David Hebblethwaite
@davidheb.bsky.social
Adventures in reading, small publishers and fiction in translation especially. Yorkshireman down south.
www.davidsbookworld.com
www.davidsbookworld.com
We on the shadow panel have chosen our winner of the #InternationalBooker2025, in advance of tomorrow's official announcement. We chose On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (tr. Barbara J. Haveland). More info here: shadowingtheibp.substack.com/p/we-have-a-...
We Have a Decision!
Our Shadow Panel picks their 2025 International Booker winner...
shadowingtheibp.substack.com
May 19, 2025 at 8:28 PM
We on the shadow panel have chosen our winner of the #InternationalBooker2025, in advance of tomorrow's official announcement. We chose On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (tr. Barbara J. Haveland). More info here: shadowingtheibp.substack.com/p/we-have-a-...
From the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (tr. Helen Stevenson). I found this a powerful experience.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/04/07/i...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/04/07/i...
#InternationalBooker2025: Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (tr. Helen Stevenson)
Small Boat is the first novel by French philosopher Vincent Delecroix to be translated into English. It’s inspired by real events from 2021, when a dinghy taking migrants from France to the U…
www.davidsbookworld.com
April 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
From the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (tr. Helen Stevenson). I found this a powerful experience.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/04/07/i...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/04/07/i...
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (tr. Sophie Hughes): short novel about a young ex-pat couple searching for the perfect life. I particularly like the way it embodies its own theme, skating over the surface of what it depicts. Book 2/13 read from #InternationalBooker2025.
March 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (tr. Sophie Hughes): short novel about a young ex-pat couple searching for the perfect life. I particularly like the way it embodies its own theme, skating over the surface of what it depicts. Book 2/13 read from #InternationalBooker2025.
My first stop on the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (tr. Mark Hutchinson), a poignant novel of friendship.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/03/04/i...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/03/04/i...
#InternationalBooker2025: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (tr. Mark Hutchinson)
The Narrator of this novel remembers his late friend Fanny. She struggled with her mental health, and could often appear distant, holding herself still within her own body. But there was a lighter …
www.davidsbookworld.com
March 7, 2025 at 5:36 PM
My first stop on the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (tr. Mark Hutchinson), a poignant novel of friendship.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/03/04/i...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/03/04/i...
Reposted by David Hebblethwaite
Some group predictions from our shadow group. IBP longlist tomorrow! @stujallen.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social shadowingtheibp.substack.com/p/some-predi...
Some predictions...
On the eve of the longlist
shadowingtheibp.substack.com
February 24, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Some group predictions from our shadow group. IBP longlist tomorrow! @stujallen.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social shadowingtheibp.substack.com/p/some-predi...
Reposted by David Hebblethwaite
Our shadow panel created our first post about our IBP adventure. Want to meet the readers? @stujallen.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/shadowin...
open.substack.com/pub/shadowin...
Introducing the 2025 International Booker Prize Shadow Panel!
The International Booker Prize 2025 longlist of 12 or 13 books will be announced on Tuesday, 25 February 2025 at 2pm (GMT), and the shortlist of six books on Tuesday, 8 April.
open.substack.com
February 23, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Our shadow panel created our first post about our IBP adventure. Want to meet the readers? @stujallen.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/shadowin...
open.substack.com/pub/shadowin...
Reposted by David Hebblethwaite
Our IBP shadow panel is gathering our process and thoughts in a Substack this year. Join us? @stujallen.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social shadowingtheibp.substack.com?r=atko7&utm_...
Shadowing the IBP Substack | Frances Evangelista | Substack
Reading friends shadowing the 2025 International Booker Prize. Click to read Shadowing the IBP Substack, by Frances Evangelista, a Substack publication. Launched an hour ago.
shadowingtheibp.substack.com
February 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Our IBP shadow panel is gathering our process and thoughts in a Substack this year. Join us? @stujallen.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social shadowingtheibp.substack.com?r=atko7&utm_...
Recent reading: The Bridge Between Worlds by Gavin Francis. A fascinating tour of bridges and what they mean, combining history, geography, memoir, culture, and more besides.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/30/t...
@drgavinfrancis.bsky.social
@canongate.co.uk
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/30/t...
@drgavinfrancis.bsky.social
@canongate.co.uk
The Bridge Between Worlds: A Brief History of Connection by Gavin Francis
In his preface to this book, Gavin Francis writes that his interest in bridges began in childhood, from the Forth Rail Bridge just a few miles from his house, to a Ladybird book about bridges (whic…
www.davidsbookworld.com
February 3, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Recent reading: The Bridge Between Worlds by Gavin Francis. A fascinating tour of bridges and what they mean, combining history, geography, memoir, culture, and more besides.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/30/t...
@drgavinfrancis.bsky.social
@canongate.co.uk
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/30/t...
@drgavinfrancis.bsky.social
@canongate.co.uk
For #JanuaryInJapan, thoughts on Touring the Land of the Dead by Maki Kashimada (tr. Haydn Trowell), a pair of novellas about contrasting family relationships.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/03/t...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/03/t...
Touring the Land of the Dead by Maki Kashimada (tr. Haydn Trowell)
2025 has begun, and we are starting the year in Japan. This is the first book by Maki Kashimada to appear in English translation, and it collects together two novellas. I would say the main theme c…
www.davidsbookworld.com
January 3, 2025 at 7:37 PM
For #JanuaryInJapan, thoughts on Touring the Land of the Dead by Maki Kashimada (tr. Haydn Trowell), a pair of novellas about contrasting family relationships.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/03/t...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/03/t...
Reposted by David Hebblethwaite
My first review for this year's #JanuaryInJapan looks at Rin Usami's 'Idol, Burning' (translated by Asa Yoneda), more J-Pop than J-Lit ;)
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/i...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/i...
‘Idol, Burning’ by Rin Usami (Review)
A Happy New Year to one and all, and a very big welcome to #JanuaryInJapan! As is usually the case, the first month of the year round these parts is set aside for J-Lit, and I’ve got lots of…
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com
January 3, 2025 at 9:15 AM
My first review for this year's #JanuaryInJapan looks at Rin Usami's 'Idol, Burning' (translated by Asa Yoneda), more J-Pop than J-Lit ;)
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/i...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/i...
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
January 1, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
My favourite books read in 2024: featuring Jeffrey Lewis, Hiroko Oyamada, Helene Hanff, and Noémi Kiss-Deáki.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/12/30/a...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/12/30/a...
A selection of 2024 favourites
2024 was another year when, for whatever reason, I just didn’t click with reading in general as much as I would have liked. There’s no point dwelling on it, I just hope this will turn a…
www.davidsbookworld.com
December 30, 2024 at 6:17 PM
My favourite books read in 2024: featuring Jeffrey Lewis, Hiroko Oyamada, Helene Hanff, and Noémi Kiss-Deáki.
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/12/30/a...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/12/30/a...
Reposted by David Hebblethwaite
The week is done at @strangehorizons.bsky.social, and ICYMI we had quite a brace of reviews:
Catherine Baker on @jedediahberry.com's "spontaneity";
@davidheb.bsky.social on Ali Smith's "abstraction"; and
@redfernjon.bsky.social on @amendlocke.bsky.social's "engrossing ... worldbuilding."
Catherine Baker on @jedediahberry.com's "spontaneity";
@davidheb.bsky.social on Ali Smith's "abstraction"; and
@redfernjon.bsky.social on @amendlocke.bsky.social's "engrossing ... worldbuilding."
9 December 2024
Visit the post for more.
strangehorizons.com
December 13, 2024 at 7:45 PM
The week is done at @strangehorizons.bsky.social, and ICYMI we had quite a brace of reviews:
Catherine Baker on @jedediahberry.com's "spontaneity";
@davidheb.bsky.social on Ali Smith's "abstraction"; and
@redfernjon.bsky.social on @amendlocke.bsky.social's "engrossing ... worldbuilding."
Catherine Baker on @jedediahberry.com's "spontaneity";
@davidheb.bsky.social on Ali Smith's "abstraction"; and
@redfernjon.bsky.social on @amendlocke.bsky.social's "engrossing ... worldbuilding."
Ali Smith's new book, Gliff (the first of two linked volumes) is set in a future of banal oppression. It's particularly concerned with the abstract dimensions of oppression and resistance. I've reviewed it for @strangehorizons.bsky.social...
strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/...
strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/...
Gliff by Ali Smith
Gliff is only half of Smith's project.
strangehorizons.com
December 12, 2024 at 6:52 PM
Ali Smith's new book, Gliff (the first of two linked volumes) is set in a future of banal oppression. It's particularly concerned with the abstract dimensions of oppression and resistance. I've reviewed it for @strangehorizons.bsky.social...
strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/...
strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/...
Hello there! I have been neglecting this account, and intend to post more often from now on...
December 12, 2024 at 6:09 PM
Hello there! I have been neglecting this account, and intend to post more often from now on...
To mark Han Kang's Nobel Prize win, I've looked back over my thoughts on her work. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/10/11/a...
A Han Kang retrospective
I was really pleased to learn that Han Kang had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature yesterday. She has become one of my favourite writers that I’ve discovered during the lifetime of th…
www.davidsbookworld.com
October 11, 2024 at 5:50 PM
To mark Han Kang's Nobel Prize win, I've looked back over my thoughts on her work. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/10/11/a...
Han Kang won the Nobel Prize? Excellent!
October 10, 2024 at 12:35 PM
Han Kang won the Nobel Prize? Excellent!
Today, for #WITMonth, I am revisiting my 2018 review of Sayaka Murata's excellent Convenience Store Woman (tr. @ginnytkmr.bsky.social). #TranslationThurs
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/08/29/a...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/08/29/a...
A Challenge of Empathy: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (tr. Ginny Tapley Takemori)
This review was first published at Splice in October 2018. *** Meet Keiko Furukura. She has always found it difficult to conform to what her family and wider society consider “normal”. She once sto…
www.davidsbookworld.com
August 29, 2024 at 6:23 PM
Today, for #WITMonth, I am revisiting my 2018 review of Sayaka Murata's excellent Convenience Store Woman (tr. @ginnytkmr.bsky.social). #TranslationThurs
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/08/29/a...
www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/08/29/a...
My latest subscriber copy from @galleybeggars.bsky.social. This book is a real gem.
July 24, 2024 at 5:28 PM
My latest subscriber copy from @galleybeggars.bsky.social. This book is a real gem.
This novel invigorated me: a protagonist living in the shadow of his famous namesake, with the possibility of other paths through life hovering just out of reach.
May 29, 2024 at 6:09 PM
This novel invigorated me: a protagonist living in the shadow of his famous namesake, with the possibility of other paths through life hovering just out of reach.
I've just watched Memento for the first time in over twenty years, and discovered that I'd completely misremembered the ending...
May 27, 2024 at 12:25 PM
I've just watched Memento for the first time in over twenty years, and discovered that I'd completely misremembered the ending...
Some thoughts on After Nora by Penelope Curtis, a novel of family history and characters seeking understanding through art... www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/04/26/l...
Les Fugitives: After Nora by Penelope Curtis
In her first novel, art historian Penelope Curtis imagines two episodes from her family’s history. The first part concerns Nora (Penelope’s grandmother, whom she never knew), a painter …
www.davidsbookworld.com
April 26, 2024 at 11:58 AM
Some thoughts on After Nora by Penelope Curtis, a novel of family history and characters seeking understanding through art... www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/04/26/l...
I enjoyed An Untouched House by Willem Frederik Hermans (tr. David Colmer): a microcosm of wartime horror beneath its own mask of civility. It also had the balance of specific and abstract that I found missing from Prophet Song.
February 25, 2024 at 9:07 AM
I enjoyed An Untouched House by Willem Frederik Hermans (tr. David Colmer): a microcosm of wartime horror beneath its own mask of civility. It also had the balance of specific and abstract that I found missing from Prophet Song.
Today I'm part of a blog tour for the new 'Futures' series of book-length essays, published by Melville House. I'm looking at The Future of Songwriting by Kristin Hersh. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/02/23/m...
Melville House ‘Futures’ blog tour: The Future of Songwriting by Kristin Hersh
Today I’m taking part in a blog tour for the new ‘Futures’ series from Melville House – short books in which authors reflect and speculate on the possible future of their subject. The first f…
www.davidsbookworld.com
February 23, 2024 at 8:24 AM
Today I'm part of a blog tour for the new 'Futures' series of book-length essays, published by Melville House. I'm looking at The Future of Songwriting by Kristin Hersh. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/02/23/m...
I've read Prophet Song. I quite liked the abstract nature of its dystopia to begin with, but ultimately I felt it really needed something more tangible, more specific.
February 22, 2024 at 7:20 PM
I've read Prophet Song. I quite liked the abstract nature of its dystopia to begin with, but ultimately I felt it really needed something more tangible, more specific.