Blurb Your Enthusiasm: A Cracking Compendium of Book Blurbs, Writing Tips, Literary Folklore and Publishing Secrets

(Hardback)

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Description

Its good to judge a book by its cover. Drawing on her 25 years writing blurbs for Penguin books, Louise Willder explores the art, anecdote and history of the words that only take a few seconds to read but can determine a books fate. This illuminating and joyful compendium is about blurbs at their very best and worst. It is also about cover design, movie taglines, adverts, quotes, puns, the creative process, writers from Austen to Orwell and much more. It answers questions such as: Why should adjectives generally be murdered Which author hated blurbs Is it ever okay to give away the ending Why should you never start a blurb with When Can blurbs be sexist The story of blurbs is the story of our needs and desires as readers; about who we are and want to be.

Reviews

'A small masterpiece.There is something funny, notable or awe-inspiring on every single page. Some books simply slide into your life like good-humoured old friends. This is undoubtedly one of them.'

-- Jenny Colgan * Spectator *

The bookiest book about books youll ever read I loved it.

-- Lucy Mangan, author of Bookworm

Truly delightful charming and gracefully learned Louise Willder, a copywriter with decades of experience, brings so much joy and, indeed, enthusiasm to her book about books that anyone who revels in reading will find real enchantment here. I couldnt have had more fun.

-- Benjamin Dreyer, author of the New York Times bestseller Dreyers English

'A little marvel...consummately brilliant'

* Daily Mail *

Very funny, erudite and profound. A delight!

-- Nina Stibbe

I love this books sheer happiness and humanity. It is rich, wise and soul-awaking, exhilarating-like-the-snowman-flying-through-the-air-of-human-gloriousness. And, God, she's funny. Buy it, read it, give it.

-- Martin Latham, author of The Booksellers Tale

This total gem is an illuminating, dazzling, quirky, fascinating, erudite, thought-provoking, hilarious and totally essential celebration of the outside of books. Willder is my new style icon.

-- Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Editors Choice

'Bookworms will devour this'

* Good Housekeeping *

Wise and witty...she is full of vim, blessed too with an unusual sense of enquiry, a comic turn of phrase and a talent for investigation into almost every nook and cranny of the business and pleasure of books.

-- Carmen Callil * The Oldie *

This book is ace! A must-read for any and every writer or book-obsessed person!

-- Sophie Hannah

Jammed with funny, curious and stylish thoughts and insights, Blurb Your Enthusiasm will be loved by absolutely everybody with an obsessive interest in books and their appearance.

-- Simon Winder, author of Germania

'Studded with jewels'

* Literary Review *

Tracking the blurb through history, literary practices, authors lives, reading habits, and more, Willder opens up the world of wordplay that lies at the heart of writing and publishing.

* Idler *

Willders breezy book sweeps across publishing history, imbuing her research and professional expertise with the tantalizing thrill of dinner party gossip so smart and witty that you barely realize how much she is teaching about writing

-- Ron Charles * Washington Post *

Delightful charming this book feels like the surprising pleasure of a mimosa with breakfast or a bawdy song after dinner Willder is the perfect guide

-- Carrie Callaghan * Washington Independent Review of Books *
Uproarious, gossipy and utterly fascinating: a masterclass in how to judge a book by its cover. It makes words seem weird and wild again. -- Henry Eliot, author of The Penguin Classics Book

For anyone who needs or wants to use words persuasively, this is the most enjoyable masterclass youll ever read.

-- Rob Williams, screenwriter of Killing Eve and The Victim

'A zingy compendium Acrisp reminder of how profoundly words can affect us.

-- Sunday Business Post

Louise Willders witty guide Blurb Your Enthusiasm is a treat for insiders and book-world fans Wilder celebrates the practice of turning literature into a catchy product that both illuminates people about a book and retains the books mystique.

-- Foreword Reviews

Adelight She is a delightful and amusing guide to the subject.One for the book lover in your life.

-- Herald (Glasgow)

[Willder] is a charming guide not just to blurbs, but to first lines, hatchet jobs, puffs I couldnt, as the clich goes, put it down.

-- Laura Freeman * The Times, Best Books of 2022 *

Author Bio

Louise Willder has been a copywriterat Penguin Books for twenty-five years. During this time, she estimates she has produced about 5,000 blurbs. She doesnt follow people round bookshops, willing them to buy books shes written the copy for. Really, she doesnt.