by Bella (Brooklyn, NY): I’m a ten year old girl who recently read this book. It was a deep, yet fun confection about growing up in the early 1900’s, the time where New York was spilling with immigrants and Coney Island was at its prime. It prompted me to read online and ask relatives about the old Coney Island. Now especially, this book got me thinking because of the new Luna Park. I hope someday the old Coney Island feel will return... 

Publishers Weekly, one of the USA’s oldest publishing industry magazines, today announced that they are accepting registrations from self-published authors who want to appear in its December self-publishing supplement. Cost of inclusion is $149 with a number of added value features including the possibility of being one of 25 books in the supplement to be reviewed by PW. Link to more information below. Those who wish to discuss the  Read More →

by avid (springfield, il): This book is important, yet has been largely overlooked by reviewers and book clubs. It’s not just a history of Hurricane Katrina, but a personal account of the storm and its aftermath. More significantly, it spotlights our country’s emergency response plan and the bewildering policies that could affect any of us as a result of the next major disaster. In addition to its  Read More →

Stieg Larsson would not have approved of the renaming of the opening book to his Millennium trilogy from “Men Who Hate Women” to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, the late author’s partner has claimed saying, “The theme of all three books is the subjugation of women, the abuse and violence against them. That’s the whole point. These books were a way for him to take up a subject close to his heart.”... 

by Carol Byers (Oregon): I found Benjamin’s ‘Alice I Have Been’ to be fascinating with many of life’s experiences seamlessly expressed. To gain the most of this story, I needed to read a bit about the actual life of Lewis Carroll as well as the Liddell family (Alice was the third of three Liddell daughters). In interviews about this book,  Read More →

by Don G. : Ellis’ book is a great read. People who read it with the idea that history is a noun, full of facts, dates, people, and places, miss the point. Ellis intends us to look at history as a verb, the inquiry, not the things, but the relationship between the things. Ellis isn’t trying to tell us about Hamilton or Jefferson, he is trying to tell us about the relationship between these two powerful men that led to a historic compromise.... 

The European Commission has cleared the creation of a joint-venture by German media companies Bertelsmann and Holtzbrinck to operate an online distribution platform to sell e-books.  Read More →

With pundits predicting the end of printed books within the decade, The Christian Science Monitor concludes that, if the much vaunted ‘paperless office’ is anything to go by, it’s going to take more than a few years to wean people off paper! … “So, are paper books an endangered species? Quite likely in the long run, but perhaps not as quickly as techno-enthusiasts imagine. After all, we’re still waiting for the... 

Shortly after Google’s announcement that they have calculated that there are about 130 million books in the world, comes Project Gutenberg founder Michael Hart’s plan for one billion ebooks. To quote the Los Angeles Times… “Hart’s grand plan is centered around one number: 1 billion. He scratched his math, based on various premises, down into an e-mail. His vision for a larger digital reading ecosystem includes all e-books,... 

Elaine Koster, the literary agent behind Khaled Hosseini and one time publisher of Stephen King, died on Tuesday in New York aged 69. In a statement Hosseini said: “I am deeply saddened by Elaine’s passing. Elaine was a wonderful agent, and I owe my career to her. She opened her door to me when no one else would. She was a loyal and dear friend, and I will miss greatly her warmth, her encouragement, and her unfailing belief  Read More →

Culminating a years-long lobbying campaign organized by the Association of American Publishers, President Obama this week signed the Speech Act, a law that prohibits federal courts from recognizing or enforcing foreign libel judgments in the U.S. that do not pass First Amendment muster. The law seeks to put an end to a practice known as “libel tourism,” which allows U.S. authors to be sued in foreign courts  Read More →

Camden’s libraries, which received national attention last week when it appeared that budget cuts would force them out of business permanently, are to be saved.Camden City Council is expected to approve a resolution allowing the Camden County library system to take over the three facilities without a citywide vote….  Read More →

by Matthew White (Cleveland, Ohio): I really liked this book a whole lot, until I dusted off my edition of the original “Dune” and started reading. I read reviews of the house books online decrying plot holes and what not, but I didn’t really take them seriously because any sort of book as monumental as Dune will always have a rabid near insane fan base that demand perfection from any sort of new material in what they view as “their... 

by Andy A (UK): A good few people have recommended this book to me over the years knowing that I have a great interest in WW1 & WW2. I am not normally one to read novels (I prefer historical text books) but after the book was recommended to me yet again I thought there must me something in it, and so decided to give it a go…  Read More →

by Billy (California): The only thing that was possibly bad about this book was that the beginning was presented in such a confusing manner that I had no clue what was going on. However, that quickly changed as the introduction was made to the endearing character of Tommy. There are many sad things in this book, and it will unsettle you. However, this book had the rare ability to stay on my mind after…  Read More →