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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: literature

literature stories: 138 news summaries

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Readers Hurt
by Paper Cuts

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

Sep 3, 07 4:40 PM CDT
(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... More »

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newspaper • literature • reading • book reviews • book • print journalism

Writer Grace Paley Dies at 84

'Neurotically Anti-Authoritarian' Activist and Author Gave Voice to Women of Native Bronx

Aug 23, 07 6:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Acclaimed writer and activist Grace Paley, who in only three collections of short stories gave earthy voice to the interior life of the Bronx Everywoman, died yesterday at age 84 in her Vermont home, the Los Angeles Times reports. Paley—whose sensibility admirer Philip Roth called "splendidly comic... More »

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breast cancer • feminism • obituary • literature • writer • Grace Paley • Rea Award • activist • Iraq war

Liberals Read More than Conservatives

Right-wingers shun nuance for slogans, publisher says

Aug 21, 07 5:36 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Karl Rove • conservative • literature • liberals • book

Harry Potter and the Murdered Heiress?

Rumor has JK Rowling writing crime novel

Aug 19, 07 12:27 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Harry Potter • Scotland • JK Rowling • fiction • literature • heiress • author • Edinburgh • book

Sacre Bleu! Harry Potter Translator Pinched

Teen suspected in illicit French version

Aug 8, 07 8:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - A French boy suspected of posting a translation of the latest Harry Potter novel was arrested Monday, the AP reported today. The 16-year-old didn't appear to have financial gain in mind, a prosecutor said—with the French version not due until October, "he just wanted to get the book... More »

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Harry Potter • intellectual property • France • literature • book • teenager

Surrealist Simic Named Poet Laureate

15th national bard known for his dark humor and irony

Aug 2, 07 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Charles Simic, a surrealist poet whose style gleams with dark imagery and ironic humor, will be named the United States' 15th poet laureate today. The 69-year-old, who replaces fellow New Hampshirite Donald Hall, has published more than 20 volumes of poetry as well as essay collections, translations and a memoir. More »

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literature • Pulitzer Prize • humor • America • Charles Simic • poet laureate • poetry • irony • creative writing • Yugoslavia • Library of Congress

'Mommy Lit' Taps Motherlode of Frustration

Reviewer rips popular portraits of female mediocrity

Aug 2, 07 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Slate reviewer Katie Roiphe dresses down the entire emerging "Mommy Lit" genre in her caustic feminist review of the Brit bestseller "Slummy Mummy." Roiphe says she doesn't have a problem with light summer page-turners, but she takes issue with the novel's celebration of frumpy female mediocrity.... More »

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feminism • women • literature • mothers • chick lit • Mommy Lit • Slummy Mummy • Fiona Neill • book

What CEOs Read Before They Lead

Business leaders find refuge and resource in luxury book collections

Jul 22, 07 1:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scanning the personal libraries of CEOs, tech gurus and venture geniuses reveals not only what they read but how they think, the Times reports. The well-heeled have taken to housing their exorbitant collections in luxurious, custom-built, private spaces. And if you read between the lines, the literature tends to reflect... More »

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Steve Jobs • CEO • business • literature • reading • Michael Milken • Galileo • Machiavelli • Queen Elizabeth I • personal library • libraries • book

10 Books
to Blow
Your Mind

Best takes on psychological journeys, from a British novelist/therapist

Jul 17, 07 1:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sebastian Beaumont, the author of Thirteen, offers his list of books that "blur the boundaries of consensus 'reality' and psychological reality."
  1. Journey to the East, Hermann Hesse
  2. Le Grand Meaulnes, Henri Alain-Fournier
  3. Fight Club, Chuck Palahnuik
  4. Vurt, Jeff Noon
  5. Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse
More »

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literature • list • psychology • Sebastian Beaumont • mind • book

Harry Potter Work$ His Magic

Record orders for boy wizard's final book flood publisher

Jun 29, 07 4:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Advance orders for the final book in the Harry Potter series are up 17% over the last installment, British publisher Bloomsbury reports. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will bring down the curtain on one of the biggest money makers in publishing history  on July 21. The latest Potter... More »

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Harry Potter • JK Rowling • literature • Bloomsbury • publishing • book • movies

FBI Recovers 'Good Earth'  Manuscript

Original typed draft of Pearl Buck's novel was missing since 1966

Jun 27, 07 7:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The manuscript of Pearl S. Buck's "The Good Earth" has turned up at a Philadelphia auction house, having gone missing in 1966. The FBI was called in after the daughter of one of the author's secretaries tried to put it for sale, the AP reports. Buck died in1973, believing... More »

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FBI • literature • stolen manuscript • auction • Pearl S. Buck • The Good Earth • book

Top 10 Online Book Sellers

Forbes picks the best based on selection and buyer experience.

Jun 25, 07 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forbes picks the best based on selection and buyer experience.
  1. abebooks.com
  2. amazon.com
  3. audible.com
  4. bn.com
  5. powells.com
More »

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shopping • literature • list • book • online book

'Potter' Finale Deathly for
Book Business

Final chapter casting spell on readers, but sellers don't feel magic

Jun 25, 07 9:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - The final Harry Potter installment will likely fly off the shelves like a Quidditch player, but retailers are feeling decidedly grounded. Facing megasized hype, chains and websites will sell Harry for cost, leaving independent bookstores practically out of the selling loop. And Business Week reports Scholastic's lodestone is diverting attention... More »

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Harry Potter • profits • literature • Universal Studios • Scholastic • theme park • book • Amazon.com

Texas Builds an Ultimate Archive

Jun 17, 07 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Start with 48 Gutenberg Bibles—yes, count 'em, 48. Move on to the corrected proofs of Joyce's Ulysses and then to part of Kerouac's original manuscript for On the Road.  Then finish up with Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate notes. These items and much, much more are in the Harry... More »

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Watergate • literature • money • Harry Ransom • University of Texas • James Joyce • Jack Kerouac • archive • book

Achebe Wins Booker Prize

Author of
 Things Fall Apart honored for his
 body of work

Jun 13, 07 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, won the Booker International prize, an award given out every two years to recognize a living writer's body of work. The 76-year-old Nigerian is credited with the creation of the modern African novel and is the most translated African author. More »

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fiction • literature • writing • Chinua Achebe • Booker Prize • book

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Genre-defying novelist was voice of more than one generation

Apr 12, 07 9:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most popular novelists of the 20th century, died yesterday at 84 in Manhattan. Defying genres, he wrote on everything from the firebombing of Dresden to alien abduction—and that was just Slaughterhouse-Five. More »

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Kurt Vonnegut • obituary • literature • death • Slaughterhouse Five • book

Novelist Slaps Ex
With $40 Million Suit

Terry McMillan cites extortion in post-divorce mud-slinging contest

Mar 23, 07 10:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bestselling author Terry McMillan filed a $40 million lawsuit Wednesday against her ex-husband Jonathan Plummer, alleging that he conspired to destroy her reputation during their divorce. In the lawsuit McMillan alleges that her "little fag," a.k.a. "common extortionist" ex-husband has threatened her safety after the... More »

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Terry McMillan • divorce • Jonathan Plummer • literature • lawsuit • book

Bombers Strike Baghdad Booksellers

Insurgents hit heart of the Iraqi intellectual scene

Mar 5, 07 5:26 PM CST
(Newser) - A noon car-bomb blast ravaged Baghdad's historic book market, killing dozens of people and wounding over 100. The bomb destroyed many shops, including the venerable Shahbandar cafe, a popular haven for writers. Poet Abdul Baqi Faidhullah said, "Those who did this are like savage machines intent on harvesting souls... More »

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Iraq • Middle East • Baghdad • literature • bombing • Abdul Baqi Faidhullah • Shahbandar cafe

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