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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: books

books stories: 10 news summaries

Google Offers Revised
Digital Book Deal

Narrower settlement aimed at overcoming Justice Dept. objections

Nov 14, 09 6:04 AM CST
(AP) - Google offered a compromise deal with authors and publishers late yesterday, in an effort to overcome Justice Department objections to an earlier agreement and clear the way for distribution of millions of digital books online. Two months ago Justice had blocked a settlement in a lawsuit brought by authors and... More »

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Google • Department of Justice • authors • books • digital books • publishers

 Save Money: Join Cult 
 of the Somewhat Delayed 

Live two years in the past and watch your savings grow

Oct 29, 09 1:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Times are tough, and there's only one sure way to save money in the modern world: Live 2 years in the past. So says Lore Sjoberg, who's starting his very own Cult of the Somewhat Delayed. "If you subsist entirely on 2-year-old entertainment, and the corresponding 2-year-old technology used... More »

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technology • Netflix • paperback • books • first adopters • recessionomics

 Amazon App Allows 
 Kindle Books on PCs 

Free download will let anyone buy and download e-books

Oct 22, 09 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Amazon will introduce a free software app next month that will allow Kindle users to read their e-books on their PCs. What's more, the app works for non-Kindle owners: Anyone with an Amazon account will be able to buy the books and download them to their Window-based computers, notes CNET.... More »

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Kindle • personal computers • Amazon • publishing industry • e-readers • books • electronic readers • Kindle on PC

Wal-Mart Takes on Amazon
in Book Price War

...in bid to become biggest online retailer

Oct 16, 09 1:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Good news for readers, but maybe not for the publishing industry: Wal-Mart has launched an aggressive price war against Amazon. The retailer is slashing the online price of 10 big-buzz books to $9 each. The company initially cut the price to $10, then lowered it further after Amazon quickly matched... More »

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publishing • price war • Wal-Mart • Amazon • online sales • publishing industry • Dean Koontz • books

 New 'Vooks' Sex Up 
 Books With Video Clips 

Video-text hybrids seen as way to keep 21st-century readers interested in books

Oct 1, 09 6:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Publishers are scrambling to attract readers weaned on video games and social networking by jazzing up a format little-changed since Gutenberg started churning out Bibles in the 15th century. "Vooks" add video segments, either embedded in the text or available online, to electronic books. The hybrids are being created... More »

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publishing • video • publisher • novel • books • vook

 The Books Jay-Z Lives By 

The rapper talks to Oprah's magazine about books that inspire him

Sep 28, 09 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jay-Z has gone from rapper to mogul, and he shares some of the books that helped him along the way with O magazine:
  • The Seat of the Soul, by Gary Zukav: "There are two books that I absolutely live my life by. This is one of them. I
... More »

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entertainment • celebrity • book • Jay-Z • O, the Oprah Magazine • Jay-ZTV • books

(Newser) - Banning a book is a move laden with ironies that can make the banner seem dull-witted in the long run. For National Banned Books Week, 11Points.com lists "the most hypocritical, ignorant, and, based on the content of the books, ironic" bans:
  • Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: 
... More »

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Harry Potter • JK Rowling • literature • Salman Rushdie • publishing • Anne Frank • Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl • Mark Twain • banned • books • Fahrenheit 451 • Ray Bradbury • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • The Satanic Verses • banned books • National Banned Books Week

Jessica Seinfeld Wins Cookbook Copycat Case

Deceptively Delicious wasn't plagiarized,
federal judge rules

Sep 11, 09 9:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - A federal judge in New York has tossed out a suit claiming that a cookbook by Jerry  Seinfeld's wife plagiarized a rival's book. Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious, like Missy Chase Lapine's The Sneaky Chef, shows parents how to sneak vegetables into their kids' food—an idea nobody can copyright, the... More »

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entertainment • plagiarism • New York • federal courts • Jerry Seinfeld • publishing • feud • book • Jessica Seinfeld • cookbooks • Missy Chase Lapine • books

 It's a Busy Fall for Books 

Dave Eggers, Philip Roth, Jon Krakauer have new titles out

Sep 4, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hoping to salvage a miserable year, publishers are flooding the fall season with more hot tickets than normal. Some samples, from the Wall Street Journal:
  • Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol, Sept. 1: The next in a series from the Da Vinci Code writer.
  • Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist,
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Jonathan Lethem • Pat Tillman • publishing • Jonathan Safran Foer • Dave Eggers • Vladimir Nabokov • Dan Brown • The Lost Symbol • books • Jon Krakauer • Maurice Sendak

opinion

 Modern Novels' Shift: 
 We Can Understand Them  

Literary writers are re-embracing idea of a good plot

Aug 29, 09 10:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The 21st-century novel is being reacquainted with an old friend: the plot. Today's best writers are abandoning the notion that literary novels need to be all but impenetrable to readers without advanced degrees, writes Lev Grossman in the Wall Street Journal. "The revolution is under way," he says.... More »

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literature • novelist • novel • authors • books

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