Printed book sales in September rose by 10% on August, but were down 10% on last year, Nielsen BookScan data reveals. In total, £118.4m was spent on physical books in the four weeks to 1st October, an increase of £11m on August, but a decline of £14m on September 2010.
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David Nicholls' One Day (Hodder) has broken the record for the biggest ever weekly sale from an adult-readership novel in the month of August.
Across all print editions, One Day sold 92,336 copies at UK booksellers in the seven days to 27th August, beating the previous record, set by Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol (Corgi) last year, by more than 15,000 copies.
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Spending on printed books slumped £1.1m last week, as the UK riots caused retailers to shut stores early and the public to avoid the high street.
Although bookshops remained largely unscathed during the rioting, spending slumped by 4% on the previous week, to £26.6m, and was down 9% (£2.6.m) on the same week last year. With digital books continuing to steal sales from traditional booksellers, spending on printed books last week hit a six-year low for the month of August.
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I am so pleased to host an interview with David Nicholls author of One Day. I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar with David and other bloggers. I was only able to ask two questions but David was kind enough to talk a lot about each question so enjoy!!
Hi. How did you find writing from a woman's perspective?
David Nicholls: Well, my first book was written from a male perspective in a first person voice, and that I found very easy. It was kind of like improvising. And the second book I wrote was in the third person voice, but it was very much from the male point of view, from the central character's point of view.
And in
One Day I wanted to write in the third person but to sort of jump between these different points of view. And I think my approach to that was not to worry about it too much. As I've said, I feel much closer to Emma than I do to Dexter. I think there's sort of a lot more of my personality in Emma than there is in Dexter. And I tried not to think of it as sort of taking and putting on a voice or a guise or giving a performance.
I really think, in most aspects of Emma's life, in her feelings about relationships or politics or work or family, her feelings are pretty close to my own. And I think the worst thing you can do is kind of do an impersonation of what you imagine to be a kind of female psyche, because I think you end up exaggerating differences and stereotyping.
So, I genuinely didn't think about it too much. I think there were certain experiences I would have felt more self-conscious. I'd still be very wary of writing in a first person female voice, perhaps, or writing about sex or about childbirth in the first person female voice. Then I'd start to think, "God, you know, this is tough."
But, a woman working in a restaurant who wants to be doing something else and is worried about the future, I would think my experience with that would be universal. What I don't like, particularly in books about relationships, is a kind of exaggerated difference, the kind of that he said/she said thing, because the attitudes and the experiences of my female friends are much closer to my own than one might imagine from that kind of heightened poverty and sexual awe.
I don't recognize it in my relationships with my female friends or in real life relationships between men and women. I just don't buy that men just want to drink beer and watch football and women just want to buy shoes. I just don't think that that's the case. And so, I didn't worry about it too much.
What was your favorite scene in One Day to write originally?
David Nicholls: Well, I loved writing the long, protracted Emma/Dexter battles. I love that back and forth, that kind of banter, that sort of Beatrice/Benedick, Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant repartee. So, I loved writing them kind of arguing on the beach on holiday. I loved writing their meeting in Paris. I loved writing the scene in the maze where they're reunited after a long time apart.
I like writing those two-handers. I find the process of writing a little bit like improvisation. It's kind of improvising with yourself. And I'm very happy writing like that. I could keep going forever like that.
The most striking chapter for me in terms of the experience of writing it was with the scene where Dexter takes a lot of drugs and goes on an all night bender and then goes and sees his mother, who is termi
A couple of friends and I have started a local book club. Our first meeting was this week and it was a great success. With food and wine, we all chatted about this lovely book. And I was pleased to discover that there will be a movie version of this book released in theaters this summer starring Anne Hatheway and Jim Sturgess, book club field trip!!
I will be posting my review each month of the book we discussed and if you have read it and have any thoughts feel free to comment and maybe we can have our own discussion too!
Next month we are reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.
Publisher: Vintage (June 15, 2010, originally published 2009)
Paperback: 437 Pages
Genre: Adult Romance
From Goodreads. It's 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. They both know that the next day, after college graduation, they must go their separate ways. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. As the years go by, Dex and Em begin to lead separate lives—lives very different from the people they once dreamed they'd become. And yet, unable to let go of that special something that grabbed onto them that first night, an extraordinary relationship develops between the two.
Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day—July 15th—of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.
Review by Kate
ONE DAY, by David Nicholls, is a uniquely structured romance that focuses on July 15 of every year starting from 1988 through the early 2000s. July 15th 1988 was the beginning of the tumultuous Em and Dex (Dex and Em; those who read the book will get the phrase) relationship. This was the beginning and turning point of their lives that caused these two weave back and forth through each other's lives.
At times I forgot that this book was written by a male author. He completely understood Emma and created a hilarious and real character that I bonded to immediately. Her sarcasm and self-consciousness made her endearing and I wanted to jump into the book to give her a big hug. This is the type of girl I would be best friends with in real life.
And then there is Dexter...oh Dexter. Drop dead gorgeous model looks, womanizer, self-absorbed typical male. As with most women, Em was completely smitten with him. But as Dexter filtered through his girlfriends, Emma was always the constant in his life. She was never afraid to call him out and I yearned for the day that they would both be together.
As much as I liked this book, there were times that the long descriptions of the past years events got to me. I felt discouraged and if this wasn't for the book club I would have stopped reading halfway through. But for those who are discouraged, do not stop! There was a lot of day to day activities in some of the years July 15's but I think that was the point. The same day every year is not a monumentous occasion but it was nice to sometimes get filled in on the past year. At the end of most of the chapters I really wanted to know what would happen July 16.
Overall an awesome book. I was happy this was suggested to me because I can't imagine having
It has been a very busy few weeks over here at BookFinds. To start, I was in the audience for Oprah’s Season Premiere and was part of the monumental show in which Oprah announced she was taking her entire audience to Austraaaaaaliaa! Yes, you heard that right. I am going to Australia for ten days with Ms. O and her audience of Ultimate Viewers. I make no secret of my love for The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Oprah Book Club in particular. I have read every single title and they have each had such a tremendous impact on my life at the time I was reading them. Well, sticking to that devotion, I am now reading Jonathan Franzen’s FREEDOM and have to say it might be one of the best books I have read all year! It questions how we look at our own freedom and challenges the belief that freedom is the path to happiness. I highly recommend you pick up this book because it will change the way you look at your world and make you see things in a completely different light. It is also a beautiful exploration into the way an ordinary life is actually extraordinary.
And finally, there was an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal about the perceived stigma of paperback originals. The writer points out that one book, in particular, that could change the way we look at paperback originals is David Nicholls critically acclaimed ONE DAY which was released in the US as a paperback original and has gone on to sell incredibly well.
By: Kate,
on 8/11/2011
