How to live when your life is writing
07 Aug 2010 23:29:44
This is a story of Howard Jacobson life who says that awards don’t bothered him. "You just take no notice of them, really," he says. His intense, cerebral comedies, which gnaw away at his Anglo-Jewish identity, the convolutions of the male mind and the battle of the sexes, his extravagant praise have won over the years. But this esteem has yet to be fully cashed in at award ceremonies – and the novel The Finkler Question, the new one. This story is about two old friends, one recently widowed, i... Read Full Story
Travel planning just got easier — and more fun
06 Aug 2010 18:45:32
One of the best parts of travel happens before leaving home: reading books, checking out websites and watching programs about your destination.
Months before a vacation, I pore over travel guides and ponder possible itineraries. I pester my husband with questions.
Should we do the Amalfi Coast hike, or spend a night in Capri? Is there a production going on at the Naples Opera House? Is Pompeii worth a second visit?
The planning and research usually reaches a fever pitch on the plane. I gener... Read Full Story
Richard Price doesn't have a title yet for his next novel
06 Aug 2010 18:40:26
The author of "Clockers" and "Freedomland" will publish under the name Jay Morris for a planned series of detective thrillers set in New York City. Publisher Henry Holt and Company announced Thursday that the first book is scheduled for fall 2011.
Pseudonyms are a publishing tradition, a well-used sleight of hand, whether Nora Roberts writing some books as J.D. Robb or Ruth Rendell at times calling herself Barbara Vine.
Price says in a statement: "This, God save me, should be fun."
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Castro book describes rebel shaped by childhood
06 Aug 2010 18:38:25
Cuba's iconic former leader Fidel Castro says his childhood struggle against unjust authority turned him into a rebel and revolutionary, in extracts of his upcoming autobiography published online Thursday by Cubadebate.com.
"I wasn't born a politician, although as a young child I observed events that were seared in my mind and helped me understand the world's realities," said Castro in "The Strategic Victory," one week before his 84th birthday.
Four years after stepping down as president to un... Read Full Story
Review Novel about search for Pluto fails to soar
06 Aug 2010 02:45:00
Michael Byers' timing is good for a book about Pluto. The release of "Percival's Planet" coincides with the 80th anniversary of Pluto's discovery, and comes just four years after the International Astronomical Union made headlines worldwide by demoting it to the status of dwarf planet.
Byers is the author of two previous books, the well-regarded story collection "The Coast of Good Intentions" and the novel "Long for This World," a family saga and medical drama that continues to deserve a wider ... Read Full Story
NY library to honor Steve Martin for gift of ideas
06 Aug 2010 02:44:22
The actor-author-playwright was among five Library Lions announced Wednesday by the New York Public Library. Also cited were actor-author Ethan Hawke, authors Malcolm Gladwell and Zadie Smith and New York Public Library President Paul LeClerc.
The winners were chosen based on "their contributions to the world of ideas." They will be honored Nov. 1 at a black-tie gala.
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`Smart Swarm' Working together in smart groups
06 Aug 2010 02:43:46
A variety of termite in southwest Africa's Namibia — each specimen about a quarter-inch long — is not concerned with chewing at houses, though it does like eating wood. It builds mounds 10 feet high or more, with a system of natural air conditioning that may one day keep your house cool with no increase in your summer electricity bills.
Turbulent winds enter the mounds, where a system of tunnels and chambers drains moisture and carbon dioxide from them. Worker termites have built the system by ... Read Full Story
England's first 2 ruling queens focus of new books
04 Aug 2010 17:58:15
While Henry VIII has received a romantic makeover with the 2008 film, "The Other Boleyn Girl," and Showtime's "The Tudors," his daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, are the subject of a new novel and two biographies.
Elizabeth, Henry's daughter by Anne Boleyn, was the last of his three children to assume the throne and is well-known as one of England's longest ruling and best-loved monarchs. During her nearly 45-year reign, England established itself as the world's leading naval power with the defeat... Read Full Story
Chinese author to publish book critical of premier
04 Aug 2010 17:57:45
Author Yu Jie said his new book aims to show the vast difference between the prim premier's image and his hard-line policies. "China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao" will be published this month in Hong Kong despite police threats he could be put in prison, the author said.
"This is a completely deceptive way to speak to people," Yu said in an interview Wednesday.
The soft-spoken Yu, 36, was a best-selling author before his books were banned in China not long after Wen became premier in 2003. Yu help... Read Full Story
Barnes & Noble the world's largest brick and mortar
04 Aug 2010 17:56:46
Barnes & Noble shares soared 27 percent. The company's founder and top shareholder Leonard Riggio told the board he would consider being part of a wider investor group that could buy the company.
Billionaire investor Ron Burkle has also shown interest in the company, boosting his stake in recent months and suing the bookseller for preventing him from buying a controlling interest.
Forrester analyst James McQuivey said the potential bid by Riggio could signal that hard decisions needed to be ma... Read Full Story
Arriving in time for Christmas: the Stieg Larsson boxed set
03 Aug 2010 21:39:54
The late Swedish author's multimillion-selling Millennium trilogy will be released in a cased set Nov. 26. It will feature hardcovers of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and its two successors, a collection of essays about Larsson and e-mails between Larsson and his editor in Sweden.
The release was announced Monday by publisher Alfred A. Knopf. The set has a list price of $99.
The trilogy stars a tattooed computer hacker and journalist who get entangled in murder mysteries, sex trafficking s... Read Full Story
'Smart Angel' Kate Jackson writing memoir
03 Aug 2010 21:38:48
Gallery Books said Tuesday that "Charlie's Angels" star Kate Jackson will look back on her acting career and her personal crises and triumphs, from surviving breast cancer to adopting a boy.
The book, currently untitled, is scheduled for June 2011. Gallery is an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
In the 1970s, Jackson starred with Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith on the hit TV series "Charlie's Angels
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