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Wharton Letter Bolsters Suicide Theory

Heroine Lily Bart overdosed deliberately, note implies

(Newser) - A recently-discovered letter by Edith Wharton provides new evidence in The House of Mirth's lingering literary mystery, suggesting that heroine Lily Bart does, in fact, intend to kill herself at the book's end, the New York Times reports. Though the ambiguous text has led many to believe she died of...

Is Our Children Reading?
Is Our Children Reading?
Nov 19, 2007 12:46 PM CST

Is Our Children Reading?

No, and neither are teenagers and adults, new study finds

(Newser) - As far as young people are concerned, books are so 20th century. Reading's popularity has fallen as gadgets have taken over modern life, according to a new National Endowment for the Arts report. Only a third of high school seniors read at a proficient level. “And proficiency is not...

Amazon's E-Book Gamble Gets Big Play

Newsweek looks at changes $399 device could wreak on reading

(Newser) - News that Amazon would debut its new Kindle e-book leaked earlier this week, and a Newsweek cover story has the full hype on what Jeff Bezos and company hope to achieve with it. "This isn't a device, it's a service," Bezos says of of the Kindle, pointing to...

The Greatest Novel Never Read
The Greatest Novel Never Read
Oct 31, 2007 8:10 PM CDT

The Greatest Novel Never Read

Contemporary authors admit to the classics they've never tried—or tried and failed—to read

(Newser) - Just because they're accomplished writers doesn't mean they've made it through Ulysses. Slate asks contemporary authors to confess to the must-read classics they've never read:
  1. Amy Bloom, Moby Dick
  2. Stephen Carter, Harry Potter
  3. Jennifer Egan, Buddenbrooks

Books Help Rwandan Kids Cope After Genocide

Only children's publisher in Rwanda has sold about 450,000 copies of 27 titles

(Newser) - Rwandan kids are coping with life after genocide by reading, says the country's sole children's publisher. "After the genocide, children did not laugh, children did not play. But through language and stories, children can learn cultural history, and learn of our joy of life." Agnes Gyr-Ukunda says he...

Schlesinger's Memoirs Offer Insider View

Late historian's journals brim with candid gossip on politics, culture

(Newser) - From the Roosevelts to the Kennedys, from Groucho to Marilyn, Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s  journals provide a rich treasure of insights into 20th-century American life, says reviewer Jon Meacham in the Washington Post. In one gem, Schlesinger quotes JFK: "I'm perfectly willing to kiss Mrs. Roosevelt's arse; in fact...

10 Girls With Major Magic
10 Girls With Major Magic
Sep 18, 2007 10:24 AM CDT

10 Girls With Major Magic

Don't let the boys have all the fun! Girls can slay dragons too

(Newser) - Chocolat author Joanne Harris will soon publish her first children's book, Runemarks, which follows an adolescent heroine with magical powers. At the Guardian's request, she recommends 10 children's books that feature strong female protagonists:
  1. The Ruby in the Smoke, Philip Pullman
  2. The Black Tattoo, Sam Enthoven
  3. Marianne Dreams, Catherine Storr
...

Mystery of Holocaust Book Unfolds
Mystery of Holocaust Book Unfolds
Sep 17, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Mystery of Holocaust Book Unfolds

Survivor's daughter turns curiosity about inheritance into international quest

(Newser) - Meticulous pen-and-ink representations of the horrors of Dachau, drawn by a Polish Catholic artist who spent most of the war in concentration camps, form the backbone of a unique album that's drawing praise and curiosity from Holocaust scholars. The AP traces the history of the handmade book and the tortured...

Fake Memoir Author Pens Debut Novel
Fake Memoir Author Pens Debut Novel
Sep 13, 2007 2:51 AM CDT

Fake Memoir Author Pens Debut Novel

'A Million Little Pieces' writer James Frey calls it fiction this time

(Newser) - Disgraced author James Frey, whose memoir "A Million Little Pieces" was revealed as fiction last year, will publish a debut novel, "Bright Shiny Morning," with HarperCollins, the Wall Street Journal reports. Frey's fabricated memoir about losing his life to drug addiction sold some 3 million copies and...

Prisoners Sue Over Religious Book Limits

In the wake of post-9/11 crackdown, First Amendment concerns arise

(Newser) - The removal of  hundreds of thousands of  religious books  from federal prison libraries is drawing fire—not just from inmates, but from chaplains and other religious leaders. In the wake of 9/11, the Bureau of Prisons issued an approved list of religious books for institutions it controls, the Times reports,...

A Wrinkle in Time Author Dead at 88

Children's, sci-fi favorite L'Engle wrote 60-plus books

(Newser) - Madeleine L'Engle, author of more than 60 works of science fiction, religious meditation, poetry, drama, and young adult fiction, died yesterday in Connecticut, the New York Times reports. She was 88 years old. Her most famous book, A Wrinkle in Time, has sold more than 6 million copies since its...

Einstein Is Rolling Over in His Grave

Teacher's new book pokes fun at bad science on the silver screen

(Newser) - If science held sway in Hollywood, Earth would have been blasted by a Texas-sized rock in Armageddon and Vin Diesel would have snowboarded for all of .45 seconds before waving a rippled arm goodbye under an avalanche in XXX. Not to mention that there's no sound in space, so bid...

Life Imitates Art: Polish Crime Writer Convicted

Novelist gets 25 years for murder he wrote

(Newser) - The Polish author charged with a gruesome murder similar to one he wrote about in a novel has been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. A Warsaw court found Krystian Bala guilty yesterday after prosecutors demonstrated that his 2003 novel Amok contained information that only the murderer could...

Female Cabbie Takes Readers for Ride in New Blog Book

Life's a gas for hack hooked on NYC streets

(Newser) - A meager 1% of New York City cabbies are women, and now one of them is publishing a book about her strange adventures prowling the streets atop a cushion behind the wheel of her taxi. Melissa Plaut, 32, started hacking three years ago and began tracking the miles in a...

Readers Hurt by Paper Cuts
Readers Hurt
by Paper Cuts
Sep 3, 2007 4:40 PM CDT

Readers Hurt by Paper Cuts

Newspapers dropping book reviews helps confine ideas to a 'literary ghetto'

(Newser) - Newspapers are under financial pressure, and one of the first things to go is often the book reviews. But author and editor Steve Wasserman thinks that's a serious problem. “Civilization is built on a foundation of books,” he declares in a polemic in CJR, and  stripping their pages...

What's Next for Bush?
What's Next for Bush?
Sep 2, 2007 4:37 PM CDT

What's Next for Bush?

'Dead Certain' includes 6 hours of one-on-one interviews with the prez

(Newser) - President Bush is fixated on how history will remember him, a new book about his presidency will reveal Tuesday. Bush was initially coy with journalist Robert Draper, but he finally capitulated to six hour-long interviews in which he slowly lets his guard down. "I've got God's shoulder to cry...

If He Did It, They Won't Push It
If He Did It, They Won't
Push It
Aug 22, 2007 6:24 AM CDT

If He Did It, They Won't Push It

O.J. book won't be on shelves, but Barnes & Noble will sell it online

(Newser) - Barnes & Noble won't put the new edition of O.J. Simpson's controversial near-confessional If I Did It on bookstore shelves, but it will make the book available by special order and online. Rival Borders will stock the book but won't promote it. The divergent decisions reflect the publishing industry's...

The Life and Times of Crystal Meth
The Life and Times of
Crystal Meth
Aug 21, 2007 6:28 PM CDT

The Life and Times of Crystal Meth

A new book traces the drug's history, from panacea to pandemic

(Newser) - Even when it has the word "crystal" in front of it, meth is a downmarket drug, which summons up images of makeshift drug labs in run-down trailer parks. But meth, Salon notes in an essay on Frank Owen's new book, "No Speed Limit," has a rich history...

Liberals Read More than Conservatives

Right-wingers shun nuance for slogans, publisher says

(Newser) - Liberals are more avid readers than conservatives, a new AP-Ipsos poll has discovered. Thirty-four percent of conservatives said they hadn’t read a book in a year, compared with 22% of liberals. A publishing exec and former congressman said that while liberals “can’t say anything in less than...

Harry Potter and the Murdered Heiress?

Rumor has JK Rowling writing crime novel

(Newser) - J.K. Rowling has been spotted writing something in an Edinburgh cafe like the one where she penned the first Harry Potter book, and fellow author Ian Rankin says she's moving in on his territory—crime fiction. Rankin admits he hasn't personally talked to Rowling about her next project; it...

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