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Critic John Leonard Dead at 69
 Critic John Leonard Dead at 69 
Nov 6, 2008 4:15 PM CST

Critic John Leonard Dead at 69

Lung cancer claims Vonnegut's 'smartest man who ever lived'

(Newser) - Critic and author John Leonard died last night after a long battle with cancer. Leonard, whom Kurt Vonnegut once called "the smartest man who ever lived," was 69. A brilliant but not flashy stylist, an unapologetic liberal, and a mentor to countless younger writers, Leonard worked at various...

Crichton Was Master Craftsman
 Crichton Was Master Craftsman 
appreciation
Nov 5, 2008 5:30 PM CST

Crichton Was Master Craftsman

(Newser) - Michael Crichton's seemingly endless output may not be literature (a statement the late Crichton himself might take issue with), but don't discount the "fine craftsmanship" they entailed, writes Charles McGrath in the New York Times. From Andromeda Strain to Jurassic Park, his "intricately engineered entertainment systems" relied on...

Edwards' Mistress Planning Tell-All

Fearing 'hush money' will dry up, Rielle Hunter turns to book deal $

(Newser) - John Edwards' former mistress is writing a tell-all book because she fears her "hush money" will dry up, reports the New York Daily News in a rundown of the National Enquirer's latest scoop on the fallen-from-grace Dem. An enterprising Enquirer reporter is said to have stolen one of her...

Bin Laden Book to Counter 'Negative Propaganda'

Elusive terrorist reportedly penning book to set record straight on al-Qaeda

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden is reportedly working on a book to counter “negative propaganda and insufficient information” about al-Qaeda, ADN Kronos International reports. The rumored work, written in Arabic and to be translated into English, will be called Nidal, or Struggle. A “young man with a Middle Eastern background”...

Google Settles Lawsuit Over Book Scanning for $125M

Settlement will make it easier to access out-of-print books

(Newser) - Google has settled a lawsuit concerning intellectual property rights in its book-scanning initiative, Wired reports. Google will pay $125 million to authors who claimed their work was put online without their consent. The settlement also establishes a system where many out-of-print, but still copyrighted, books will be available to buy...

Mystery Writer Tony Hillerman Dead at 83

Penned police novels infused with Navajo culture

(Newser) - Bestselling author Tony Hillerman died yesterday at 83 of pulmonary failure, the AP reports. He was known for his mystery novels, which featured two Navajo policemen with distinct views on their people, constantly balancing the Navajo world with the Anglo one. A onetime journalist, he found success with Skinwalkers in...

Investigators Track Nazis' Looted Books

A million plundered volumes are still on German library shelves

(Newser) - A handful of determined librarians are trying to reunite books stolen by the Nazis with their owners or their families, Der Spiegel reports. Experts believe at least a million such books are still on the shelves of libraries across Germany. Many carry a 'J' inscribed by Nazi-era librarians to indicate...

Can't Talk to Girls? 9-Year-Old Has Advice

Soon-to-be-published Greven offers helpful hints on handling the opposite sex

(Newser) - A 9-year-old Colorado boy garnered national attention—and a two-book publishing deal—after penning answers to that age-old mystery: how to talk to girls. Alec Greven offers some helpful hints on the opposite sex via the Christian Science Monitor.
  • Forget the “pretty girl”—one who favors fancy earrings
...

Author Unlocks Secret of Youth
 Author Unlocks Secret of Youth 
NEW RELEASE
Oct 15, 2008 5:45 PM CDT

Author Unlocks Secret of Youth

(Newser) - After a year tracking the American obsession with looking younger, veteran journalist Beth Teitell reached a sobering conclusion: "Age is the new fat." But the author of the newly released book Drinking Problems at the Fountain of Youth kept her head and her sense of humor. Teitell,...

Denis Leary: Autistic Kids Are 'Just Stupid'

Comedian's caustic book says disorder is all in parents' heads

(Newser) - Denis Leary is not a sensitive man. His new book, Why We Suck, seems bound to offend people, the New York Post reports, particularly autistic people. Leary asserts that autism is booming because parents “want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can’t compete academically,” so they...

Indian Author Adiga Wins Booker Prize for White Tiger

(Newser) - Indian author Aravind Adiga has won the UK's prestigious Man Booker Prize for his debut novel the White Tiger, the Guardian reports. Adiga's novel explores the darker side of India's rise to prosperity through its narrator, the son of a rickshaw puller who escapes crushing poverty. "In many ways...

Death Takes a Holiday in Saramago's Latest
Death Takes a Holiday in Saramago's Latest
BOOK REVIEW
Oct 10, 2008 6:24 AM CDT

Death Takes a Holiday in Saramago's Latest

Author of Blindness deals with death in new novel

(Newser) - The premise of Jose Saramago’s Death With Interruptions seems a bit cutesy at first, with a Buffy-esque Grim Reaper deciding to take some time off her job, writes Shannon McBeen in Radar. But as Saramago explores the ramifications of universal immortality, he manages to transform “the admittedly weak...

Kenya Deports Author of Obama Nation

Immigration nabs Jerome Corsi ahead of book launch

(Newser) - The author of the bestselling attack on Barack Obama, The Obama Nation, is being deported from Kenya for lacking the right working papers, the AP reports. Police nabbed Jerome Corsi at his hotel ahead of a book launch. One source said he had been held for accusing the prime minister’...

Now Fey's an Author, Too
 Now Fey's an Author, Too 
Oct 4, 2008 12:33 PM CDT

Now Fey's an Author, Too

Star of SNL , 30 Rock to write a collection of essays

(Newser) - Tina Fey just got a little busier. She's finalized a deal to write a collection of humorous essays for Little, Brown and Company, the New York Observer reports. Fey—currently in the spotlight for her spot-on impersonations of VP wannabe Sarah Palin—reportedly worked out a deal to fund the...

10 Writers Who Turn Books Into Bucks
 10 Writers Who Turn 
 Books Into Bucks 
GLOSSIES
Oct 4, 2008 2:43 AM CDT

10 Writers Who Turn Books Into Bucks

Top earner JK Rowling made $300 million off Potter franchise in past year

(Newser) - So you think people don't read books anymore? Tell that to JK Rowling, No. 1 on Forbes' list of top-earning authors. The woman behind the Harry Potter juggernaut raked in $300 million in the past year, thanks in part to the movies based on her books—which have sold 375...

Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated
 Death of Reading 
 Greatly Exaggerated 
Glossies
Sep 29, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated

Author Eggers pooh-poohs skeptical pundits, says it's 'as alive as ever'

(Newser) - Our bleak outlook on the future of reading owes itself to a doomsday reflex, the pervasive belief that things are bound to get worse, author Dave Eggers writes in Esquire. "It must be true, we think—just yesterday I saw some kid on the bus, and he wasn't reading...

To Blurb or Not to Blurb
 To Blurb or Not to Blurb 
OPINION
Sep 24, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

To Blurb or Not to Blurb

William Leith defends endorsements

(Newser) - Despite a reputation for being over the top, book blurbs are more meaningful than not, writes William Leith in the Guardian. The blurber, as a rule, cannot expect endorsement in return, but he "is flattered to be asked, and wants to score a tiny ad for himself on the...

Women Tower in Buffett's Biography
Women Tower
in Buffett's Biography
Sep 24, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Women Tower in Buffett's Biography

Oracle of Omaha needed 'to be loved and never criticized'

(Newser) - Warren Buffett’s personal life is a lot messier than his balance sheet, according to a biography. In The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life, which hits stores Monday, the Oracle of Omaha for the first time cooperates with a biographer, producing a revealing look at the folksy...

Baldwin Rails on Family Court
 Baldwin Rails on Family Court 
Sep 23, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Baldwin Rails on Family Court

Blames custody battle for "little pig" message to daughter

(Newser) - Fresh off his Emmy win Sunday, Alec Baldwin took his bitter custody battle public yesterday, promoting a new book, A Promise to Ourselves, about his experience divorcing Kim Basinger. He told a crowd of 120 people in San Francisco that it was his anger and frustration over the process that...

10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence
10 Books to Pass Up
With Confidence
Sep 20, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence

Richard Wilson saves us all a bunch of time and effort with a not-reading list

(Newser) - Forget the coma-inducing titles that lit lovers keep telling you to read, Richard Wilson writes in his book, Can’t Be Arsed: 101 Things Not to Do Before You Die. He lists the top 10 clunkers in the Daily Telegraph:
  • Ulysses, James Joyce: notoriously hard, so why bother?
  • Lord
...

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