Tag Archives: books

American novelist, author of Exodus about the creation of Israel and Trinity on the conflict in Ireland, has died ay 78: Uris’ novels reflected his experiences as a Marine in World War II and as a war correspondent. His first novel, “Battle Cry,” was published in 1953 when he was …

The Harry Potter rollout last weekend required almost as much planning as Gulf War 2: As if by magic, more than 400,000 families across the country opened their front doors Saturday to find a neatly packaged “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” book on their doorsteps. But the …

A short, sweet summary of the digital copyright issues we are always babbling about, from Robert MacMillan in the Washington Post: Buying an album or watching a film used to mean going to the music store or the movies, renting a video, maybe checking out the Columbia House catalog. Those …

Sales and reviews of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix are all crazy-go-nuts: Scholastic, the book’s U.S. publisher, estimated 5 million copies were sold the first day alone, well ahead of the pace of “Goblet of Fire.” Borders Group reported worldwide sales of 750,000 the first day. Amazon.com shipped …

Ang Lee Hulks Out!

Oprah Windfall’s book club is back – now she is focusing on classics to turn into instant bestsellers: Oprah Winfrey (news) was sitting under an oak tree in California last summer, reading John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” and loving it, when she realized that just telling a few friends about …

More copyright nightmares: Fan fiction – fiction created using characters and scenarios from books, TV, film, etc., is flourishing due to the Internet, and the largest body of all centers around Harry Potter. J.K. is tolerant unless the material veers into the “adult” range: As fans await the June 21 …

Another historian comprehends the danger of fanatical Islamoterrorism: Walter Laqueur – a deeply learned polyglot historian, whose expertise ranges from 19th-century Germany to 20th-century Egypt – has for decades stood out as one of the very few sober and intelligent voices in this undistinguished crowd. His latest book, “No End …

Even though Lily is only 3 1/2 she loves her “Harry Potters.” We picked up the new DVD of the second movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, about a week ago and have watched it three or four times. I’ve concluded it doesn’t hold my attention as well …

With Hillary Clinton’s book “wildly popular” and the new Harry Potter book right around the corner, things are looking up for everyone associated with the book trade: The publication of “Living History,” the memoir of the Democratic U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady, has sparked some record-busting …