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Archive for December, 2007

December 20th, 2007

New Books: December 20, 2007

The NY Times listed Newly Released books on Dec. 20. Although, these books will be officially published in January 2008, they will be in the stores before the new year. The new books are:

  • T IS FOR TRESPASS
    By Sue Grafton
  • BEETHOVEN WAS ONE-SIXTEENTH BLACK
    By Nadine Gordimer
  • THE GEOGRAPHY OF BLISS
    By Eric Weiner
  • THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL
    By Steve Berry
  • THE CRAZY SCHOOL
    By Cornelia Read
  • LAST CALL
    By James Grippando

See reviews about the books here

December 19th, 2007

Peter Jackson to produce The Hobbit

From Guardian Unlimited:

The Tolkien community was in hysterics yesterday. At least that was the verdict on one of the leading Hobbit websites following the announcement in Los Angeles that Peter Jackson, director of the $3bn-plus trilogy The Lord of the Rings, had signed up to produce two films based on The Hobbit, expected to go into production in 2009.

Story here. The Hobbit will be split into two films, tentatively scheduled to release in 2010 and 201. No director has been chosen yet - Peter Jackson is too busy with other projects, according to an article in stuff.co.nz. Presumably, the leading website mentioned is TheOneRing.net.

December 15th, 2007

The Times: Christmas Choice Thrillers

The Times has a Christmas list of thrillers that are must reads. These novels include:

  • The Ghost by Robert Harris
  • Spook Country by William Gibson
  • The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte
  • Swansea Teminal by Robert Lewis
  • Devil’s Peak by Deon Meyer
  • Conned by Matthew Klein
  • The Lying Tongue by Andrew Wilson

View the full article (which includes a brief description of each of the books) here.

December 13th, 2007

J.K Rowling’s Fairy Tale Sells for £2 million

From Times Online:

A unique volume of fairytales handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling fetched nearly £2 million at auction today, far surpassing Sotheby’s estimated selling price of a mere £50,000. Following the auction, an astonished Miss Rowling said: “I am stunned and ecstatic. This will mean so much to children in desperate need of help. It means Christmas has come early for me.”

Read the full article here. View J.K. Rowlings website here.

December 10th, 2007

Doris Lessing: Nobel Laureate 2007 reveals Internet Inanities

This is from the Sydney Morning Herald:

New Nobel laureate Doris Lessing has used her acceptance speech to rail against the internet, saying it has “seduced a whole generation into its inanities” and created a world where people know nothing.

Similarly, author Andrew Keen argued in his new book, The Cult of the Amateur, that the internet was killing culture and assaulting economics.

Read the full article here on Sydney Morning Herald online.

December 10th, 2007

New York Times: Current Bestseller Lists

Everyone wants to read a bestseller. Why not? The New York Times Bestseller Lists can help you see the books that are currently on top sales.

There are usually 8 categories from Hardcover Fiction to Paperback Non-Fiction. On the Children’s Book List, STAR WARS POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, by Matthew Reinhart tops the list.

View the full NY Times Bestseller Lists here.

December 6th, 2007

Stanford law group to defend Harry Potter Lexicon book

Harry Potter Lexicon cover From The Canadian Press:

A group of crusading intellectual property lawyers at Stanford Law School say they will help defend a small publishing house being sued by author J.K. Rowling over its plan to print an unauthorized companion guide to her Harry Potter series.

Full story on Google News; you can find the online version of the Harry Potter Lexicon at hp-lexicon.org or visit the publisher here.

December 5th, 2007

Anne Fine - “Why I write”

Anne Fine

The bestselling author of children’s and adults’ fiction explains how not being able to get to the library got her started and now she has no choice

The interview is available on Guardian Unlimited Books - or, take a look at Anne Fine’s official site.

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