The Malaysian Insider :: Books

‘Fifty Shades’ dons hardcover for collectors and courters

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 07:01 AM PST

LOS ANGELES, Jan 12 – Hardcover first editions and paperbacks for the masses – that might be the established standard, but the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy by E.L. James is travelling in the other direction, with 200,000 hardcover copies due from January 29.

The "Fifty Shades" series first made waves in online form as an illicit tribute to Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" novels, before its transformation into a best-selling paperback. So why produce a hardback edition now, after totting up 65 million sales worldwide without it?

Well, with Valentine's Day approaching, publisher Vintage hopes that the hardcovers will bring with them not only the allure of a collector's edition but also the prospect of becoming a gift for that special someone.

Certainly, the hardback has a different market in mind, trading at US$26 instead of the sub-US$10 cover charge that a paperback or e-book version would ask.

Romantically minded gift-givers should also bear in mind that the "Fifty Shades" hardcover comes a day after the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's classic "Pride & Prejudice," for which an Anniversary Edition has of course been made available. – AFP/Relaxnews

Murakami Diary app gives iCal a literary look

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 01:12 AM PST

A screen from the Murakami Diary app. – Copyright Random House

LOS ANGELE, Jan 12 – The "Murakami Diary" launches just in time to mark Haruki Murakami's birthday, the paperback edition of his latest novel "1Q84," and the very pressing need for a more literary makeover of iOS's calendar app iCal in 2013.

Mukarami, who rose to prominence with "Norwegian Wood" and more recently "Kafka on the Shore," celebrates his birthday on January 12, and "1Q84" is due for publication in paperback format come January 22.

Quotations sprinkled throughout the diary were selected with help from Facebook community contributions, while also contained within the app are six of Murakami's short stories, redesigned book covers, and links back to the App Store for those who want to follow up with i-book editions of the writer's work.

The £1.99/€2.69/¥250/RM6.01 app also contains event creation and organisation tools, along with iCal syncronisation.

"1Q84" was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2011, an award eventually given to Shin Kyung-sook for "Please Look After Mom."

Murakami Diary (UK app store link): http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id584881937 – AFP/Relaxnews

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Sabtu, 12 Januari 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Books

The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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