What do you think?
Rate this book
40
‘Forty is a fine age, a young, strong powerful, prime-of-life age, a frisky age, a coming-to-maturity age when all things are possible. But beware, it is also an apocalyptic number, a number full of climactic warnings' - Margaret Drabble.
40 is a truly meaningful and fascinating number. For example, the number forty is used in Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other Middle Eastern traditions to represent a large, approximate number: ‘umpteen’; forty is the number of weeks for an average term of pregnancy; forty is the customary number of hours in a working week; rain fell for ‘forty days and forty nights’ during the Flood; forty is the only number with its letters in alphabetical order; Jesus fasted for forty days and nights . . .
Inspired by 40, this collection contains thrilling contributions from some of the most high-profile writers, artists and illustrators of our time and is beautifully illustrated by Tom Gauld.
And to celebrate Canongate’s 40th anniversary you can have this fantastic little eBook for free! It’s on us! Enjoy...
Featuring Richard Holloway, Olivia Laing, David Shrigley, Patience Agbabi, Karl Pilkington, Charles M. Schulz, Matt Haig, Margaret Drabble, Dave Brown, Ruth Ozeki, Lemn Sissay, Rebecca Miller, Geoff Dyer, Tao Lin, Patrick Ness, Margaret Atwood, Yann Martel, Ben Brooks, Carol Birch, Simon Garfield, Michel Faber, Oliver Burkeman, Angus Hyland and Marion Deuchars, Tahmima Anam, Claudia Hammond, Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, Simon Tofield, Philip Pullman, Lily Vanilli, Alasdair Gray, David Eagleman, Stephanie Wolfe Murray and Jamie Byng.
40 is a truly meaningful and fascinating number. For example, the number forty is used in Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other Middle Eastern traditions to represent a large, approximate number: ‘umpteen’; forty is the number of weeks for an average term of pregnancy; forty is the customary number of hours in a working week; rain fell for ‘forty days and forty nights’ during the Flood; forty is the only number with its letters in alphabetical order; Jesus fasted for forty days and nights . . .
Inspired by 40, this collection contains thrilling contributions from some of the most high-profile writers, artists and illustrators of our time and is beautifully illustrated by Tom Gauld.
And to celebrate Canongate’s 40th anniversary you can have this fantastic little eBook for free! It’s on us! Enjoy...
Featuring Richard Holloway, Olivia Laing, David Shrigley, Patience Agbabi, Karl Pilkington, Charles M. Schulz, Matt Haig, Margaret Drabble, Dave Brown, Ruth Ozeki, Lemn Sissay, Rebecca Miller, Geoff Dyer, Tao Lin, Patrick Ness, Margaret Atwood, Yann Martel, Ben Brooks, Carol Birch, Simon Garfield, Michel Faber, Oliver Burkeman, Angus Hyland and Marion Deuchars, Tahmima Anam, Claudia Hammond, Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, Simon Tofield, Philip Pullman, Lily Vanilli, Alasdair Gray, David Eagleman, Stephanie Wolfe Murray and Jamie Byng.
- GenresShort Stories
80 pages, Paperback
First published July 9, 2013
6 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 28, 2013
This was an interesting but unremarkable collection of snippets and snappets from Canongate authors in celebration of Canongate's 40th birthday. All of my five stars are for one contribution, which I've included in my review below:
How to Lose Your Self in Forty Weeks
Over the course of forty weeks, you will begin to feel it all falling away from you, all your selves: the only child; the sad reading teenager; the young woman who fell into love many times in a day; pyjamas to school; hair short, then long, banana-coloured coat for one particularly harsh New England winter; married; divorced; in love again; every one of you denser and harder to shift, but even later, the one who married again for the last time,and the writer you had always dreamed of becoming, small hints of satisfaction entering your days, settling into a routine, things you like to eat on cold mornings, dried cranberries with your porridge, driver's license, bank balance, the occasional good review, even this start to a conclusion will vanish, because in the course of forty weeks, possession by another announcing itself day by day, mother is all that anyone will see, and all that you yourself will know of your self: one dimension, eagerly awaited, much-longed for and long denied, every other obliterated in its love-halo, it's drunken, cruel wonder.
How to Lose Your Self in Forty Weeks
Over the course of forty weeks, you will begin to feel it all falling away from you, all your selves: the only child; the sad reading teenager; the young woman who fell into love many times in a day; pyjamas to school; hair short, then long, banana-coloured coat for one particularly harsh New England winter; married; divorced; in love again; every one of you denser and harder to shift, but even later, the one who married again for the last time,and the writer you had always dreamed of becoming, small hints of satisfaction entering your days, settling into a routine, things you like to eat on cold mornings, dried cranberries with your porridge, driver's license, bank balance, the occasional good review, even this start to a conclusion will vanish, because in the course of forty weeks, possession by another announcing itself day by day, mother is all that anyone will see, and all that you yourself will know of your self: one dimension, eagerly awaited, much-longed for and long denied, every other obliterated in its love-halo, it's drunken, cruel wonder.
June 25, 2015
So I'm adding all the books onto my shelves that I've had sitting in the kindle app since before I realised Amazon was basically satan.
This 40th anniversary collection from Canongate books is a quirky little collection of mixed media that I really enjoyed reading and had pretty quality writing in it. I'm kind of annoyed at myself for leaving it sitting for so long.
This 40th anniversary collection from Canongate books is a quirky little collection of mixed media that I really enjoyed reading and had pretty quality writing in it. I'm kind of annoyed at myself for leaving it sitting for so long.
October 3, 2014
Interesting read. Wonderful whimsical snippets of authors.
January 23, 2020
Short and sweet. The paintings and sketches didn't show up well on kindle but otherwise a good little anthology, all themed around 40.
My favourite pieces were:
Forty Below by Patience Agbabi.
Forty by Ruth Ozeki.
Forty minutes by Geoff Dyer.
My Fortieth Birthday by Karl Pilkington.
At Forty by Ben Brooks.
Australia was a Funny Place by Michel Faber.
The Forty Hour Work Week by Oliver Burkeman.
My favourite pieces were:
Forty Below by Patience Agbabi.
Forty by Ruth Ozeki.
Forty minutes by Geoff Dyer.
My Fortieth Birthday by Karl Pilkington.
At Forty by Ben Brooks.
Australia was a Funny Place by Michel Faber.
The Forty Hour Work Week by Oliver Burkeman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2018
Thought provoking, quick
Easy read that meanders from poetry to a cake recipe, short story's to first lines of books. The theme of forty. Forty years, days, weeks, and birthdays.
Easy read that meanders from poetry to a cake recipe, short story's to first lines of books. The theme of forty. Forty years, days, weeks, and birthdays.
June 28, 2019
a variety of submissions on the theme of 40 to celbratea Canongate anniversary. Entertaining!
December 17, 2019
Alcuni brani sono interessanti ma per la maggior parte sono un riempitivo.
October 26, 2020
2.5 stars, rounded down
January 24, 2016
40 by Various Authors - some better than others.
Oh dear, I can't remember much about this now.
This was a kindle freebie: 40 short stories, on the subject of 40, by 40 Canongate authors to celebrate the publisher's...er... 40th anniversary. They took various forms and dealt with the number in some interesting and amusing ways.
Another book that I used to keep me entertained whilst queing during the Festival.
Oh dear, I can't remember much about this now.
This was a kindle freebie: 40 short stories, on the subject of 40, by 40 Canongate authors to celebrate the publisher's...er... 40th anniversary. They took various forms and dealt with the number in some interesting and amusing ways.
Another book that I used to keep me entertained whilst queing during the Festival.
August 10, 2013
Cute little book produced in celebration of Canongate's 40 birthday. Little page-length stories, ponderings, pictures, lists and other wonderful randomness by some of the authors they've published. They publish some of my favourite writers, such as Scarlett Thomas and Yann Martel so this was right up my street.
July 28, 2013
So-so compilation of stories/flash/random snippets celebrating Canonngate Press' 40th birthday. I got it primarily for the Patrick Ness contribution.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews