New scandal around the author of Harry Potter
10 Jan 2011 23:06:45
The estate of late author Adrian Jacobs had said that the plot of the book, the fourth of seven in the wildly successful series that has been turned into a multi-billion-dollar film franchise, copied parts of the plot of his book "Willy the Wizard," including a wizard contest, and that Rowling borrowed the idea of wizards traveling on trains.
Scholastic Corp, the U.S. publisher of the books, welcomed the move by judge Shira Scheindlin, quoting the judge as saying "...the contrast between the to... Read Full Story
Some interesting information about Clarence Thomas
07 Jan 2011 12:56:45
Lillian McEwen, who dated Thomas in the 1980s, has signed with TitleTown Publishing, a Green Bay, Wis.-based publisher specializing in true crime and "inspirational" survivor stories. "D.C. Unmasked and Undressed" is scheduled to come out in early February, TitleTown announced Tuesday, adding that the book was "sexually driven."
McEwen, a retired administrative law judge, broke a long public silence last fall when she told The Washington Post that Thomas often made inappropriate comments and wa... Read Full Story
The creator of famous film "Pig Babe" was died
07 Jan 2011 12:53:16
The prolific writer, whose 1983 book "The Sheep-Pig" was made into the 1995 film, died in his sleep on Tuesday at his home near Bath in southwest England, said a spokeswoman for Random House.
He is believed to have been in poor health in recent years.
King-Smith described his creations as "farmyard fantasies" for children and many of his more than 100 books featured animals, drawing on the two decades he spent as a farmer after fighting in World War II.
A late starter as a writer, his first b... Read Full Story
Bird Cloud written by Annie Proulx
07 Jan 2011 12:51:42
Just finding a builder capable of meeting her architect's demanding specifications proves so daunting she almost gives up before she even gets started. When she finally hits on a team of builders — two affable brothers and a friend whom she dubs "The James Gang" — she appears closer to having purchased a few friends for life than she is to a completed project.
Delays, cost overruns and failures of planning often threaten to spiral out of control. Budgets and schedules are repeatedly amended onl... Read Full Story
This arabian book was written by Reza Aslan
06 Jan 2011 00:41:48
The new anthology "Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes From the Modern Middle East," edited by University of California, Riverside creative writing professor Reza Aslan, aims "to provide a different, more authentic perception of this rich and complex region, an image not fashioned by the descriptions of invaders, but rather one that arises from the diverse literatures of its most acclaimed poets and writers."
The collection showcases many literary giants but also introduces readers to lesser-know... Read Full Story
"Damage" written by John Lescroart
06 Jan 2011 00:19:02
Wes Farrell begins the job of district attorney for the city of San Francisco and immediately sinks into a nightmare case. Roland Curtlee, a man in jail for 10 years for the rape and murder of a woman, has his case thrown out. While waiting for a new trial, the judge grants him bail, a move that sends shock waves through both the local community and the legal realm.
Soon after this happens, homicide detective Abe Glitsky learns of a woman who was strangled. Her killer burned the body and any in... Read Full Story
"Three Seconds" by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom
06 Jan 2011 00:17:17
Hoffman is a family man with a wife he loves and two young sons. His plan is to do what the police need him to do and then be out forever, the famous "last job." He plans every detail, down to putting drugs in cold tulips so they bloom when he needs to retrieve the drugs.
His handler, Erik Wilson, has to falsify Hoffman's record so he looks like someone who is a dangerous drug kingpin. That's where the trouble begins.
Authors Anders Roslund, an investigative journalist, and Borge Hellstrom, an... Read Full Story
Who is Patrick Poivre d'Arvor?
04 Jan 2011 23:49:10
Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, a household name in France for the past three decades, was accused by L'Express magazine of lifting around 100 pages from a previous biography of the late US novelist.
The weekly's website said PPDA, as he is popularly known in France, cut and pasted swathes of text from a 1985 book by US author Peter Griffin -- later translated into French --- and passed them off as his own by changing them slightly.
Poivre d'Arvor's book on Hemingway, who penned such classics as "For ... Read Full Story
Abdellah Taia from Morocco become a France writer
04 Jan 2011 23:47:29
For 37-year-old Taia, who has lived in Paris for the last decade, being homosexual and Muslim are not mutually exclusive. He "feels Muslim" and is from a country where Islam is the state religion.
"I am the first Moroccan writer who has spoken openly about his homosexuality, to acknowledge it, but without turning my back on the country I'm from," he said.
"My homosexuality, I already felt it from the age of 13, at school.
"But despite this, I feel Muslim. There is no incompatibility between I... Read Full Story
Let's read The Discovery of Jeanne Baret from Glynis Ridley
04 Jan 2011 23:41:28
In writing "The Discovery of Jeanne Baret," Ridley places her subject in the larger context of French society and government and Enlightenment attitudes about the role of women in the world of science.
Baret took extreme measures to be a part of that world. Raised in poverty in rural France in the mid-18th century, she was trained by "herb women," country folk with knowledge of medicinal plants. That led to a chance meeting with botanist Philibert Commerson. Hired to keep house, she became his ... Read Full Story
Saki's three stories
29 Dec 2010 02:09:01
I have long been a lover of Hector Hugh Munro and his short stories, and I'd like to propose a trio of stories from Saki. I remember being disturbed yet fascinated by "Tobermory" as a bedtime story. Although, as is the way of these things, I was more upset by the death of the cat than that of the oddly named Cornelius Appin. As I got older, I relished the wit and cringes. And now we are heading into seasonal territory of twee and saccharine jollity, the nastiness of Saki is a welcome refreshment... Read Full Story
New book What the Night Knows" written by Dean Koontz
29 Dec 2010 01:58:50
Over two decades ago, a madman stalked families, and his horrific crimes terrified various neighborhoods until he picked the wrong house. Teenager John Calvino came home unexpectedly and killed the intruder, leaving him the sole survivor. Over 20 years later, Calvino is a homicide detective with a family of his own — and a secret that haunts him.
The murders are happening again, and the killer is using the same methods from the earlier crimes. Calvino realizes that he and his family are in dang... Read Full Story
