of Mackinac on its way down Lake Michigan toward Chicago’s port. As the crew rounded Michigan and steered south, the ship encountered relentless 50-mile-an-hour winds. Captain David Clow and his crew of six barely made it out alive, steering a lifeboat through high waves to the Wisconsin shore. In his grief, Captain Clow, who was 71 years old and had survived at least three earlier shipwrecks, swore off sailing. The Muir joined thousands of other ships claimed by the stormy waters of the Great Lakes in the 19th century.

Persons: Margaret A, Muir, David Clow, Clow Locations: Mackinac, Lake Michigan, Chicago’s, Michigan, Wisconsin, Great

☆ Megan Abbott, Bonnie Garmus and More Writers on the Books They Love
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It’s more science fiction-y than the better-known “Handmaid’s Tale,” but just as satirical, with its warning about multinational corporations and genetic engineering. Bonnie Garmusauthor of “Lessons in Chemistry”According to her older brother, Ashmol, Kellyanne Williamson is a fruit loop. When Pobby and Dingan disappear thanks to her alcoholic father, it seems clear Kellyanne must finally grow up. POBBY AND DINGAN, Ben Rice’s short, tight treatise on love, sacrifice and grief is so flawlessly written, you’ll read it in two hours but remember it forever. This is a major novel that, like all major novels, doesn’t quite resemble anything else you’ve read.

Persons: Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, It’s, David Cronenberg, Bonnie Garmus, Ashmol, Kellyanne Williamson, —, Ben Rice’s, you’ll, Michael Cunningham, Kaveh Akbar, Joe Hill, “, Francis Spufford’s Locations: Spufford’s, York City, America

☆ Stephen King, Sarah Jessica Parker and More Share Their Top Books of the 21st Century
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( The New York Times Books Staff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +26 min

To determine the best books of the 21st century , The New York Times Book Review and The Upshot polled hundreds of literary luminaries. Stephen King Stephen King has written more than 60 books, many of which have been adapted for film and television. Min Jin Lee Min Jin Lee has written two novels: FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES and PACHINKO, which was one of The Times’s 10 Best Books of 2017. Scott Turow Scott Turow is an attorney and writer best known for legal thrillers like PRESUMED INNOCENT and THE BURDEN OF PROOF. DU BOIS, was one of The Times’s 10 Best Books of 2021.

Persons: Stephen King Stephen King, ”, Ian McEwan ●, Christine Falls, Benjamin Black ●, Donna Tartt, Gillian Flynn ●, Cormac McCarthy ●, Margaret Atwood ●, Sarah Waters ●, Philip Roth ●, Viet Thanh Nguyen, “, Stephen King, Min Jin Lee Min Jin Lee, Anthony Doerr ●, Katherine Boo ●, Colm Tóibín ●, Julie Otsuka ● “, Tara Westover ● “, Matthew Desmond ● “, Marilynne Robinson, Edward P, Jones, Barbara Ehrenreich ●, Phil Klay Karl Ove Knausgaard Karl Ove Knausgaard, Roberto Bolaño ● “, Maggie Nelson ● “, Elena Ferrante ● “, Ben Marcus ● “, Emmanuel Carrère ●, Kazuo Ishiguro ●, Claire Keegan ● “, Peter Handke ●, Denis Johnson ●, Svetlana Alexievich, Bonnie Garmus Bonnie Garmus, Barnes, Nehisi Coates, Barbara Kingsolver ●, Tara Westover, Matt Ridley ●, Harry Potter, Prince, Rowling ●, Dave Eggers ●, Henry David Thoreau, Laura Dassow, Ben Rice ●, Colson Whitehead ●, Timothy Egan Nana Kwame Adjei ‑ Brenyah Nana Kwame Adjei ‑, ZZ Packer, Diana Khoi Nguyen, “ Greenwood, Michael Christie, Solmaz Sharif, Min Jin Lee ● “, George Saunders ● “, Jesmyn Ward, Ted Chiang ●, George Saunders ●, Colson Whitehead, Chimamanda Ngozi, Edwidge Danticat, Aracelis Girmay, Natsuo Kirino, Roberto Bolaño ●, Francisco Goldman ●, Paul Beatty Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker, Tayari Jones, Sting, Paul Murray ●, Megha Majumdar ●, Anthony Marra ●, Jonathan Franzen ●, Donna Tartt ●, Janika Oza, Patrick Radden Keefe, Sonali Deraniyagala James Patterson James Patterson, Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, J.D . Barker, Stephen King ● “, Markus Zusak ●, Tara Westover ●, Stieg Larsson, Gillian Flynn, Rowling, Anthony Bourdain ●, Keith Richards, James Fox ●, Dennis Lehane ●, Laura Hillenbrand Elin Hilderbrand Elin Hilderbrand, “ Alice, Oliver, Charles Bock ●, Curtis Sittenfeld, Tim Winton ●, Lily King ● “, Anna Quindlen ●, Lauren Groff ● “, Maggie O'Farrell, Raven Leilani, Erin Morgenstern Annette Gordon ‑ Reed Annette Gordon, Reed, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Annette Gordon, Reed ●, Henrietta, Rebecca Skloot ●, Louis Menand ●, Isabel Wilkerson ●, Hilary, Rebecca Roanhorse Rebecca Roanhorse, Hugo, Ann Leckie ● “, Ted Chiang ● “, Kim Stanley Robinson ●, Stephen Graham Jones ●, Ken Liu ●, Djèlí Clark ●, Louise Erdrich ●, Theodore Sturgeon Marlon James Marlon James, Booker, Maria McCann ● “, Bird, James McBride ●, Alan Hollinghurst ●, Min Jin Lee ●, Skippy, Patrick French Roxane Gay Roxane Gay, Michael Chabon ●, Alicia Erian ●, Bernardine Evaristo, Kiese Laymon, Carmen Maria Machado ●, Zadie Smith, Emma Donoghue ●, Ann Patchett Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem, Eugene Lim ●, Olga Ravn ●, Percival Everett ●, Keith Ridgway ●, Renee Gladman ●, Lydia Millet ● “, Helen DeWitt ● “, Robin McLean ●, Christopher Sorrentino Sarah MacLean Sarah MacLean, Angelina M, Lopez ● “, Lisa Kleypas ●, Jennifer Crusie ●, Circe, Madeline Miller, Kresley Cole ●, Beverly Jenkins ● “ Georgie, Kate Clayborn ● “ Hana Khan, Uzma Jalaluddin, Milla Vane ● “, Sherry Thomas Ed Yong Ed Yong, Bel Canto, Ann Patchett, Nana Kwame Adjei, Abed Salama, Nathan Thrall, Mohsin Hamid ● “, Helen Macdonald ● “, Jenny Odell ●, Julie Otsuka, Amal El, Max Gladstone ●, Hernan Diaz, Thomas Chatterton Williams Thomas Chatterton Williams, Hagar's, Jones ●, Catherine Lacey ● “, Dana Spiotta, Joan Silber ● “ Malcolm X, Manning Marable, Alice Munro ●, Hua Hsu, Veronica, Mary Gaitskill ●, Isabel Wilkerson Paul Tremblay Paul Tremblay, Mark Z, Joker, Kaoru Takamura ●, Benjamín Labatut, Stephen Graham Jones, Mariana Enriquez ●, Sara Levine ●, Colson Whitehead Nick Hornby Nick Hornby, Michael Chabon, David Kynaston ●, Billy Lynn's, Ben Fountain ●, Richard Russo, Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout ●, Mark Harris ●, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc ●, Scott Turow Scott Turow, Sam Quinones ● “, Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein, ●, Timothy Snyder ●, Adam Johnson ●, Ann Goldstein ●, Daniel Kahneman ● “, Daniel Alarcón Daniel Alarcón, Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz, Claudia Rankine, Jones ● “, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc ● “, Patrick Radden Keefe Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Victor Luckerson ●, Alice Walker ●, Toni Morrison ●, Toni Morrison ● “, Ibram X, Tiya Miles ●, Isabel Wilkerson Lucy Sante Lucy Sante, Uwe Johnson, Damion Searls, Jeremiah Moss ●, Sigrid Nunez ●, Ian Penman, Mike DeCapite ●, Rachel Kushner ●, Ed Park ●, Svetlana Alexievich Gary Shteyngart Gary Shteyngart, Pitchaya Sudbanthad, Amy Hempel, Amy Hempel ● “, Colm Tóibín, Joseph O’Neill ●, Rachel Cusk ●, Tony Judt ●, Isabel Wilkerson Anand Giridharadas Anand Giridharadas, Jane Mayer ●, Andrew Solomon ● “, Hanya Yanagihara, Suketu Mehta, Karl Ove Knausgaard ●, Asne Seierstad, Joan Didion Jessamine Chan Jessamine, Barack Obama, Tang, Chloé Cooper Jones, Andrea Elliott ● “, Jenny Erpenbeck, Lauren Groff ●, Cathy Park Hong, Sheila Heti ●, Dorothy Roberts Michael Robbins Michael Robbins, Michael Robbins, Kristin Ross ●, Lauren Berlant, Andreas Malm ●, Anahid Nersessian, “ Lila, Mike Davis ●, Chelsey Minnis, Fred Moten ●, Mary Gaitskill Alma, Alma Katsu, Jonathan Strange, Norrell, Susanna Clarke ● “, Sarah Waters, Julie Otsuka ●, Audrey Niffenegger ●, Megan Abbott Megan Abbott, Edgar, Joyce Carol Oates, Kate Atkinson ●, Robert Kolker ●, Oyinkan Braithwaite ●, Daniel Woodrell ●, Joan Didion Joshua Ferris Joshua Ferris, Hemingway, Anne Enright, Patricia Lockwood ●, Paul Harding ●, Ann Napolitano Ann Napolitano, David Mitchell ●, Yaa Gyasi, Emily St, John Mandel ●, John Irving John Irving, OWEN MEANY, John Boyne, Paul Theroux, Abraham Verghese ●, James Salter ●, Nix, Nathan Hill, Edmund White ●, Peter Matthiessen ●, Michael Ondaatje ●, Jeanette Winterson Tiya Miles Tiya Miles, Frederick Douglass, David W, Blight, Andrew Sean Greer ●, Michael Pollan ●, Dara Horn ●, Stephen Greenblatt ●, Jami Attenberg Jami Attenberg, Ada Limón ●, Jonathan Franzen, Alison Bechdel, Sloane Crosley, Alexander Chee ●, Patti Smith ●, Morgan Parker ●, Sara Novic Stephen L, Carter Stephen L, Carter, Deirdre McCloskey ●, Mohsin Hamid ●, Virginia Postrel, Umberto, Geraldine Brooks ●, Richard Powers ●, Jane Brox ●, David Bentley Hart, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Sarah Schulman Sarah Schulman, Mattilda Bernstein, Natasha Trethewey ●, Adania Shibli, Ned Blackhawk ●, Stephanie E, Rogers, Martha S, Steven W, Raja Shehadeh ●, Hugh Ryan Elizabeth Hand Elizabeth Hand, Rene Denfeld ●, Henry Darger, John M, MacGregor ● “, Dan Chaon ● “ James Tiptree Jr, Julie Phillips ●, Kelly Link, Morgan Talty ●, Robert Macfarlane ●, William Gibson Dion Graham Dion Graham, Jonathan Eig’s, Colson Whitehead’s CROOK, Omar El Akkad, Wolf, Marlon James ● “, Winfred Rembert, Cixin Liu ● “, Dave Eggers ● “, George Floyd, Robert Samuels, Toluse, Jonathan Eig ●, Jonathan Eig ● “ Washington, Jeremy Denk Jeremy Denk, David Foster Wallace ●, Jeff, Geoff Dyer ●, Hanif Abdurraqib, Elif Batuman, Alex Ross ●, Kate Molleson Morgan Jerkins Morgan Jerkins, Zora Neale Hurston, Haruki Murakami ●, Masha Gessen ●, Safiya Sinclair ● “, Carmen Maria Machado ● “, Imani Perry, Jesmyn Ward Michael Roth Michael Roth, Amy Bloom, Saidiya Hartman, Valeria Luiselli ●, Jon Fosse, Daniel Kahneman ●, Ben Lerner ●, Jennifer Egan Organizations: New York, Argonauts, J.K, Railroad, Corrections, ”, A.M, Harvard University, OF, Metaphysical, Suns, Ministry, Indians, The New York Times, Hawthorn, Child, Roberto Bolaño ● “, New Yorker, NPR, University of Oklahoma, DU BOIS, PEN, “, Yale Law School, THE, Umberto Eco, Beginners, MacArthur Foundation, Wesleyan University, Topeka School Locations: ”, Brooklyn, Norwegian, Ben Marcus ● “ The, Nantucket, OF MONTICELLO, Monticello, “, BROOKLYN, Britain, Jones ● “ Lincoln, Feral, Bangkok, Susanna Clarke ● “ Lincoln, Burma, Texas, Jonathan Eig ● “, “ Austerlitz, Venice, Death, Varanasi, America, Lorraine

☆ Princess Diana’s gowns and accessories smash auction estimates
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —One of the largest ever collections of Princess Diana’s possessions to hit the market smashed estimates and sold for a total of $5.5 million, alongside other royal memorabilia, Los Angeles auction house Julien’s Auctions announced. Composed of more than 50 items, the collection featured several of Diana’s evening gowns, suits, shoes, hats and handbags, as well as personal letters and photographs. Its designer, Victor Edelstein, also created the famous off-the-shoulder, midnight blue velvet evening gown Diana wore while dancing with John Travolta at the White House. Diana wore this tulle gown to the premiere of "The Phantom of the Opera." It bears cipher of his father, King George V, and was made by Garrard – the jewelers who have produced several pieces for the royal family, including Diana’s sapphire engagement ring.

Persons: Princess Diana’s, Queen Victoria , Princess Margaret, Duke, Duchess of, Valerie Macon, Diana, Victor Edelstein, John Travolta, Kurt Geiger, ”, Anwar Hussein, Maud Pendrey, Spencer, Prince Harry, King George VI, Margaret, King George V, Garrard, needlepointed Organizations: CNN’s Royal, CNN, Getty, White, Opera Locations: Los Angeles, Duchess of Windsor, AFP

☆ Inside Oracle's Deadly Gamble on Cerner and Electronic Health Records
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

That was the promise of Cerner, the medical-records company Oracle bought in 2021 for $28.3 billion — Oracle's biggest acquisition. At the time, Cerner managed the electronic health records for a quarter of all American hospitals, including those run by the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Larry EllisonCerner's electronic records, in short, were a deadly disaster for the VA. Never mind the futuristic, AI-driven healthcare system Ellison envisioned. In 2015, it beat out Epic, its main competitor, for a $4.3 billion contract to handle electronic health records for the Defense Department. It had agreed to process tens of millions of crucial medical records, but it couldn't handle the subsequent deluge of data.

Persons: Larry Ellison's, Ellison, Cerner, I'm, Larry Ellison, Neal Patterson, Cerner's, Patterson, Ellison's, they're, David Shulkin, Margaret Albaugh, Cerner couldn't, Charlie Bourg, —, Larry, Marc Benioff, Ellison protégé, Mike Wilson, David Agus, oncologist, Agus, he'd, Steve Jobs, Sensei, We've, Georges De Keerle, Cerner —, hadn't, Mike Sicilia, Sicilia, Oracle, Anthony Jones Jr, Jones, Donald Remy, didn't, Seema Verma, Neil Evans, Sara Vaezy, Ed Meagher, haven't, Charlie Monroe —, it's, Charlie Bourg —, Bourg, Charlie Monroe, Monroe, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, grandkids, We're, there's Organizations: Oracle's, Oracle, Pentagon, Department of Veterans Affairs, Cerner, RAND Corporation, RAND, Big Tech, GE, Siemens, Cerner Corporation, Defense Department, Department of Defense, Business, Spokane, Ellison Institute of Technology, Microsoft, Agency, Health, Amazon, Veterans ' Affairs, Oracle Health, Navy, Columbus VA, BI, Life Sciences, Intermountain Health, UPMC, DOD, Seabees Locations: Las Vegas, antiaging, Silicon Valley, Spokane , Washington, Cerner, VistA, Bourg, Washington, Sicilia, Ohio, Columbus, Providence, Spokane, Monroe, CloudWorld

☆ The UK’s royal family as you’ve never seen them before
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Alongside them are the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, plus Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent, all holding their newborn babies. The Royal Family at Royal Lodge, 1943, conveying a reassuring sense of domesticity and calm during the war. Royal Collection TrustBeaton was the official photographer for Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. Snowdon/Royal Collection TrustAnother highlight is the earliest surviving color print of a member of the royal family. Paolo Roversi/Royal Collection TrustGET OUR FREE ROYAL NEWSLETTER • Sign up to CNN’s Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on the royal family, what they are up to in public and what’s happening behind palace walls.

Persons: Elizabeth II, Prince Edward, Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, Duchess, Kent, Princess Margaret’s, Antony Armstrong, Jones, Lord Snowdon, Princess Elizabeth, Cecil Beaton, “, ”, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Margaret, Windsor . King George VI, comfortingly, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Collection Trust Beaton, Martin Charteris, Beaton, Charles, Princess Anne, Anne, Pippin, Norman Parkinson, Snowdon, Madame Yevonde, Princess Alice , Duchess of Gloucester, Edward VIII, Andy Warhol’s, Andy Warhol, Todd, Ben Fitzpatrick, Paolo Roversi’s, Princess, Catherine, Alexandra , Princess of Wales, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Wales, Cambridge, Paolo Roversi, Alessandro Nasini, Dorothy Wilding, Annie Leibovitz, David Bailey, Rankin Organizations: CNN, Royal, Royal Archives, Collection Trust, CNN’s Royal Locations: Royal, Windsor ., Buckingham, Wales

☆ Alice Munro, Nobel Prize winner and ‘master of the short story,’ dies aged 92
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Yahya Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Alice Munro, the Nobel Literature Prize winner best known for her mastery of short stories and depictions of womanhood in rural settings, has died in Ontario, Canada, at the age of 92. The news was confirmed to CNN “with great sadness” by a spokesperson at her publisher, Penguin Random House. It largely sets the tone for Munro’s prose; semi-autobiographical in nature and exploring the universality of the human urge for self-discovery, love, and independence, through the mundanity of everyday life in small, rural communities. Alice Munro, left, and Margaret Atwood at the National Arts Club in February 2005. Munro’s mastery of short stories and literature has been lauded by many of her contemporaries.

Persons: Alice Munro, Munro, “, Emily Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lucy Maud Montgomery, ”, ” Stephen Pearson, James Munro, Catherine, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers, —, General’s, ” Munro, Margaret Atwood, Atwood, Diane Bondareff, James Wood Organizations: CNN, Penguin Random, “ The Paris, Guardian, Fairfax Media, University of Western, CBC, Yorker, National Arts Club, Literature Locations: Ontario, Canada, Wingham , Ontario, ”, University of Western Ontario, Vancouver, Victoria, Canadian, Russian

☆ Book bans are accelerating across the country amid right-wing pressure campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But, as they try to claim that mantle, many of those same forces in media and politics are behind a disturbing wave of book bans sweeping the nation. PEN America, a non-profit organization committed to protecting free expression, published an alarming report Tuesday indicating that the “book ban crisis” is only getting worse. “There were over 4,000 instances of book bans in the first half of this school year—more than all of last school year as a whole. In doing so, they have also disproportionately targeted books by women and nonbinary authors,” PEN America said. Ted Shaffrey/APSuch brazen book bans — unprecedented in modern American history — is at its worst in the red states of Florida and Texas.

Persons: New York CNN —, Nikole Hannah, Margaret Atwood’s, ” Amy Reed’s, Rupi, “, ”, ’ ‘, Ted Shaffrey, Ron DeSantis, Abdi Nazemian, I’ve, ” Nazemian, “ I’ve, ” Kasey Meehan, Read, we’re Organizations: New York CNN, PEN America, The New York Times, ” PEN America, Central Library, Brooklyn Public Library, PEN Locations: New York, USA, birthed, ’, New York City, Florida, Texas, In Florida, In Texas, Iranian, Iowa

☆ Where Kamala Harris Lives, a Little Known History of Enslavement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Robert Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three years ago this month, Vice President Kamala Harris moved into her official residence in northwest Washington, a quiet 73-acre enclave where the U.S. Navy keeps an observatory as well as the nation’s master clock. Near the villa, the team had found something else: A brick foundation of a smokehouse used to cure meat. Ms. Harris did not have to be told who had used it. Well before moving to the new residence, the nation’s first Black vice president had been told by aides about the 34 individuals who once lived on the property against their will. A subsequent opinion essay for CQ Roll Call was the first mention of it in the news media.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Peter, Mary, Ellen Jenkins, Chapman, Sarah, Henry, Joseph, Louisa, Daniel, Eliza Toyer, Towley, Judah, Andrew Yates, Kitty, William, Gilbert, Phillip Silas, Susan, Dennis, Ann Maria, William Carroll, Becky, Milly, Margaret, Mortimer Briscoe, Richard Williams, Mary Young, John Thomas, Mary Brown, John Chapman, William Cyrus Organizations: U.S . Navy Locations: Washington

☆ Stephen King’s First Book Is 50 Years Old, and Still Horrifyingly Relevant
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Margaret Atwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Stephen King’s “Carrie” burst upon an astonished world in 1974. It made King’s career. It has sold millions, made millions, inspired four films and passed from generation to generation. This is, to put it mildly, not the world’s sexiest topic, and especially not for young men. Failing to convince himself, King scrunched up the few pages he’d written and tossed them into the garbage.

Persons: Stephen King’s, Carrie ”, King, King scrunched, Tabitha —

☆ How Azzi Glasser uses fragrance to help Hollywood celebrities tell a story
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Susan Griffin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Her character was a chain-smoking alcoholic psychiatrist, but Bonham Carter hadn’t gone “method”; she had simply spritzed herself with a bespoke fragrance created specifically for her by fragrance designer Azzi Glasser. Now, a bespoke fragrance from Glasser can cost up to £15,000 ($19,000), though she also offers a lower-priced collection of fragrances to enable people to discover their own fragrance DNA. To play King Henry VIII in upcoming movie Firebrand, actor Jude Law told Azzi Glasser he wanted to smell exactly like the king would have, despite knowing it would be repulsive. “As actors know, fragrance can transform you and take you on a journey. It opens up passages and doors in the brain, working through the olfactory system to bring out emotions,” noted Glasser.

Persons: Helena Bonham Carter, Bonham Carter hadn’t, Azzi Glasser, Enid, Glasser, ”, Bonham Carter, Enid Blyton, Harry Potter ”, “ Alice, Miss Havisham, Azzi “ Helena couldn’t, Alicia Vikander, Noomi Rapace, Damian Lewis, Orlando Bloom, Stephen Fry, Kylie Minogue, Adam Lambert, Johnny Depp, ” Depp, Barnabas, “ Azzi, “ We’ll, I’ll, Jude Law’s, ulcerated Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Jude Law, Jude, “, Pope, ‘, Henry, ’, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Austin Butler, Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, David Linley, Princess Margaret, Antony Armstrong, Jones — Glasser, Cindy Crawford's, Azzi “ David Organizations: CNN, Azzi Locations: London, ”, Wonderland, India

☆ ‘Fourteen Days’ is a ‘collaborative novel’ from 36 literary giants. But who wrote what?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Zara Khan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

From left: the authors Diana Gabaldon, R. L. Stine, Celeste Ng, John Grisham and Margaret Atwood, all of whom contributed to "Fourteen Days." Though some readers will draw connections between the latter work and “Fourteen Days,” Preston notes there are many differences. Perhaps most notably, “Fourteen Days” follows those left behind amid a pandemic — people without “the financial wherewithal to escape,” he told CNN. In "Fourteen Days," residents of New York apartment building begin gathering on the rooftop during Covid-19 lockdowns. Read: “The Interestings” (2014)The tenth novel from author Meg Wolitzer — who also contributed to “Fourteen Days” — follows a group of close-knit friends that meet at an arts summer camp in the 1970s from adolescence through to middle age.

Persons: —, Margaret Atwood, ’, John Grisham, Celeste Ng, Diana Gabaldon, Stine, Atwood, Douglas Preston, Yessie, Preston, Emma Donoghue, “, ”, ” Giovanni Boccaccio’s, ” Preston, Donoghue, Tess Gerritsen, Gerritsen, Harper Collins, Ah Poh, ” Donoghue, Pier Pasolini, Steven Soderbergh’s, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, Craig Blankenhorn, Meg Wolitzer — Organizations: CNN, British, Guardian, Agence France, Presse, Hulu Watch Locations: New York, —, Chaucer’s “, Covid, York City

☆ 36 Authors Times ‘Fourteen Days’ Adds Up to a Mixed Literary Experiment
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Alexandra Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

FOURTEEN DAYS, edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas PrestonNew Yorkers generally don’t talk to their neighbors. This is to preserve psychological boundaries while living stacked on top of one another like ice cubes in trays. A new novellus about Lower East Side neighbors called “Fourteen Days” seeps creepy, in this fine tradition, through most of its 350-plus pages. “Novellus” is Latin for new, but the “us” sounds extra-right here because this is collaborative fiction, by 36 authors of various ages, ethnicities, genres and degrees of fame (John Grisham and Scott Turow are among the higher-flying contributors). Why would anyone organize such an experiment, with its air of an overbooked open-mic night with a few surprise guest stars and peanuts scattered on the sticky floors?

Persons: Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston, —, Seinfeld, Ira Levin, “, John Grisham, Scott Turow Locations: Lower East

NEW YORK (AP) — Norman Jewison, the acclaimed and versatile Canadian-born director whose Hollywood films ranged from Doris Day comedies and “Moonstruck” to social dramas such as the Oscar-winning "In the Heat of the Night," has died at age 97. Throughout his long career, Jewison combined light entertainment with topical films that appealed to him on a deeply personal level. (Jewison lost out for best director to Mike Nichols of "The Graduate"). Among those who encouraged Jewison while making “In the Heat of the Night”: Robert F. Kennedy, whom the director met during a ski trip in Sun Valley, Idaho. Jewison shifted to feature films in 1963 with the comedy “40 Pounds of Trouble,” starring Tony Curtis and Suzanne Pleshette.

Persons: — Norman Jewison, Doris Day, Oscar, “, Jeff Sanderson, Jewison, Jim Crow, ”, Rod Steiger, Sidney Poitier, James Baldwin, ’ Bosley Crowther, Bonnie, Steiger, Mike Nichols, Robert F, Kennedy, nodded, ‘, ’, Cher, Steve McQueen, Thomas, Denzel, Washington, Rubin “, ” Carter, Malcolm X, Spike Lee, shouldn’t, Lee, ” Jewison, Margaret Ann Dixon, Dixie, Kevin, Michael, Jennifer Ann, Agnes, God ”, Lynne St, David, Judy Garland, Danny Kaye, Harry Belafonte, Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette, James Garner, McQueen, Edward G, Robinson, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin, Sylvester Stallone, Jimmy Hoffa, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, ____, Bob Thomas Organizations: Canadian, New York, Hollywood, ‘, Denzel Washington, Washington, Governor General’s Performing Arts, Canadian Film Centre, Toronto Film, Victoria College, BBC, CBC, Universal, MGM, Cincinnati, Vietnam, AP Entertainment Locations: Canadian, Philadelphia, Clyde, Sun Valley , Idaho, Mississippi, Canada, Toronto, London, Hudson

☆ The winner of a prestigious Japanese literary award has confirmed AI helped write her book
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Christy Choi | Francesca Annio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —After Japanese author Rie Kudan won one of the country’s most prestigious literary awards, she admitted she’d had help from an unusual source — ChatGPT. The author then confirmed at a press conference that around 5% of her book “The Tokyo Tower of Sympathy” — which was lauded by committee members as “practically flawless” — was word-for-word generated by AI. The novel centers around the dilemmas of an architect tasked with building a comfortable high-rise prison in Tokyo where law breakers are rehabilitated, and features AI as a theme. Kudan said that, in her own life, she would consult ChatGPT about problems she felt she couldn’t tell anyone. “It seems that the story that Rie Kudan’s award-winning work was written using generative AI is misunderstood… If you read it, you will see that the generative AI was mentioned in the work,” he wrote.

Persons: CNN —, Rie Kudan, she’d, “, ”, Kudan, Boris Eldagsen, George R, Martin, Jodi Picoult, John Grisham, James Patterson, Roxane Gay, Margaret Atwood, Keiichiro Hirano, Rie Kudan’s Organizations: CNN, Sony, OpenAI Locations: Tokyo, Berlin

☆ Media executives urge Congress to enact legislation to prevent AI models from training on ‘stolen goods’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Liam Reilly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Roger Lynch, Condé Nast’s chief executive, told senators that current AI models were built using “stolen goods,” with chatbots scraping and displaying news articles from publishers without their permission or compensation. News organizations, Lynch said, seldom have a say in whether their content is used to train AI or is output by the models. To avoid the pilfering of news publishers’ content and, thereby, their coffers, Lynch proposed AI companies use licensed content and compensate publishers for content being used for training and output. Coffey also noted AI models have introduced inaccuracies and produced so-called hallucinations after scraping content from less-than-reputable sources — which runs the risk of misinforming the public or ruining a publication’s reputation. “The risk of low-quality [generative] AI content dominating the internet is amplified by the drastic economic decline of news publications over the past two decades,” Coffey said.

Persons: ChatGPT, Roger Lynch, Condé, Lynch, ”, they’ve, Sarah Silverman, Margaret Atwood, Dan Brown, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen, George R, Martin, ” Lynch, Danielle Coffey, Coffey, ” Coffey, ” Curtis LeGeyt, ” LeGeyt Organizations: CNN, The New York Times, News Media Alliance, National Association of Broadcasters

[1/2] Former UK finance minister (Chancellor of the Exchequer), Alistair Darling, poses for a photograph in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, Aug 31, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Former British finance minister Alistair Darling, who steered the country's economy and banking system through the shock of the global financial crisis in 2007-08, has died aged 70 after undergoing treatment for cancer, his family said on Thursday. Darling was named chancellor of the exchequer by former prime minister Gordon Brown in June 2007, just as the crisis was brewing at leading financial institutions. "I never met anyone who didn't like him," Brown's predecessor as prime minister, Tony Blair, said. "Darling's passing is a huge loss to us all," said Britain's present prime minister Rishi Sunak, from the centre-right Conservative party.

Persons: Alistair Darling, Russell Cheyne, Darling, Gordon Brown, Brown, Margaret, Calum, Anna, Tony Blair, Lehman, Rishi Sunak, Muvija, Kate Holton, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, Labour Party, Treasury, Western General Hospital, Loretto School, Aberdeen University, The Guardian, Lehman Brothers, Conservative, Thomson Locations: Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, British, United Kingdom

☆ Booker Prize 2023 won by Irish writer Paul Lynch’s dystopian novel ‘Prophet Song’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London, UK Reuters —Irish writer Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize on Sunday for his novel “Prophet Song,” the story of a family and a country on the brink of catastrophe as an imaginary Irish government veers towards tyranny. “This is a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave.”A copy of "Prophet Song" pictured prior to the Booker Prize award ceremony on Sunday. He became the fifth Irish author to win the Booker Prize, after Iris Murdoch, John Banville, Roddy Doyle and Anne Enright, the organizers of the competition said. The Northern Irish writer Anna Burns won in 2018. “Prophet Song” is published in the UK by Oneworld which also won the prize in 2015 and 2016 with Marlon James’s “A Brief History of Seven Killings” and Paul Beatty’s “The Sellout.”

Persons: Paul Lynch, Booker, Song ’, Adrian Dennis, Lynch, “, ” Lynch, Iris Murdoch, John Banville, Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, Anna Burns, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel, ”, Marlon James’s “, Paul Beatty’s “ Organizations: Reuters, Esi, Getty, Sunday Tribune, Northern, Oneworld, Seven Locations: London, Irish, Syria, Ireland, AFP, Northern Irish

☆ Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize with dystopian novel 'Prophet Song'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Irish writer Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize on Sunday for his novel 'Prophet Song', the story of a family and a country on the brink of catastrophe as an imaginary Irish government veers towards tyranny. Lynch, who was previously the chief film critic of Ireland’s Sunday Tribune newspaper, said he wanted readers to understand totalitarianism by heightening the dystopia with the intense realism of his writing. He became the fifth Irish author to win the Booker Prize, after Iris Murdoch, John Banville, Roddy Doyle and Anne Enright, the organisers of the competition said. The Northern Irish writer Anna Burns won in 2018. 'Prophet Song' is published in the UK by Oneworld which also won the prize in 2015 and 2016 with Marlon James’s 'A Brief History of Seven Killings' and Paul Beatty’s 'The Sellout.'

Persons: Paul Lynch, Booker, Lynch, Iris Murdoch, John Banville, Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, Anna Burns, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel, Marlon James’s, Paul Beatty’s, William Schomberg, Giles Elgood Organizations: Sunday Tribune, Northern, Oneworld, Seven, Thomson Locations: Syria, Ireland, Irish, Northern Irish

☆ Heart-shaped beds and champagne hot tubs: Inside America’s adults-only hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Heart-shaped hot tubs surrounded by rose petals, circular beds with ceilings that replicate a starry night sky and jaw-dropping, seven-foot-tall champagne-glass whirlpools for two. Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan BooksThe Cove Pocono Resorts premiered its heart-shaped hot tub in 1963. For Margaret and Corey, these images of the champagne tub became the thesis statement of their hotel project. Not all the hotels Margaret and Corey frequent are 20th century relics. Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan BooksWhile most of the hotels Margaret and Corey highlight are in the US, the book also spotlights a few elsewhere in the world.

Persons: Margaret, Corey Bienert, –, ” Margaret, Corey, Morris Wilkins, Wilkins, upping, they’re, Don, aren’t, Toledo , Iowa –, Trixie Mattel, ”, “, Don Q, Margaret Bienert, they’ve, honeymooned, we’ve, “ It’s, it’s, “ There’s, there’s, hadn’t, “ I’ve, Diego Calvo Organizations: CNN, Resorts, CNN Travel, Artisan Books, Miami Princess Hotel, Pocono Resorts, “ Owners, Mon Chalet Locations: Pennsylvania, Pocono, Miami , Florida, Wisconsin, South Amboy New Jersey, Idaho and Utah, Toledo , Iowa, Galena , Illinois, Wildwood, Florence , Kentucky, swingers, Colorado, Idaho, Ibiza, Spain, Spanish

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