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The Literary Saloon Archive

11 August 2025

11 August: No more AP book reviews | 25 best (UK/Irish) novels of the 21st century ? | Twenty-three years of the Literary Saloon

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       No more AP book reviews

       As, for example, Dan Kennedy reports at his Media Nation, The Associated Press tells its book critics that it's ending weekly reviews.
       The AP note to their book reviewers is printed here -- finding:

Unfortunately, the audience for book reviews is relatively low and we can no longer sustain the time it takes to plan, coordinate, write and edit reviews. AP will continue covering books as stories, but at the moment those will handled exclusively by staffers.

       AP reviews were widely re-published -- but, yes, I can certainly attest to the fact that: "the audience for book reviews is relatively low".
       But, hey: "AP will continue covering books as stories" .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       25 best (UK/Irish) novels of the 21st century ?

       The Sunday Times has made up a list of The 25 best novels of the 21st century -- from Kazuo Ishiguro to Hilary Mantel (possibly paywalled ?) -- limiting themselves to British and Irish fiction.
       Only the top five are ranked -- with two of them under review at the complete review: fifth-ranked Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and fourth-ranked Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Two other titles are also under review: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman and Any Human Heart by William Boyd.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Twenty-three years of the Literary Saloon

       The site itself, the complete review, came online way back in the spring of 1999, twenty-six years ago, but it took a few years before I jumped on the 'literary blogging'-bandwagon (well, it took a few years before there was a 'literary blogging'-bandwagon/scene ...) with this Literary Saloon weblog -- but, yes, the first post was posted here twenty-three years ago today.
       Not sure I can say it's still going strong, but there still seems to be a small, dedicated readership out there; I hope you continue to find it of some interest and use.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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