Oprah's Book Pick: Sawtelle

Jonathan Franzen's 'Freedom' lands coveted book club slot

(NEWSER) - Nine years after Oprah Winfrey chose Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections for her book club, and the "uncomfortable" novelist talked his way out of appearing on her show, he's getting another chance, reports the New York Post . The media magnate's people won't confirm the Oprah's Book Club selection—likely the last, because her show is ending —but multiple booksellers tell the AP the highly touted Freedom will get the nod tomorrow. More»

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(NEWSER) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:

• TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey.
• Books: The Da Vinci Code for singlehandedly sustaining the book industry, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for blazing the trail of combining geek lit with high lit.

Nigerian author writes about African children

(AP) - Oprah Winfrey has blessed the book world's eternal underdog: the short story. Publishing's surest hitmaker yesterday picked Uwem Akpan's debut collection, Say You're One Of Them, guaranteeing sales generally unthinkable for short stories beyond works by Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever and other giants of the art form. Akpan, 38, is a native of Nigeria and an ordained Jesuit priest whose work is set in Nigeria, Rwanda, and other African countries and often centers on children in distress. More»

Cheaper books lose 'second-best' reputation

(NEWSER) - With customers watching their wallets, publishers are pinning their hopes this year on trade paperback books—not super-cheap mass-market paperbacks, but not hardcovers either, USA Today reports. And critics and authors who once disdained the format are warming to it. “I realized that I really want as many people to read the book as possible,” said one first-time novelist. More»

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 the past two decades, the New York Times reports. More»