The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is the 2021 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year!
Our Booksellers have voted, and we’re thrilled to announce … drum roll please … the 2021 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year is Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present!
“The Lyrics is an extraordinary book. It is stunningly beautiful and a masterpiece of book design,” said Barnes & Noble CEO, James Daunt. “Paul McCartney has fashioned, through the explorations of his songs with the poet Paul Muldoon, a fascinating insight into his life and creative genius. No wonder the booksellers of Barnes & Noble have hailed this magnificent and deeply original book.”
Hardcover $100.00
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
By
Paul McCartney
Editor
Paul Muldoon
In Stock Online
Hardcover $100.00
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is an unprecedented view into the creative process of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. In this extraordinary book, with unparalleled candor, Paul McCartney recounts his life and art through the prism of 154 songs from all stages of his career from his earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, Wings, and his solo career to the present. The Lyrics is the closest to a memoir we can expect to see from Paul McCartney and the definitive gift not only for every Beatles fan this year, but for bibliophiles and everyone interested in the culture of the last 65 years.
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is an unprecedented view into the creative process of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. In this extraordinary book, with unparalleled candor, Paul McCartney recounts his life and art through the prism of 154 songs from all stages of his career from his earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, Wings, and his solo career to the present. The Lyrics is the closest to a memoir we can expect to see from Paul McCartney and the definitive gift not only for every Beatles fan this year, but for bibliophiles and everyone interested in the culture of the last 65 years.
“I’m beyond honored to receive this recognition. My team and I are extremely proud of The Lyrics and it means so much to us that you all like it as much as we do,” said Paul McCartney. “Thank you to all the amazing team at Barnes & Noble in helping to launch the book.”
Here is what our booksellers had to say about the winner:
“As a musician, The Lyrics is incredibly special to me. The Beatles have been so influential in my life and to be able to see behind the scenes and into the mind of Paul McCartney is something very cool! This is the type of book that won’t just live on my coffee table as a gorgeous representation of the music I love, but it will live in my mind as I happily hum some of the greatest music ever written long after I’ve finished reading” – Scarlet R, Fairfax, VA
“Perfection, achieved. This collection is a true benchmark for showcasing the kaleidoscopic history of one of our greatest musical souls.” – Marc C, Cincinnati, OH
“The Lyrics is like Paul McCartney took all the scraps of paper where he wrote down little ideas and then connected the dots for each of us to see how something so simple as a scrap of paper can become the greatest music of any generation. It is something that I will be pouring over for years to come. It’s a gift to me but it would be a great gift to any Beatles fan.”- Michele L, New York, NY
“A beautifully made book – perfect for any Beatles lover. It’s filled with photos, handwritten lyric sheets, and personal anecdotes about the songs Paul wrote. Read about the bus tour the Beatles took with Roy Orbison while they were writing “From Me To You” and he was writing “Pretty Woman”. Or read about the first time Paul played “Hey Jude” to John and Yoko. It’s just an amazing collection of memorabilia and memories spanning more than 60 years of songs from the one and only Paul McCartney.” – Joe M, Frederick, MD
“The Lyrics is a stunning and visually beautiful book, the expression of an extraordinary life, an interplay of memoir, history, poetry, and music-making. Who knew that these lyrics — some in-your-bones familiar and others almost new — would be so fascinating, revealing, and evocative?” – Winifred S, Chicago, IL
Oh, and there’s more! Barnes & Noble is also announcing a Speculative Fiction Book of the Year, TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door!
Hardcover $26.99
Under the Whispering Door (B&N Exclusive Edition) (B&N Speculative Fiction Book of the Year)
Under the Whispering Door (B&N Exclusive Edition) (B&N Speculative Fiction Book of the Year)
By TJ Klune
In Stock Online
Hardcover $26.99
Klune’s prior book, The House in the Cerulean Sea captured the love of our booksellers across the country and won the hearts of #booktok fans everywhere. Under the Whispering Door reinvigorated our already undying love for Klune with a delightful book about life with Death as a character and a ghost who doesn’t want to cross over to whatever’s next.
Klune’s prior book, The House in the Cerulean Sea captured the love of our booksellers across the country and won the hearts of #booktok fans everywhere. Under the Whispering Door reinvigorated our already undying love for Klune with a delightful book about life with Death as a character and a ghost who doesn’t want to cross over to whatever’s next.
“In celebration of the massive bookseller and customer enthusiasm, we are this year also naming a Speculative Fiction Book of the Year,” said Shannon Devito, Director of Books, Barnes & Noble. “Championed passionately by our booksellers since its September publication, Under the Whispering Door is a charming, big-hearted book with a little comfort and a lot of hope making it the must-read book this year. We find ourselves in the wonderful position of honoring them both.”
Be sure to check out the rest of our Book of the Year Finalists:
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Pizza Czar: Recipes and Know-How from a World-Traveling Pizza Chef by Anthony Falco
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson, Nikkolas Smith (Illustrator)
Together by Luke Adam Hawker
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner