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New Zagat Guide Gives Dating Advice

(Newser) - Zagat has issued a new guide—not to dining, but to dating and dumping in the big city, the New York Times reports. The survey of residents in New York, Los Angeles, and other cities says:
  • Blind dates: Just 2% considered them a good way to meet partners. Mutual friends
...

In Tough Times, People Dust Off the Library Card

Even amid budget cuts, the institutions are expanding offerings

(Newser) - As the economy lightened wallets last year, people in search of jobs and entertainment turned to a long-lost concept called a library, reports the Washington Post, spiking DC-area circulation by 23% in the last half of 2008. And although budget cuts are hitting libraries hard, they're still finding ways to...

Swayze, Wife Penning Memoirs
 Swayze, Wife Penning Memoirs 
Jan 23, 2009 10:03 AM CST

Swayze, Wife Penning Memoirs

(Newser) - Just one week since being released from the hospital after a bout with pneumonia, Patrick Swayze has announced he's writing a book, E! reports. The actor will collaborate on his memoirs with his wife of 33 years, Lisa. Even before his battle with pancreatic cancer, Swayze’s life was book-worthy,...

McGwire's One-Eyed Brother Plugs Tell-All Book

Jay claims he introduced Mark to steroids, but having trouble finding a publisher

(Newser) - Mark McGwire’s less-successful, one-eyed, bodybuilding brother Jay has written a tell-all book claiming he introduced the slugger to steroids. There’s just one problem: so far, no one’s willing to publish it. But Deadspin got its hands on the manuscript, and can share its juiciest tidbits (no pun...

Palin Hires Superagent for Book, TV Deal

Alaska guv enlists superstar attorney

(Newser) - Sarah Palin was notably absent from the capital during the inauguration but she's been busy hiring high-profile DC attorney Robert Barnett to help her score a book deal. Barnett is known for brokering a book for Barack Obama, as well as both Bill and Hillary Clinton, and he is now...

Obama Speeches Teach English, Hope to Japanese

Dem's speeches good for language-learners, more inspiring than local pols'

(Newser) - The Japanese version of Amazon.com features an unlikely bestseller: the collected speeches of Barack Obama, with Japanese translation and accompanying CD, Reuters reports. Obama’s inspiring but straightforward rhetoric is perfect for teaching English in a country that hankers to learn the language. He “uses words such as...

Publishers Rush to Meet Need for Financial Advice

Bevy of new books strikes more somber, conservative tone

(Newser) - Book publishers and sellers are rushing to meet demand for personal-finance titles as the unrelenting economic crisis combines with New Year’s resolutions to prompt consumers to seek professional advice, the Wall Street Journal reports. However, the thrown-together texts might not prove very helpful: Many authors fail to provide specifics...

Aussie Writer Gets 3 Years for Thai Insult

Self-published book that sold 7 copies dissed the monarchy

(Newser) - An Australian writer has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for insulting Thailand’s monarchy in one passage of a self-published book, the BBC reports. Tough “lese-majeste” laws shield Thailand’s monarchy from criticism and led to Harry Nicolaides’ arrest as he was leaving the country. He pleaded...

Vonnegut Protégé Will Share His Wisdom

Ex-lover plans volume of late writer's letters

(Newser) - Aspiring novelists, Kurt Vonnegut has some advice for you: “Write a play.” It’s easier. That, and other nuggets of wisdom, will be available for the first time when Vonnegut’s private correspondence with one of his students is published in April, the New York Post reports. Loree...

More Americans Reading Fiction: NEA

Study indicates literary decline might be reversing

(Newser) - The percentage of Americans reading fiction has increased for the first time in years, a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts indicates. The reported 50.2% of the population who picked up a book for pleasure marks a turnaround from a statistical decline in literary culture over...

462 Books a Year? No Big Deal for One Critic

LA Times critic explains her incredible literary appetite.

(Newser) - Determined to read more this year? Critic and columnist Sarah Weinman may be able to help, if her standard doesn't intimidate: She plowed through 462 titles last year. "I read a page not necessarily word by word,” she tells the Los Angeles Times, “but by capturing pages...

Diet Books for a Skinny 2009
 Diet Books for a Skinny 2009 
Jan 10, 2009 5:11 AM CST

Diet Books for a Skinny 2009

Menu: Lemon juice, meditation, and a lunchbox of meat

(Newser) - Another year, another diet book. What's new? The Wall Street Journal dishes the skinny—and the zany—for 2009:
  • I Can Make You Thinner, Paul McKenna: Train your brain to only eat when hungry (hypnosis cd included).
  • The Lemon Juice Diet, Teresa Cheung: The initial recipe—lemon juice, water, maple
...

Barbie's Secret: Creator Was Kinky Swinger

New book looks at man behind the doll

(Newser) - If you always thought Barbies were a little creepy, this might be why. The doll's creator was a "full-blown seventies-style swinger" with "a manic need for sexual gratification," a new book reveals. Jack Ryan, who was once married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, held orgies at his LA...

Fake Holocaust Memoir May See Light as Novel

Henry Rosenblatt working to find outlet for disgraced story

(Newser) - Herman Rosenblat’s Holocaust memoir was exposed as fake, but that doesn’t mean no one can profit off it: A small New York press is considering publishing the work as fiction, Gawker reports. Rosenblat, who even fooled Oprah a la James Frey, spun a touching but debunked story about...

Need a Blurb? Meet the Usual Suspects
Need a Blurb?
Meet the Usual Suspects
OPINION
Jan 7, 2009 5:43 PM CST

Need a Blurb? Meet the Usual Suspects

New writers' book jackets reveal the top 10 lazy comparisons

(Newser) - Blurbs for hot new writers' books unfailingly liken them to a handful of known quantities, Chris Rovzar observes in New York. Here are some of the most-abused blurb comparisons:
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald or Edith Wharton. Writing about crumbling, decadent high society? "If you're a boy, you're Scott; if you're
...

Laura Bush Lands Memoir Deal
 Laura Bush Lands Memoir Deal 
Jan 6, 2009 8:20 AM CST

Laura Bush Lands Memoir Deal

First lady signs deal to write White House memoir

(Newser) - Laura Bush has signed on with Scribner to share her take on the Bush years with the world, Politico reports. The first lady is being paid a sum believed to be between $3.5 million and $5 million, reports the Wall Street Journal, and will offer a "candid and...

Borders Cans Top Brass After Dismal Holiday Season

Bookseller reports 12% drop over '07, replaces CEO, others

(Newser) - Borders will immediately restructure top management to counter a steep slide in sales, the Ann Arbor News reports. CEO George Jones has been replaced with Ron Marshall, a turnaround expert with book experience. Other top spots were shuffled to veterans of the Michigan-based company. The bookseller announced today that its...

Web Novels Let Readers Drive the Plot

Weekly installments end with a choice

(Newser) - Fantasy fans who’d like a role in the action can turn to literature’s latest incarnation: the online Web-novel, or wovel, NPR reports. Readers can click and read a chapter each week. Then, “at the end of every installment, there's a binary plot branch point with a vote...

Publisher Yanks Kid Spinoff of Holocaust Fake

Refunds offered for picture book based on hoax love story

(Newser) - Publishers are now pulling a picture book inspired by a Holocaust love story revealed to be a fake, Publishers Weekly reports. Lerner Publishing has announced it will cancel reprints of Angel Girl and offer refunds for returned copies. Herman Rosenblat's memoir Angel on the Fence was canceled by another publisher...

Minneapolis, Seattle Top List of Most Literate Cities

Read all about it

(Newser) - New York may be America's cultural capital, but Seattle and Minneapolis top the list as the nation's most literate cities, reports LiveScience.  The rankings are based on newspaper, magazine, and online news readership, library usage, book purchases, and educational levels. The two cities also topped the list last year....

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