Today in Bookish and Literary History, July 30


1935 First Penguin books published by Sir Allen Lane | United Kingdom | 256

1991 A Handful of Heaven by Kristin Hannah | United States | 448 | 🏆

2024 The Wedding People by Alison Espach | United States | 384 | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | My Review

2024 Off the Books by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier | United States | 224 |

2024 Someone Like Us by Dinaw Mengestu | United States / Ethiopia | 272 | 🏆

2026 Laura Clark Is Away From Her Desk by Helen Russell | United Kingdom | 410

2026 The Valley of Ravens by Barbara Erskine | United Kingdom | 509 |

2026 Kitten by Stacey Yu | United States | 304 |


💡 Did you know?

⭕ On this exact day in 1935, Sir Allen Lane launched the very first paperback Penguin Books, fundamentally revolutionizing the global publishing industry by making high-quality literature accessible to everyone at the price of a pack of cigarettes. Legend has it that Sir Allen Lane came up with the idea for Penguin Books while standing on a railway platform after visiting Agatha Christie, realising there was no affordable, high-quality paperback reading material available for ordinary travellers.

⭕ Alison Espach’s instant masterpiece The Wedding People delivers an extraordinarily sharp, funny, and deeply moving look at unexpected connection when a woman in crisis arrives at a luxury Newport hotel, only to find herself embedded in a lavish week-long wedding party.


“Today in History (July),” on Fable.

https://fable.co/list/e57c57be-7d9f-49bc-bf34-ba6cab34f191/share

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Feminist by Tony Tulathimutte (2024): A Review

Image
Title : The Feminist (Rejections) Author : Tony Tulathimutte Publication Year : 2024 Pages : — Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Satire? Source : Audiobook @everand_us Warning : A little bit confused After reading “The Ice People,” reading “The Feminist” felt like I was in a bizarre déjà vu where the same male character was having a mental monologue—only this time, me with more eye rolls. Tony Tulathimutte seems to wield satire like a lightsaber, and I couldn’t help but feel he’s actually criticizing our protagonist (he is, isn’t he?): a self-proclaimed male feminist who seems to think that advocating for women automatically earns him VIP access to their hearts. Spoiler alert: he’s basically striking out with every woman he encounters and being rejected by every single one of them. So the whole story is a long rant by this guy, which is so cringe-inducing that it makes you really uncomfortable and start cursing and, of course, facepalming yourself repeatedly to the extent that your husban...
Read more

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by K.J. Whittle (2025): A Review

Image
Title : Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests Author : K.J. Whittle Publication Year : 2025 Pages : 352 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Mystery, Thriller, Crime Source : Audiobook @storytel.tr Opening Sentence : Stepping out of the taxi, Vivienne squints at the dark street for any sign of the restaurant. Whittle’s “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” takes you to a mysterious dinner party with seven guests—where, you guessed it, things get deadly! I had a good time listening to this one and finished it in just two days. Occasionally, the shifting perspectives made it a bit tricky to follow, but overall, it kept me entertained. So, why three stars? I’m a big fan of crime and thriller books—give me Sherlock, Miss Marple, Jack Reacher, or anyone from that world and I’m happy! This book definitely taps into those classic vibes, and it even gives a nod to Agatha Christie’s “Then There Were None.” Our main character is just as obsessed with detective fiction as I am, which made th...
Read more

Short Story through Years (1840 - 1849)

1840 The Business Man by Edgar Allan Poe (February)  ⭐ ⭐ 1840 Z. Marcas by Honoré de Balzac (July) 1840 The Mummy's Foot by Théophile Gautier (September) 1840 The Man of the Crowd by Edgar Allan Poe (December)  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1841 The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (April)  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1841 A Descent into the Maelström by Edgar Allan Poe (May) (DNFed) 1841 Never Bet the Devil Your Head : A Moral Tale by Edgar Allan Poe (September)  ⭐ ⭐ 1842 The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe (April)  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1842 The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe (May)  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1842 A Virtuoso's Collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne (May)  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1842 The Mystery of Marie Rogêt by Edgar Allan Poe  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1842 Eleonora by Edgar Allan Poe  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1842 The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1842 The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1843  Diddling , Considered as One of the Exact Sciences...
Read more