Archive: March 2011 (1-10 of 37)

Mar 30 2011 11:32 AM ET

On the Books Mar. 30: Man Booker Prize longlist announced, book suggesting Gandhi's bisexuality banned

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Categories: Awards, Comic Books, Nonfiction, On the Books, YA
robinson-roth

Image Credit: Ulf Andersen/Getty Images; Douglas Healey/AP Images

The U.K.-based Man Booker International Prize released its longlist of 13 finalists for the 2011 award yesterday, but only 12 care to be considered; John Le Carré rejected the nod, offering up an explanation that amounts to little more than “I prefer not to.” Included on the list are three American authors–Anne Tyler, Philip Roth, and Marilynne Robinson–and for the first time, two Chinese writers, Wang Anyi and Su Tong. The award, worth $94,000, is given every other year based on an author’s entire body of work. The winner will be awarded at the Sydney Writers’ Festival on May 18 and will be feted on June 28 in London. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 29 2011 11:05 AM ET

On the Books Mar. 29: Perez Hilton's children's book, the secret life of editing 'Harry Potter,' and more

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Categories: Children's Books, Harry Potter, On the Books
Perez-Hilton

Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com

Perez Hilton, the bad boy of celebrity blogging, has written a children’s book, The Boy with the Pink Hair, set for a September 2011 release. Dare we say the protagonist of the story, a boy with a “shock of fabulous hair,” is at least loosely based on the author? The book promises to “celebrate individuality and acceptance.” Hilton has written two previous books for adults, Perez Hilton’s True Bloggywood Stories and Red Carpet Suicide: A Survival Guide on Keeping Up with the Hiltons.

Radiohead is launching The Universal Sigh, an unconventional international newspaper, containing voice-driven pieces and work by writers such as Robert McFarlane and Jay Griffiths. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 28 2011 04:42 PM ET

The 'Game of Thrones' Book Club: Join us!

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Categories: Fiction, Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, What I'm Reading
martin-game-of-thrones

By all accounts, the books in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series are sweeping, indelible works of fantasy on par with The Lord of the Rings or The Once and Future King. They also, however, range in length from 674 to 1216 pages — which is the main reason I’ve never sunk my teeth into them. Until now. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 28 2011 12:43 PM ET

Stieg Larsson confidant reveals details about unpublished fourth 'Millennium' novel

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Categories: Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Thrillers
stieg-larsson

Image Credit: Jan Collsioo/Scanpix Sweden/AP Images

Kurdo Baksi, a friend of the late Stieg Larsson, has come forward with new details about the fourth book in the wildly popular Millennium series. Baksi told the Swedish newspaper the Expressen that Camilla, the estranged sister of punk techno-genius Lisbeth Salander, will play a large role in the intended fourth installment. To date, Camilla has only made a brief appearance in the second book of the series, The Girl who Played with Fire. Baksi also revealed that Larsson had plans to send Lisbeth to Greenland, although he is not sure in which remaining book in the series — Larsson had envisioned five parts — this would occur. Larsson and Baksi became close while they worked on the Swedish anti-racism magazine and foundation Expo. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 28 2011 10:55 AM ET

On the Books Mar. 28: Maurice Sendak introduces a different type of 'Wild Thing,' Google's new magazine, and more

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Categories: Children's Books, On the Books

Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak is set to write Bumble-Ardy, the story of a pig who “longs to party,” planned for a fall release this year.

Google has launched a new, full-length online magazine in the UK called Think Quarterly, which will be dedicated to its advertisers and business partners. The first issue focuses on data and is not available on news stands, but you can read the slick e-publication for free here.

Novelist and Harvard Medical School professor Steve Schlozman analyzes the world’s fascination with zombies.

Just when you thought this public mother-daughter feud was over, Candy Spelling plans a book about her turbulent relationship with daughter Tori.

Harvard English professor Marjorie Garber asks in a new book whether literature still matters. What do you think her answer is?

Mar 25 2011 06:00 PM ET

Fake excerpts from possible J.K. Rowling books

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Categories: Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling

CollegeHumor has posted a hilarious article postulating seven excerpts from follow-ups to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, increasing in hilarity as the author increases her alcohol intake. Honestly, we’d be lying if we said we wouldn’t buy any and all of these, including Larry Potter — A Brand New Novel by J.K. Rowling & 4 Glasses of Cabernet. Seriously, it’s pretty funny, so what are you still doing on our site? Go there now.

Mar 24 2011 02:54 PM ET

Amy Tan's new novel 'Valley of Amazement' released by HarperCollins

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Categories: Amy Tan, Fiction

HarperCollins announced today that it has acquired Amy Tan’s new novel The Valley of Amazement. In a press release, Tan said of the novel,  ”A painting called the ‘Valley of Amazement’ is passed along through three generations of women of the same family. Despite vast differences in their upbringing, culture and circumstances, each of the women is drawn to discover the meaning of the painting and the unknown histories of their mothers.”

Even though the plot doesn’t sound like a huge departure from her previous novels about Chinese mothers and daughters, I think Tan is ripe for a comeback. I’d be happy to see her go back to her roots –generational family dramas — especially after her last novel for adults, 2005′s Saving Fish from Drowning, proved somewhat out-of-character for her. I dust off my old copy of The Joy Luck Club every year or so, and her other novels, have consistently brought us memorable, feisty female characters. I’m definitely looking forward to some more naggy Chinese grandmothers in the new novel so Tan can put her fine ear for dialect to use. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 24 2011 12:28 PM ET

Kate Winslet to release 'The Golden Hat,' a book of photos and poetry, to support autism awareness

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Categories: Celebrity, Kate Winslet
kate-winslet

Image Credit: ario Santoro/PR Photos

Simon & Schuster will publish The Golden Hat, a book by Oscar-winner Kate Winslet that will feature self-portraits of celebrities and other notable persons, including Winslet herself, all wearing a “magical” hat. The title and concept were inspired by a poem by Keli Ericsdottir, a boy suffering from a severe case of non-verbal autism whom Winslet met while narrating the documentary A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism. The poem describes a hat that enables an autistic boy to communicate with others. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 23 2011 11:46 AM ET

Judge rejects Google Books settlement, but the debate is far from over

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Categories: E-Readers

Citing copyright and privacy concerns, among others, U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin rejected the $125 million Google Books Amendment Settlement Agreement (ASA) between Google and book publishers Tuesday that would have created a “universal library” of sorts, permitting Google Books to put millions of volumes, many of which are rare or otherwise difficult to find, on the web. Judge Chin admonished Google for scanning copyrighted documents from university libraries — a project begun in 2004 for which Google has already scanned more than 15 million books — while still acknowledging that “the digitization of books and the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many.”

Echoing the debate over universal healthcare, the judge took issue with the settlement’s opt-out structure: Under the proposed conditions, all authors would be covered by the ASA by default unless they consciously decided to opt out. Judge Chin suggested he would be amenable to provisions that would give authors the decision to opt in. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 23 2011 10:55 AM ET

On the Books Mar. 23: Self-publishing phenom Amanda Hocking courts major publishers, 'Cold Mountain' author to pen new novel

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Categories: E-Books, Fiction, On the Books
Charles-Frasier

Twenty-six-year-old self-publishing whizkid Amanda Hocking is shopping a four-part series for a traditional book deal, reportedly bringing in offers from major publishing houses of over $1 million. She began publishing her own e-books last year via retailers like Amazon and BN.com and has sold more than 900,000 copies of nine books since then. But will Hocking lose her under-the-radar cool factor if she goes with a major publisher? Thriller writer Barry Eisler seems to be going in the other direction: He turned down a huge six-figure deal to publish his own e-books.

Cold Mountain author Charles Frazier’s first novel since 2006′s Thirteen Moons will be released this October by Random House. Nightwoods will tell the story of a young woman living in rural North Carolina in the 1950s raising her murdered sister’s children.

Anyone out there have a book hoarding problem? Read confessions of some compulsive collectors who are in serious need of a good e-reader. They should really make a Hoarders: Book Edition. There’s already an animal spin-off.

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