Jack Vance, Unsung Giant of US Fiction

David Guterson, for an Oedipus-like shower scene in 'Ed King'

(NEWSER) - Ron Charles of the Washington Post wins the prognosticator award among book critics. When he reviewed (and panned) David Guterson's novel Ed King, he took note of one part: "What follows are three pages that might very well win the Literary Review’s annual Bad Sex Award." Well, that award came out today, and ... congratulations, Mr. Guterson (who is also the Snow Falling on Cedars author). The UK publication singled out Guterson's modern version of Oedipus Rex for a lengthy scene in which the main character has some intimate moments in the shower with, yes, his mother, reports the BBC . More»

Stephen King, Christopher Hitchens make the cut

(NEWSER) - If you need a book recommendation for holiday reading, look no further than the New York Times ' list of the 10 best books of the year. Five are fiction and five non-fiction:

• 11/22/63 by Stephen King: A time portal sends an English teacher back to 1958 to try and stop Lee Harvey Oswald. King reflects "on questions of memory, fate, and free will as he richly evokes midcentury America."
• Swamplandia! By Karen Russell: "Exuberantly inventive language" marks this story of "a heroine who is wise beyond her years" as she tries to preserve her family's way of life. Also, an alligator theme park is involved.

Spenser, Jesse Stone live on despite death of Robert B. Parker

(NEWSER) - The two most famous creations of late crime novelist Robert B. Parker will live on. His estate will allow two writers to continue the Spenser and Jesse Stone novels, reports Publishers Weekly . Michael Brandman will take over the Spenser series, which debuted in 1974 and now number 39. Ace Atkins gets the Jesse Stone novels (1997, nine tomes). Meanwhile, the last novel Parker completed before his death last year, Sixhill, will be released next month, notes the AP . More»

Lead character based on man who later killed his mother

(NEWSER) - A Florida man confessed to killing his mother in the same fashion as a recently published novel describes: by beating her, cutting her open, and removing her inner organs. And the author of the novel admits that he based his main character partially on his friend, Beau Bruneau, 29—the man now accused of murdering his mother on Oct. 30. "It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence," Patrick Quéré tells the Miami Herald . "It took me a while to really believe it." More»

Fiction and nonfiction will be ranked early next year

(NEWSER) - E-books are gaining sales and credibility: The New York Times will add two e-book bestseller lists, fiction and nonfiction, beginning next year. The company has been working on a system to track and verify sales for two years, using weekly data from publishers, bookstores, and online retailers. “It was clear that e-books were taking a greater and greater share of total sales,” says an editor; sales in the first nine months of 2010 were up almost 190% from the same period of 2009, and are expected to climb to 25% of total trade sales within the next few years. More»