At Home With Peter Behrens: Peter Behrens, the Novelist, Makes a Winter Home in Marfa
The small West Texas town draws artists and writers like the novelist Peter Behrens to its remote and subtle beauty.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Beautiful Thing’ by Sonia Faleiro
Sonia Faleiro’s new book delves into the lives and dramas of Mumbai’s dance bars.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Jessye Norman to Publish Memoir
The renowned singer, who has performed some of opera's most iconic roles, will write about her family and professional life in a book due to be released late next year.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Gaddis Wins History Prize for Kennan Biography
The New-York Historical Society will present the American History Book Prize to a Yale University professor in April.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
Acorn Media buys stake in Agatha Christie estate
Production company Chorion sells its 64% stake in the Agatha Christie estate to US home entertainment company Acorn MediaChorion has sold its 64% stake in the Agatha Christie estate, which includes the Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot characters, to US... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
Children's Books: ‘Friends With Boys,’ by Faith Erin Hicks
In the graphic novel “Friends With Boys,” by Faith Erin Hicks, a formerly home-schooled adolescent girl learns to get along in high school.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
Jackie Collins experiments with self-publishing The Bitch
Queen of the bonkbuster will e-publish revised edition under her own steam in the USJackie Collins, queen of the glitzy bonkbuster, is the latest bestselling author to take the DIY route, announcing plans to self-publish a rewritten version of her... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
World Book Day set to give away 14m book tokens
Authors including Neil Gaiman and Anthony Horowitz will also be taking part in The Biggest Book Show on EarthBrand new stories from Neil Gaiman and Anthony Horowitz, the culmination of Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson's quest to find the UK's best... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
Penguin and The Economist form partnership
Penguin has gone into partnership with The Economist. The book publisher's digital series of exclusive short works, known as Penguin Shorts, is to publish a collection of reports entitled Penguin Economist Specials. The reports, originally written for the magazine, consider... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 29 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘The Starboard Sea,’ a Novel by Amber Dermont
In this debut novel, Jason Prosper, a Manhattan kid from a wealthy family, arrives at a New England prep school under tainted and peculiar circumstances.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Royal Shakespeare Company Bringing Dahl's 'Matilda the Musical' to Broadway
The Royal Shakespeare Company will bring its production of "Matilda the Musical," based on the Roald Dahl children's book and now running in London, to Broadway next year.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Charlotte Brontë's lost short story to be published
L'Ingratitude, which she wrote for ardour-inspiring tutor, rediscovered in museum a century after it was last heard ofA long-lost short story written by Charlotte Brontë for a married man with whom she fell in love is to be published for... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Mole and Rat meet the horned god Pan in British Library summer exhibition
Wind in the Willows – and forgotten chapter The Piper at the Gates of Dawn – in Cultural Olympiad exploration of landscapeIf you can't remember the bit in The Wind in the Willows when Mole and Rat go searching for... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Batman named greatest comic hero
Caped Crusader bests Spider-Man and Superman in Comic Heroes magazine's rankingBatman's utility belt doesn't really compare to the superpowers of Spider-Man and Superman, but Gotham City's caped crusader has nonetheless been named the greatest comic hero of all time.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Hole's Eric Erlandson to release Kurt Cobain book
Guitarist's prose and poetry tribute to Nirvana frontman set to be published without permission of Courtney LoveHole's co-founder has announced a book tribute to Kurt Cobain, published without the permission or co-operation of Courtney Love. Composed of prose and poetry,... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Boys closing reading gap with girls
What Kids Are Reading 2012 report finds children are now reading to the same level of difficulty across gendersBoys are no longer lagging behind girls when it comes to reading ability, according to a new report.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Real-life Watership Down fights housing development
The Berkshire setting for the 1972 book about countryside under threat faces the same fate, with the author leading the fightFiction is fast becoming fact in Newbury, Berkshire, where the setting for the best-selling children's fantasy novel Watership Down may... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘The Escape Artists,’ by Noam Scheiber
In his new book, Noam Scheiber argues that in-fighting and Lawrence H. Summers kept President Obama from doing enough for the economy during the recession.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 27 February, 2012
City Room: Want to Be a Pulp Fiction Writer? Here's Your Chance
A woman is seen descending subway stairs on a sunny day in Brooklyn. Tell us how the story begins. Welcome to City Room's 2012 New York Pulp Fiction Contest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 27 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Bodleian Library to Display Jane Austen Needlework and Disputed Portrait
The renowned Oxford library offers another kind of work by Jane Austen.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 27 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: He Lived Through This, Now Hole Co-Founder Offers His 'Letters to Kurt'
Eric Erlandson, the guitarist who founded Hole with Courtney Love and helped create hit albums like "Pretty on the Inside" and "Live Through This," will publish a book of his reflections on rock 'n' roll, drug abuse and the loss... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 27 February, 2012
Books: Genomics as a Final Frontier, or Just a Way Station
Many physicians and researchers believe the future lies in therapies tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup, but others argue that there is much more at play than our accumulated DNA.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 27 February, 2012
Poetry Review editor Fiona Sampson resigns
After damaging ructions at the Poetry Society last year, the editor of its journal says parting is 'on very good and cheerful terms'The concluding lines of the epic row which engulfed the Poetry Society last summer have been written, with... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 27 February, 2012
Real-life BFG and Godfather revealed in new book
The Godfather Was a Girl by Eamon Evan's locates living models for nearly 400 fictional charactersThe freckle-faced orphan Anne of Green Gables was inspired by a chorus girl and the BFG was based on a "huge, sweet-natured Norfolk builder", according... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 27 February, 2012
Pearson reports 72% rise in profts
Ebook revenue growth helps push Pearson to pre-tax profit of £1bn for 2011Pearson has reported a 72% surge in pre-tax profits to £1.15bn for 2011, with ebook sales at Penguin more than doubling and profits at FT Group, home to... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 27 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘House of Stone,’ a Memoir by Anthony Shadid
Anthony Shadid’s memoir “House of Stone” — written as a personal introspection as well as a meditation on politics, identity and beauty in the Levant — now stands as a memorial to the author.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 26 February, 2012
Jane Austen portrait on show at Bodleian Library for World Book Day
World Book Day will see Bodleian Library in Oxford display 'new' Jane Austen portrait and sampler – for one day onlyA newly discovered portrait claimed to be of Jane Austen, and a sampler worked in slightly wonky stitches by the... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Sunday, 26 February, 2012
Paul Weitz Directs ‘Being Flynn,’ Starring Robert DeNiro
Robert DeNiro and Paul Dano star in “Being Flynn,” based on Nick Flynn’s memoir and directed by Paul Weitz.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 26 February, 2012
Dmitri Nabokov, Steward of His Father’s Literary Legacy, Dies at 77
Mr. Nabokov translated Vladimir Nabokov’s early works, then published an unfinished novel his father had insisted be burned.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Saturday, 25 February, 2012
Bookshelf: Books on Women in Advertising and Domestic Security
A blog and now a book were born out of the graphic designer Vahram Muratyan’s depictions of Paris and New York.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Saturday, 25 February, 2012
Dictionary of American Regional English Reaches Last Volume
After 50 years of research that uncovered nearly 60,000 entries, the compilers of the Dictionary of American Regional English have published the work’s fifth and final volume.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Book Review Podcast: Fact, Fiction and In Between
Jennifer B. McDonald talks about "The Lifespan of a Fact," in which the essayist John D'Agata wrestles with a fact checker over questions of truth, beauty and accuracy.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Up Front
Stephen Burn’s journey from seller of ice cream to literary critic.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Essay: The Novelist Joseph Roth’s Letters
Joseph Roth, author of “The Radetzky March,” was one of the early 20th century’s most cantankerous witnesses.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Crime: Peter Robinson’s ‘Before the Poison,’ and More
Peter Robinson’s novel, “Before the Poison,” stars a lonesome man who moves into an old house and falls in love with a ghost.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘Men in Space,’ Tom McCarthy’s Complex Novel
Following William Gaddis, Tom McCarthy takes up the challenge of tracing a sequence of interlocking lives.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Christopher Bram’s ‘Eminent Outlaws’
Did gay liberation spring from postwar novels and plays?... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Visuals: New Books About Textile Design
New books about textile design include a catalog of rarely seen materials from Knoll Textiles.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Exhibition Review: ‘Shakespeare’s Sisters’ at the Folger Shakespeare Library
“Shakespeare’s Sisters,” a survey at the Folger Shakespeare Library spanning 200 years of largely unsung female writers, begins with examples from the Elizabethan era.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Footsteps: For the Poet Wallace Stevens, Hartford Was an Unlikely Muse
The Connecticut capital is where Wallace Stevens composed many of his verses while commuting on foot between his comfortable house and his office at an insurance company.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Graphic Books Best Sellers: George O'Connor On Greek Myths
George O'Connor answers questions about "Olympians: Hades, Lord of the Dead," his latest book exploring the gods of Greek myth.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘Pure,’ Julianna Baggott’s Dystopian Novel
Julianna Baggott’s dystopian novel stratifies survivors of the apocalypse.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘Brave Dragons,’ by Jim Yardley
An account of basketball in China illuminates a culture in flux.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Pamela Druckerman’s ‘Bringing Up Bébé’
An American mother in France admires the way French parents protect their own pleasures.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘By Blood,’ a Novel by Ellen Ullman
An eavesdropper finds himself in an unusual triangle in Ellen Ullman’s novel.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘Waterline,’ a Novel by Ross Raisin
In this novel, a former shipbuilder is consumed by grief.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘The Technologists,’ Matthew Pearl’s New Thriller
In Matthew Pearl’s historical thriller, the future hinges on a secret group of M.I.T. students.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
‘The Lifespan of a Fact,’ by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal
The essayist John D’Agata wrestles with a fact checker over questions of truth, beauty and accuracy.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
TBR: Inside the List
Suzanne Collins’s “Hunger Games” trilogy is likely to continue dominating the children’s best-seller lists after a movie version of the first book arrives in a few weeks.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Famous Five 70th anniversary marked by star illustrators
Quentin Blake and Helen Oxenbury among artists to reinterpret Enid Blyton's classic children's characters for a new generationMuch-loved illustrators including Quentin Blake and Helen Oxenbury have reimagined the Famous Five to mark the 70th anniversary of the adventurous quintet's first... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Paperback Row
Paperback books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Editors’ Choice
Recently reviewed books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Angelina Jolie writes foreword to Billy Bob Thornton memoir
Actor contributes foreword to ex-husband's memoir The Billy Bob Tapes: A Cave Full of Ghosts, written with Kinky FriedmanIn a further sign that they may have Hollywood's best post-breakup relationship, Angelina Jolie has written the foreword to ex-husband Billy-Bob Thornton's... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Riff: The Fact-Checker Versus the Fabulist
What we can learn from the nasty fight between John D’Agata and his zealous researcher.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Prize dredges up a vintage shortlist of the year's oddest book titles
A Century of Sand Dredging in the Bristol Channel must dig deep to see off stiff competition from The Great Singapore Penis PanicSome might have worried the publishers of Peter Gosson's A Century of Sand Dredging in the Bristol Channel... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 24 February, 2012
Reporter’s Notebook: Barney Rosset Loved Breaking Publishing’s Rules
Barney Rosset, the founder of Grove Press who died on Tuesday, loved breaking the rules and challenging convention.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
Books of The Times: Eyal Press Considers Courage in ‘Beautiful Souls’
In his new book, Eyal Press looks at four ordinary people who heeded their consciences and paid for the courage, and wonders what set them apart.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
JK Rowling announces new novel - for adults
The creator of Harry Potter, JK Rowling, opens a 'new phase' of her writing career with her first novel for grown-upsBooksellers up and down the country will be rejoicing: JK Rowling has confirmed plans for a new novel, this time... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Rowling Returns With a New Book, This Time for Adults
Five years after her last "Harry Potter" book, J.K. Rowling will explore new territory with a new publisher.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
Scottish children vote for vampires, dreams and chance
Record number of children vote in the Scottish children's book awards for their favourite readsMore than 23,000 children from all over Scotland have voted for their favourite books of 2011, from a picture book about a family of vampires to... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Lin Scores Seven Insta-Books on Kindle
The books, rounded up by GalleyCat, include potted biographies, trivia compendiums and two self-help books we non-basketball players can use to improve our own performance.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
Amazon.com withdraws thousands of ebooks in pricing row with publishers
Some 4,000 ebook editions from Independent Publishers Group pulled from sale in dispute over new retail termsThousands of ebooks from independent publishers have been removed from sale on Amazon.com after a clash over trading terms.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
Barney Rosset, 1922-2012: Barney Rosset, Grove Press Publisher, Dies at 89
Barney Rosset, who helped change the course of publishing in the United States, bringing masters like Samuel Beckett to Americans’ attention, and who won celebrated First Amendment slugfests against censorship, died on Tuesday.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
Will Self to become a professor of contemporary thought
Maverick writer will be teaching students at Brunel University's school of the arts and its school of the social sciencesSince graduating from Oxford in the early 1980s, Will Self's career has been nothing if not diverse. He has swept streets,... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 23 February, 2012
Medvedev Honors Ali Ukla Ursan, a Controversial Syrian Writer
Ali Ukla Ursan, who received the Pushkin Medal, has publicly applauded the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and expressed strong anti-Semitic views.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
Patricia O’Brien (as Kate Alcott) Sells ‘The Dressmaker’
Patricia O’Brien’s sixth novel was rejected 13 times. Then she used a pen name, and a publisher loved it.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
New Fiction From Tatiana de Rosnay, Richard Mason and Others
New books by Richard Mason, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Niccolò Ammaniti, Lucy Ferriss, Alexander Masters and Tatiana de Rosnay.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Barney Rosset, Trailblazing Publisher, Dies at 89
Profiles, reminiscences, and writings about the late Barney Rosset, the legendary publisher of Grove Press, from over the years.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘The Technologists,’ by Matthew Pearl, Is Set in 1868
In his new novel, Matthew Pearl follows an M.I.T. student out to use his scientific and engineering skills to solve a problem in skeptical 1868 Boston.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
Author raises $1m to self-publish Order of the Stick webcomic book
Rich Burlew becomes crowdfunding site Kickstarter's most successful creative projectThe author of a self-published webcomic about a band of heroes in a fantasy role-playing world has raised more than $1m (£600,000) from fans on "crowdfunding" website Kickstarter to bring his... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
Frank Bruni's Blog: Young Adult Fiction and the Fault in Our Stars
One of the most hopeful developments in publishing over the last decade is the expansion of the sub-market known as "young adult," especially the book "The Fault in Our Stars."... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: The Fact and Fiction of ‘Watergate’
The novelist Thomas Mallon answers questions about his blending of the real and imagined in his treatment of one of the most infamous moments in American history.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
Children's Books: ‘To the Mountaintop,’ by Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s “To the Mountaintop” helps a new generation understand a pivotal — and still relevant — moment in American history.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Strictly Business: Paramount Sues to Halt Publication of New 'Godfather' Novel
The studio says that it authorized a 2004 novel, "The Godfather Returns," but not a 2006 follow-up, "The Godfather's Revenge," nor a new book, "The Family Corleone," that is planned for a May release.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
The Carpetbagger: My Oscar Picks: Judy Blume
The novelist Judy Blume shares her Oscar picks.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
PG Wodehouse refused immunity from UK prosecution, documents reveal
Newly declassified papers show the authorities continued to say, into 60s, that author might face action over wartime German broadcastsThe persistent attempts by PG Wodehouse's friends to enable the author to return to Britain without fear of prosecution for alleged... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012
Books of The Times: Edward St. Aubyn’s ‘At Last,’ an Autobiographical Novel
Edward St. Aubyn’s “At Last” is the final installment of a remarkable cycle of novels chronicling the life of Mr. St. Aubyn’s alter ego, Patrick, while painting a portrait of the upper-class British world his family inhabits.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 21 February, 2012
Miffy joins digital age with iPad app
Author Dick Bruna, 84, cautious about 'too much interactivity' with his multi-million selling children's booksHer distinctive silhouette is recognised around the world. The classic children's books about her have sold tens of millions of copies and in the Netherlands she... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 21 February, 2012
First ever detective novel back in print after 150 years
The Notting Hill Mystery by Charles Felix, dating back to 1862, preceded The Moonstone by some yearsPoisoning, hypnotists, kidnappers and a series of crimes "in their nature and execution too horrible to contemplate": The Notting Hill Mystery by Charles Felix,... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 21 February, 2012
Cormac McCarthy's parallel career revealed – as a scientific copy editor!
Physics writer whose work McCarthy revised says the novelist has a particular loathing for semicolons and exclamation marksExclamation marks and semicolons "have no place in literature", according to Cormac McCarthy, who has emerged as the unlikely copy editor of a... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 21 February, 2012
David Walliams' Mr Stink to be made into BBC1 comedy drama
Walliams to play prime minister in adaptation of his story about schoolgirl who hides homeless man in her family's garden shedDavid Walliams is to star in a BBC1 adaptation of his children's novel Mr Stink.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 21 February, 2012
Books of The Times: Tracie McMillan Writes ‘The American Way of Eating’
Tracie McMillan worked on farms and in restaurants, then wrote about what she saw for her book “The American Way of Eating.”... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 20 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Al Hirschfeld To Get His Own Biographical Portrait
Farrar Straus and Giroux has commissioned a biography of the legendary theatrical portraitist Al Hirschfeld, who died at 99 in 2003, to be written by Ellen Stern, author of a 1987 profile of Mr. Hirshfeld in GQ.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 20 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Cormac McCarthy, Quantum Copy Editor
Cormac McCarthy has won some of the most coveted honors in literature, from the Pulitzer Prize to a spot on Oprah's Book Club, but now it may be time for Mr. McCarthy to add another laurel to his resume: genius... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 20 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: A Call for Lin-ericks
So far, amazingly, no one seems to have written any Lin-ericks, or even used the term.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 20 February, 2012
Ronald Fraser, Oral Historian, Dies at 81
Mr. Fraser was known for his deftness at collecting and presenting ordinary people’s experiences during momentous events like the Spanish Civil War.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 20 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘The Wrecking Crew,’ by Kent Hartman, on ’60s Studio Musicians
Kent Hartman’s nostalgic book about ’60s rock ’n’ roll focuses on the all-purpose studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 19 February, 2012
Matilda is top of the class at Whatsonstage.com awards
Musical based on Roald Dahl's novel takes four prizes at only major theatre awards voted on by publicMatilda the musical – the RSC's hugely successful adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1988 novel – has taken more prizes than any other production... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Sunday, 19 February, 2012
Birdy author's lost memoir tells of his involvement in a war crime
William Wharton's autobiography describes how his US army unit killed German prisoners in the second world warThe graphic and often painful memoirs of the celebrated American author William Wharton – which include an account of his role in the killing... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Saturday, 18 February, 2012
Cristina Alger Writes ‘The Darlings,’ on Ethics, and Fortune Brought Low
It’s about one of those bright and shining New York families who have it all, until they don’t.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Glamour’s ‘Jake’ Column Inspires a New Book
A dozen writers over the years have given their prose and advice to Glamour’s “Jake” column, but mostly not their names.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Former Head of Schomburg Center to Run Howard University Libraries
Howard Dodson, former director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has taken a new post with Howard University.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Learning to Love Airport Lit
Great literature has its place, but it’s not on a plane or in an airport.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Book Review Podcast: Nathan Englander Talks About His New Stories
Nathan Englander discusses "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank," his new collection of stories, on the Book Review podcast.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Graphic Books Best Sellers: 'American Vampire' Lands at the Top
Scott Snyder lands at No. 1 on the hardcover graphic books best-seller list with the third volume of "American Vampire."... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
David Snodin’s ‘Iago,’ and More New Fiction
New novels by David Snodin, Chan Koonchung, Liz Moore, Amy Franklin-Willis and Suzzy Roche.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
A New History of the Philippine-American War
At the turn of the 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt set out to transform the United States into a major world power.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Essay: The Washington Wives’ Book Club
Children’s literature by women named Gingrich, Cheney and Biden. Could this be an election year?... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Olaf Olafsson’s New Novel, ‘Restoration’
A forged Caravaggio is the link between two love triangles in this World War II novel.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
‘Liebestod,’ Leslie Epstein’s New Operatic Farce
A centenarian maestro is Leslie Epstein’s quixotic hero.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
The Artist Martin Kippenberger Through the Eyes of His Sister
The German artist Martin Kippenberger’s hard work and frequent play, seen through the eyes of one of his sisters.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
‘The Obamas,’ by Jodi Kantor
Jodi Kantor examines the relationship between Michelle and Barack Obama and its public consequences.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Essay: The Impact of Books on Washington Policy
A book, by its mere existence, can lend legitimacy to an argument in Washington’s sound-bite-driven debate.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Reading Life: Next Time, Try ‘Unflagging’
“Tireless” and “tirelessly” are words writers seem to use without paying them much attention.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
How an Egyptian Revolution Began on Facebook
How an Egyptian Google executive’s Facebook page helped spark a movement.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
‘Satan Is Real,’ the Story of the Louvin Brothers
The tempestuous story of an inspirational gospel and country duo.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
‘Girlchild,’ Tupelo Hassman’s Debut Novel
The heroine of this first novel is robbed of her innocence, virginity and chance to make good.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
TBR: Inside the List
The hard-partying macho author Tucker Max is back on the best-seller list with “Hilarity Ensues,” but off the page he’s taken to yoga, psychoanalysis and organic health drinks.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Nathan Englander’s New Collection
Nathan Englander’s new stories, written with his trademark blend of the breezy and the biblical, are concerned with mercy, vengeance and righteousness.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Paperback Row
Paperback books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Editors’ Choice
Recently reviewed books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Up Front
Jose Antonio Vargas and the decision to come out as an undocumented immigrant.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 17 February, 2012
World Book Night authors choose extracts to be given away with their work
Stephen King picks Hesh Kestin and Terry Pratchett adds GK Chesterton to accompany their novels in million-book giveawayTerry Pratchett would like us to sample GK Chesterton, Iain Banks is pushing Alan Moore and Roald Dahl's estate is keen on Sarah... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Frederick Forsyth wins Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award
The Day of the Jackal author honoured for settting 'a new standard of research-based authenticity' in thrillersMore than 40 years after he wrote his first novel, The Day of the Jackal, in just 35 days, Frederick Forsyth has been awarded... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 17 February, 2012
Amanda Knox agrees $4m deal with HarperCollins for tell-all book
Knox, 24, who was convicted but then acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher to give 'full and unflinching account'Amanda Knox, the young exchange student whose conviction in Italy and eventual acquittal on murder charges made headlines worldwide, has signed... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 16 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: O'Reilly's Next Book: 'Killing Kennedy'
The Fox News host, who made the best-seller lists for "Killing Lincoln,'' is planning to explore the death of John F. Kennedy in the second book in his presidential history series.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 16 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Gypsy Boy,’ a Memoir by Mikey Walsh
Mikey Walsh’s coming-of-age memoir is brash, frightening and funny in revealing a closed, mysterious society.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 16 February, 2012
Publishers make bid to close filesharing sites
Publishing groups take action against two websites accused of sharing copyrighted ebooks, while police seize music sharing siteA coalition of US publishing groups has taken legal action in Ireland in a bid to close websites they accuse of copyright infringement.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 16 February, 2012
Currents | Books: ‘Be Your Own Decorator’ by Susanna Salk
“Be Your Own Decorator” presents rooms by well-known designers that are intended to inspire readers to take things into their own hands.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 16 February, 2012
New York Public Library Revives Its Overhaul Plan
After a pause because of the economic downturn, the New York Public Library on Wednesday revived its $1 billion plan to overhaul its branches and renovate its Fifth Avenue flagship.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 16 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Watergate,’ a Novel by Thomas Mallon
In the novel “Watergate,” Thomas Mallon invests that political affair with unexpected glitter, glamour, suave grace and subtlety.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
Diet Books From Heather Bauer, Kathy Freston and Eileen Daspin
New diet books that address the problems and strengths of various eating plans.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
Children's Books: ‘When Blue Met Egg’ and ‘And Then It’s Spring’
Two new picture books anticipate the arrival of sunshine and blue skies.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
Agatha Christie cut down for language students
New versions of 20 detective novels produced for 'upper intermediate' English language learnersFrom Queen of Crime to Queen of the Classroom: a new series of simplified, abridged Agatha Christie novels are set to introduce non-native English speakers to the glory... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
Gabriel García Márquez inspires Carlos Campos clothing collection
Designer's passion for Love in the Time of Cholera infuses clothes 'as poetic and nuanced as the novel'Gabriel García Márquez's bestselling tale of the long-drawn-out love between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza, Love in the Time of Cholera, has captivated... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Red Plenty,’ by Francis Spufford
Francis Spufford’s “Red Plenty” follows a cast of characters around the Soviet Union of the 1950s and ’60s as Communist theory lost its promise.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Last-Minute Romantic Book Ideas for That Special Someone
Haven't yet picked up a box of chocolates or a dozen roses. Here are some Valentine's Day suggestions for the special bookish person in your life.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Love Letters Digitized: The 'Triumphant Happiness' of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning
The love letters of the poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett have been made available for viewing online.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
Amanda Knox memoirs spark million-dollar bidding war
US publishers are competing for the rights to publish the 24-year-old's own account of being convicted, and acquitted, of Meredith Kercher's murderA bidding war has broken out between US publishers over the memoirs of Amanda Knox, with a price tag... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
Love letters of Barrett and Browning sent online on Valentine's Day
573 billets-doux which capture Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett's romance put online by Wellesley College and Baylor University"I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett … " So begins the first love letter to poet Elizabeth Barrett... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
Tristram P. Coffin, Folklorist, Dies at 89
Professor Coffin, a retired faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, looked into ordinary rituals to find worlds of hidden meanings.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
Yeast Genetics in ‘The Marriage Plot’ - Scientist Was Fiction, but Not His Work
Jeffrey Eugenides’s new novel, “The Marriage Plot,” has scenes describing yeast genetic studies that ring so true, many assume that researchers had to have given him some in-depth help.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 14 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘The World America Made,’ by Robert Kagan
The neoconservative historian Robert Kagan’s new book reflects the thinking that has gained him influence with both Mitt Romney and President Obama.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 13 February, 2012
Book Review: ‘Health Care Reform’ - Book Review - A Cartoon to Cut Through Red Tape
“Health Care Reform,” by the economist Jonathan Gruber, offers an easy-to-understand walk through what has changed under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, and what it may mean in the future.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 13 February, 2012
In Amanda Knox Tale, a Delicate Bet for Publishers
Will the story of an American student’s exoneration in the killing of her roommate abroad appeal to readers?... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 13 February, 2012
City Room: Ask About Black Life in 19th-Century New York
Carla L. Peterson, author of "Black Gotham," is taking questions about African-American life in 19th-century New York City.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 13 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Belgian Court Refuses to Ban 'Tintin in the Congo'
A Congolese man living in Belgium had sued to seek a ban of "Tintin in the Congo," an installment that has been criticized for its presentation of Congolese people, who are drawn with dark skin and large lips and depicted... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 13 February, 2012
Romantic novel of the year shortlists announced
Michael Arditti's Jubilee is the only book by a male author in the runningJust in time for Valentine's Day, the contenders for the most romantic novel of the year have been announced – and just one male author is in... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 13 February, 2012
Ben Okri erupts at editor over 'rewriting' claim
Okri accuses former editor Robin Robertson of 'exaggerating his own importance' after Robertson claimed that he 'redid' sections of the author's dialogue in a 1988 short story collectionThe Booker prize-winning author Ben Okri has damned his editor's claim to have... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 13 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Defending Jacob,’ by William Landay
William Landay’s courtroom novel hinges on the murder of a high-school boy and involves a former assistant district attorney and his son.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 12 February, 2012
Pompey meets Le Havre in French TV crime hit
British writer Graham Hurley's detective duo are proving popular across the ChannelGraham Hurley has sold more than half a million books and been translated into nine languages. Last Wednesday he was in a bookshop in Portsmouth, where his most popular... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Sunday, 12 February, 2012
Jeffrey Zaslow, Best-Selling Author, Dies at 53
Mr. Zaslow was a columnist and author whose books included a best seller with Randy Pausch and a chronicle of Gabrielle Giffords’s recovery.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Saturday, 11 February, 2012
Bookshelf: Books on a Racial Attraction, a Religious Rejection and New York Architecture
Books on Carl Van Vechten, a white writer who had a passion for blackness, on a woman’s rejection of her Hasidic roots and on New York architecture.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Saturday, 11 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Book Review Podcast: Edward St. Aubyn Ends a Series With 'At Last'
Francine Prose discusses "At Last" by Edward St. Aubyn, the last in a remarkable series of novels starring the self-destructive Patrick Melrose.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Darwin's Papers Show the Evolution of His Ideas
Just in time for Charles Darwin's 203rd birthday on Sunday, the American Museum of Natural History is unveiling the first phase of its online Darwin Manuscripts Project.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Graphic Books Best Sellers: A Dispute Over 'Walking Dead' Payments
The artist Tony Moore has sued the creator of the best-selling "The Walking Dead" graphic novels over royalty payments.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Charles Murray Examines the White Working Class in ‘Coming Apart’
Charles Murray argues that the white working class is no longer a virtuous silent majority.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: Bookshelf: Hug and Kiss
Children’s books about displays of affection.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Essay: Elizabeth Taylor — the Novelist, That Is
The English novelist Elizabeth Taylor wrote with humor and sympathy about women who silently suffered as they sought to assert themselves in the world.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Black and White: Charles Murray and Baratunde Thurston Quiz Each Other
Charles Murray, author of "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010," and Baratunde Thurston, author of "How to Be Black," answer questions about race and class from each other's books.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
TBR: Inside the List
The provocative social scientist Charles Murray and the comedian Baratunde Thurston answer each other’s quizzes about racial identity.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Katherine Boo’s ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’ Explores a Mumbai Slum
Katherine Boo’s first book explores the lives of residents in a Mumbai slum.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: Bookshelf: Black History
Children’s books about pivotal figures and events in the history of black Americans.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Taslima Nasrin attacks 'cancer' of censorship in Indian society
After the cancellation of Salman Rushdie's festival appearance, Taslima Nasrin attacks the growing 'appetite for censorship' in India which has prevented her own book launchThe writer Taslima Nasrin has hit out at a "growing cancer" afflicting Indian society, identifying a... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 10 February, 2012
City Room: New York Diaries, in the Author’s Hand
A new book weaves diary entries, official records and even datebook jottings spanning 400 years into a rich and unusual history of the city.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: Picture Books About Resourceful Children
Three picture books feature inspiringly resourceful children.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
‘At Last,’ the Final Installment of Edward St. Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose Cycle
Edward St. Aubyn’s self-destructive hero Patrick Melrose returns in a new novel.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Up Front
The “naturally tweedy” Bruce Barcott goes on extreme adventures to write about remote and majestic locations.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: ‘In Darkness,’ by Nick Lake
Nick Lake’s novel, set in Haiti, alternates between the country’s violent past and its tumultuous present.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: ‘The Lions of Little Rock,’ by Kristin Levine
Separated by race in the civil-rights-era South, two girls form an unbreakable bond in Kristin Levine’s novel.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: ‘The Case of the Deadly Desperados,’ by Caroline Lawrence
The protagonist of this western is an orphan with Asperger’s syndrome.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Children's Books: Francesca Lia Block’s ‘Pink Smog,’ a Weetzie Bat Prequel
An early look at Francesca Lia Block’s heroine, Weetzie Bat.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Susan Cain’s ‘Quiet’ Argues for the Power of Introverts
Introverts should be valued more highly in American culture, Susan Cain asserts.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Trea Martyn Writes of Rivalries Among Queen Elizabeth I’s Courtiers
Rival courtiers created extravagant gardens to compete for the favor of Queen Elizabeth I.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
‘Three Weeks in December,’ by Audrey Schulman
Audrey Schulman’s novel follows the expeditions of two unusual Americans.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Crime: ‘What It Was,’ by George Pelecanos, and Other New Crime Novels
Characters from two series of novels cross paths in George Pelecanos’s “What It Was.”... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
‘Gathering of Waters,’ by Bernice L. McFadden
This novel draws upon the 1927 Mississippi River flood and the death of Emmett Till.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
‘Norumbega Park,’ by Anthony Giardina
A family pursues the American dream in Anthony Giardina’s novel.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Paperback Row
Paperback books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Editors’ Choice
Recently reviewed books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Rebecca remake in the works
DreamWorks and Working Title plan new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel, made famous by Hitchcock's 1940 filmA new film version of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel, Rebecca, is in the works, according to Variety. The classic mystery, which... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Buffy's choice: Joss Whedon gets political
With Planned Parenthood controversy 'a hot button issue', Vampire Slayer torn over pregnancySpoiler alertVoices arguing for a woman's right to choose in America's anguished debate over abortion have discovered an unexpected ally: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Damien Bona, Creator of ‘Inside Oscar,’ Dies at 56
Mr. Bona, along with Mason Wiley, wrote an encyclopedic, usually affectionate but sometimes acerbic guide called “Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards.”... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 10 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank,’ Stories by Nathan Englander
There is a dark undertow to many of Nathan Englander’s stories, reminding us of the human capacity for evil and appetite for revenge.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 9 February, 2012
Amazon Publishing bookshop boycott grows
Independent booksellers join Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Canadian chain Indigo in refusing to stock retail giant's own booksThe cold war between north American booksellers and Amazon has hotted up this week, with the booksellers joining together to announce that... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 9 February, 2012
Lemony Snicket to publish a series of autobiographical accounts
A Series of Unfortunate Events author to launch autobiographical All the Wrong Questions sequence this autumnAfter winning the hearts of millions of children around the world with his investigations into the adventures of the Baudelaire orphans, Lemony Snicket is now... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 9 February, 2012
James Joyce children's story The Cats of Copenhagen gets first publication
Originally written for his grandson, 1936 tale issued in limited edition of 200 copies amid controversy over copyrightA children's story by James Joyce has been published for the first time ever by a small press in Ireland.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 9 February, 2012
John Sargent, Former Doubleday President, Dies at 87
Mr. Sargent oversaw the expansion of a modest-size family-controlled book publisher into an industry giant with interests extending into broadcasting and baseball.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 9 February, 2012
Katherine Boo on Her Book ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’
Katherine Boo, the author of “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity,” lets a story of poverty tell itself.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 9 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Once Upon a Secret’: Mimi Alford on Her Affair With Kennedy
Mimi Alford tells the story of her affair with President John F. Kennedy in “Once Upon a Secret.”... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Would you like to be a book prize judge?
The Royal Society is on the look out for some science-savvy youth groups to join them in judging the 2012 Young people's book prizeDo you enjoying reading books about the world of science? If you're a member of a reading... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Self-published ebook author becomes Amazon's top seller
Kerry Wilkinson's Jessica Daniel detective novels sell more than 250,000 copies on KindleA self-published author has beaten names including Lee Child, James Patterson and Stieg Larsson to become the bestselling ebook author on Amazon for the last three months of... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Children's Books: Even Crocodiles Get the Blues
In new picture books, one crocodile stands out in workaday Oslo; another watches as other species disappear from the wild.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
John Christopher, Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 89
Mr. Christopher was author of the “Tripods” trilogy among many other books under many other names.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Western canon to be rewritten as three-volume graphic novel
Robert Crumb and Will Eisner among 130 illustrators contributing to 1,344-page condensation of all western – and some oriental – literatureFrom The Epic of Gilgamesh to Infinite Jest via Dante, Dangerous Liaisons and Dubliners, the western canon is set to... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Gatz to deliver every word of The Great Gatsby on West End stage
F Scott Fitzgerald novel in eight hours – play comes to London after sellout runs and ecstatic reviews around the worldAn eight-hour long play looks set to become one of the most talked-about theatrical events of the year when it... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Radio Play Will Honor 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'
Live performances of the play, with a cast that features Phylicia Rashad and Leslie Uggams and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, will be recorded for a planned national broadcast in September.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Ban on same-sex stories in romance competition causes outcry
Romance Writers Ink's 'More than Magic' contest accepts vampires and werewolves but not gay and lesbian talesLove is patient and kind – and strictly between a man and a woman, at least according to an Oklahoma-based romantic writing competition, which... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Bringing Up Bébé,’ a French-Influenced Guide by Pamela Druckerman
In “Bringing Up Bébé,” Pamela Druckerman shares the wisdom of French child rearing that she gleaned from her own experiences as an American mother in Paris.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012
Review of The Hours author's latest book wins inaugural hatchet job award
Michael Cunningham's novel By Nightfall prompted 1,000-word demolition job in Observer by author and critic Adam Mars-JonesHis "killingly fair-minded and viciously funny" review of the Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Cunningham's latest book, By Nightfall, has won novelist and critic Adam... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 7 February, 2012
Voyages: The World of Charles Dickens, Complete With Pizza Hut
Welcome to Dickens World, a peculiar theme park based on the author’s works.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 7 February, 2012
Dickens's 200th birthday celebrated around the world and on the web
Google, Prince Charles, the archbishop of Canterbury and a host of writers and artists join in bicentenary eventsA 24-hour global "readathon", celebrations in two British cities and a special Google Doodle were among the highlights of the bicentenary of Charles... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 7 February, 2012
Literacy problems show Charles Dickens's world persists, says minister
Schools minister Nick Gibb says literacy problems are still 'heavily orientated towards poorest'Poor neighbourhoods in England are still beset by Victorian-era levels of illiteracy, the schools minister has claimed.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 7 February, 2012
Ian Rankin in poetic protest at axing of Janice Forsyth Show
Rebus creator adds doggerel to chorus of protest at BBC Radio Scotland's decision to cut the popular daytime showIan Rankin's most famous creation, Detective Inspector John Rebus, might have taken a more physical approach when squaring off against his enemies,... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 7 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom’ by Stephen R. Platt
In his new book, Stephen R. Platt recounts the 19th-century Taiping conflict in China, perhaps the bloodiest civil war of all time.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Tuesday, 7 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Wendell Berry to Give 2012 Jefferson Lecture
The farmer-writer Wendell Berry is chosen to give the 2012 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, considered the federal government's most prestigious honor for intellectual achievement in the humanities.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 6 February, 2012
John H. Davis, Chronicler of Kennedys and Others, Dies at 82
Mr. Davis’s eight books included tomes on the Kennedys, the Guggenheims, the Gambinos and the Bouviers, to whom he was related.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Monday, 6 February, 2012
Samuel Youd – aka John Christopher – dies aged 89
Brian Aldiss leads tributes to a prolific author – of The Tripods and more than 50 other novels – who 'beat description'British science fiction author Samuel Youd, who wrote the prescient story of environmental disaster The Death of Grass under... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 6 February, 2012
Harrison Ford 'in talks' for Blade Runner sequel
Actor set to reprise role as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's forthcoming follow-up to his 1982 sci-fi classic, reports sayHarrison Ford is lining up to make a surprise return to the role of Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 6 February, 2012
Brent library campaigners denied further closure challenges
Final appeal to supreme court against halving the London borough's libraries provision will not be heardBook lovers up and down the country celebrated National Libraries Day on Saturday – but in the north London borough of Brent the mood was... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 6 February, 2012
French bookshops have novel plan to fight VAT rise
Booksellers hint at a possible 'labelling strike' where they would simply refuse to stick new price tags on booksBehind nine vast window displays of graphic novels, art and politics books, hand-written reviews were tacked to recommended fiction and booksellers greeted... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 6 February, 2012
Ebenezer Scrooge named most popular Dickens character
Penguin Books poll to mark 200th anniversary of author's birth reveals miser from A Christmas Carol as best lovedA cold-hearted miser bullied by ghosts into gaining a conscience has triumphed over a festering, jilted bride and an alcoholic, nihilistic barrister... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Monday, 6 February, 2012
Charles Murray’s ‘Coming Apart: The State of White America’
The political scientist Charles Murray has a new book, “Coming Apart,” which depicts members of white elites as hypocrites living in a bubble and the white working class as succumbing to moral decay.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
Books of The Times: Anne Sebba on Duchess of Windsor, Scotty Bowers on Himself
Anne Sebba looks at the Duchess of Windsor in a new biography; Scotty Bowers’s memoir reveals Hollywood’s sexual secrets.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
Sunday Routine | Nathan Englander: For Nathan Englander, Sunday Is a Day to Roam and Write
For Nathan Englander, the novelist, short-story writer and soon-to-be playwright, Sundays are about spending quality time with his girlfriend and their puppy in Brooklyn.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
Fidel Castro launches memoirs in Havana
Former Cuban president makes rare appearance to present 1,000-page book, Guerrilla of Time, charting his rise to powerFidel Castro has made a rare public appearance to launch his memoirs.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
On Baseball: Far From a Storybook Ending, a So-So Pitcher Turns the Page
The best writer in a baseball uniform, Dirk Hayhurst pitched briefly for the 2008 San Diego Padres and the 2009 Toronto Blue Jays, and is now leaving the country to play and write in Italy.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
Gandhi clan scours India's largest state for votes among Muslims and outcast
The Congress party of Nehru and Indira Gandhi is accused of sacrificing free speech to make a comeback in India's most populous stateYou can find the Islamic Centre of India in the Aishbagh neighbourhood of the north-eastern city of Lucknow,... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
How a bearded Virginia Woolf and her band of 'jolly savages' hoaxed the navy
Letter to go on sale revealing how Bloomsbury group duped an admiral – but feared fake beards would give them awayOne of the most famous practical jokes in British military history has returned to haunt the Royal Navy – more... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Sunday, 5 February, 2012
Off the Shelf: ‘Strings Attached’ Looks at Incentives and Ethics — Review
Everywhere we turn, we’re being offered incentives to act a certain way. A new book ponders the ethical issues of the incentive culture.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Saturday, 4 February, 2012
Dorothy Gilman, Spy Novelist, Dies at 88
Ms. Gilman was best known for her “Mrs. Pollifax” series of books about a widow who goes to work as a secret agent.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Saturday, 4 February, 2012
‘Stay Awake,’ Stories by Dan Chaon
Dan Chaon’s characters wander between ordinary lives and psychological shadowlands in this collection.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Three Books Explore the Reality Behind the World of ‘Downton Abbey’
Three books explore the true lives behind the fictional world of “Downton Abbey.”... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
‘The Science of Yoga’ Considers the Practice’s Benefits
William J. Broad explores yoga’s winding path and weighs claims about the practice’s benefits.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
‘Da Vinci’s Ghost’ Examines One of the Artist’s Most Famous Images
Toby Lester examines one of the world’s most intriguing drawings.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Tony Judt Reviews His Life’s Journey
In a dialogue with another historian, Tony Judt reviews his life’s journey.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
‘No One Is Here Except All of Us,’ Ramona Ausubel’s Fablelike Novel
In Ramona Ausubel’s fablelike novel, a Romanian village shields itself from the Nazis through sheer force of imagination.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Film Director Neil Jordan’s Novel ‘Mistaken’
Film director Neil Jordan’s fifth novel follows two men who can pass for each other.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
The Letters William S. Burroughs Wrote at the Height of His Success
William Burroughs’s letters from the years of his literary success.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
‘The Night Swimmer,’ by Matt Bondurant
An American couple’s marriage spins out of control after they become proprietors of a moldering Irish local.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Essay: Grand Allusion
Failed allusions produce feelings of betrayal on all sides. Is the speaker a snob or the listener a dolt?... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
What Elizabeth Taylor Did For Women’s Rights
M. G. Lord sees feminist themes in the roles of Elizabeth Taylor.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
‘Immortal Bird,’ Doron Weber’s Lament for His Son
A father describes, and rages at, the loss of his teenage son.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
‘These Dreams of You,’ by Steve Erickson
Through the lens of one household, Steve Erickson’s novel spans history, continents and realities.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Elmore Leonard Returns With ‘Raylan’
U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, now the star of the TV show “Justified,” returns to confront gambling, mining and organ trafficking in Elmore Leonard’s latest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Book Review Podcast: The Real 'Downton Abbey' and the Feminism of Elizabeth Taylor
Judith Newman talks about three books that explore the real-life inspirations for the hit TV series "Downton Abbey."... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Graphic Books Best Sellers: Stan Lee Puts a Sci-Fi Twist on Shakespeare
"Romeo and Juliet: The War," co-written by Stan Lee, enters the hardcover and paperback lists at No. 7.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Notable Authors Give Snail Mail a Boost
Stephen Elliott, Dave Eggers and Mary Robinette Kowal are among the authors looking to revive the art of writing letters.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Bridget Jones's Baby due date pushed back
Working Title still expected to deliver third instalment in series despite concerns over the scriptThe third instalment in the Bridget Jones series, Bridget Jones's Baby, has run into script problems resulting in a delay to the start of production, according... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Up Front
Judith Newman’s interest in worlds that clearly divide the public and private.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Paperback Row
Paperback books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Editors’ Choice
Recently reviewed books of particular interest.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
TBR: Inside the List
A book about JFK falls off the list, but RoseMarie Terenzio’s “Fairy Tale Interrupted,” about her years as John F. Kennedy Jr.’s executive assistant, enters the nonfiction hardcover list at No. 8.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Paul Auster hits back at Turkish PM
After Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the novelist 'ignorant', Auster reiterates protest against country's free speech prohibitionsAmerican novelist Paul Auster has hit back after the Turkish prime minister described him as "an ignorant man".... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 3 February, 2012
James Patterson dominates library lending, with 2.3m loans in 2011
Author takes five places on PLR's top 10 most-borrowed books, with remainder also thrillers and mysteriesWith book lovers up and down the country branding library closures criminal, perhaps the stranglehold crime fiction continues to hold on borrowers' hearts should be... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 3 February, 2012
National Library Day marks a year of protests against library closures
Campaigners have saved some libraries from closure, and an inquiry begins next week – but councils are now under greater financial pressure than ever to cut servicesIn the 12 months since a surge of public protest against proposed library closures... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Friday, 3 February, 2012
Books of The Times: Christopher Bram’s ‘Eminent Outlaws,’ on American Gay Writers
Christopher Bram’s book is a critical and biographical survey of America’s gay writers in the second half of the 20th century.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Does Siri Speak the Language of Love? A New Book Investigates
Blue Rider Press has acquired "Siri & Me," a new work of fiction by David Milgrim, about a 29-year-old writer and blogger who falls in love with the woman living inside his iPhone.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
Wislawa Szymborska, Nobel-Winning Polish Poet, Dies at 88
Ms. Szymborska was a gentle and reclusive Polish poet who won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
Dorothea Tanning, surrealist artist, dies aged 101
Tanning was the last living member of the surrealist movement, wife of Max Ernst and published her first novel at the age of 94The artist Dorothea Tanning has died in New York aged 101. She was the last living member... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
Wislawa Szymborska, 'Mozart of poetry', dies aged 88
Polish president joins tributes to Nobel prize-winner, calling her the country's 'guardian spirit'Polish poet and Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska, whose beguilingly simple, playful poems spoke to the heart of everyday life, died yesterday aged 88.... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
Currents | Books: New Books on Homes, From Modest to Palatial
The handmade house, doughty and particular, is being celebrated in three new books.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
Books of The Times: ‘In Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age,’ by Patricia Cohen
In her new book, Patricia Cohen charts the invention and evolution of middle age and considers what the concept means today.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Thursday, 2 February, 2012
Samuel S. Vaughan, Publisher and Author, Dies at 83
Mr. Vaughan, known for a decorous manner and democratic instincts, worked with a wide range of writers, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, William F. Buckley Jr. and Fannie Flagg.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Real-life Charles Dickens characters traced
Historian finds many of literature's best-known names in the London streets of Dickens's teenage yearsBill Sikes and Scrooge are among the most well-known characters in English literature but rather than being figments of Charles Dickens's imagination, their names were derived... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Turkish PM criticises US writer Paul Auster over human rights comments
Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacks Auster, who said he would not visit Turkey in protest at its jailing of journalistsTurkey's prime minister has hit back at American writer Paul Auster, who was quoted as saying that he would not visit the... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
The Reader author sues the Weinstein Company over film payments
Bernhard Schlink, whose 1995 novel was turned into a film starring Kate Winslet, claims he has not received a penny from the studioThe Reader was one of the critical smashes of 2008, broke the $100m mark at the global box... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Children's Books: Children in Paris
Two charming picture books follow kids on adventures in France.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
ArtsBeat: Paul Auster Responds After Turkish Prime Minister Calls Him 'an Ignorant Man'
The novelist Paul Auster said in an interview that he would not visit Turkey because of its jailing of writers and journalists, which prompted a mocking response from the Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
DC Comics Plans Prequels to Watchmen Series
Before Watchmen, telling the histories of the crime fighters featured in Watchmen, is set to start this summer, even if Alan Moore isn’t happy about it.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Writers bid to revive letter-writing
Famous names including Dave Eggers are offering to write letters to subscribers on a weekly basisA gentlemanly riposte to email is being launched by the literary world as Dave Eggers heads a group of authors who are turning instead to... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Paulo Coelho calls on readers to pirate books
Multimillion-selling author links with Pirate Bay, saying 'the more people "pirate" a book, the better'Bestselling Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho is joining in with a new promotion on the notorious file-sharing site the Pirate Bay, and calling on "pirates of the... More...
From: Books: Books + News | guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Frank Cioffi, Philosopher and Critic of Freud, Dies at 83
Mr. Cioffi’s scathing critique of Sigmund Freud’s work was one of the opening salvos in the bitter debate in recent decades over the legitimacy of psychoanalytic theories.... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
Media Decoder Blog: Barnes & Noble Won't Sell Books From Amazon Publishing
Barnes & Noble will not sell Amazon's books in its store to protest Amazon's continued "push for exclusivity with publishers, agents and the authors they represent."... More...
From: NYT > Books
Wednesday, 1 February, 2012
