Gladwell on Success: It's About Luck

'The Day I Shot Cupid' is a mess, but an entertaining one

(NEWSER) - Jennifer Love Hewitt wrote a book of advice about love, which is just as ridiculous as it sounds. “Here are 10 completely awesome things that happen in this book,” writes Linda Holmes for NPR :

1. Hewitt admits to visiting and trying on her “dream ring” once a month since she was 12. She is now 31. “If this is true, she has made roughly 225 trips to the jewelry store to try on engagement rings. I do not know where to go with this.”
2. Among her recommendations: Make out with a stranger to get over a breakup—but only if he’s “gorgeous”—and always spray tan before a date.

Going Rogue likely to continue trend of hits from right-wing figures

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin’s memoir is expected sell so well that it will singlehandedly boost the fortunes of the ailing book business. The book is already topping preorder lists, and publisher Harper plans an extensive slate of promotional appearances to make full use the former Alaska governor's drawing power. "They may feel one way or another about her, but they will want to read about her," says a Borders exec. More»

Author shifts gears, has fun with a stoner detective in the '60s

(NEWSER) - Thomas Pynchon's back with what appears to be his most accessible novel yet, in the unlikely category of detective fiction. Critics reviewing Inherent Vice say he pulled it off:

• Laura Miller, Salon: It's "a sun-struck, pot-addled shaggy dog story that fuses the sulky skepticism of Raymond Chandler with the good-natured scrappiness of The Big Lebowski." The minimal structure and the genre itself provide "ample cover for Pynchon's literary weaknesses."
• Andy Martin, Independent: "Sun-kissed, psychedelic, and sexually enhanced, Pynchon has re-embodied, re-grooved the soul of the '60s."

Dan Brown, pop musician? And more.

(NEWSER) - Summer's here, and that means it's time for beach reading. Mental Floss compiles some surprising facts about the authors most commonly toted along to the shore:

1. Dan Brown hasn’t spent his whole life pondering Vatican conspiracies: he was also a musician and pop singer. The name of his second album? Angels & Demons.
2. John Grisham left a career as a lawyer to write his bestselling legal thrillers, but he returned in 1996 to represent the family of a railroad brakeman who was killed at work. Grisham won $650,000 for the family.

Book piracy balloons with growth of e-readers

(NEWSER) - A surge in book piracy has followed hot on the heels of the growth in ebooks, the New York Times reports. Publishers trying to stamp out unauthorized editions online say the ease with which books can now be copied online make their efforts little more than a game of "Whac-a-Mole," and hope to learn from the lessons of the heavily pirated music industry. More»