Books News Headlines

SYDNEY (Reuters) - He's three meters (nine feet) long, weighs as much as a small fishing boat and can eat the combined weight of two small children every day. But "Dhyum the Dugong," the main character in a new children's book, has pressing issues on his mind. He wants to teach people how to save dugongs, endangered sea …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Divided by the abduction and murder of their teenage sister decades ago, two brothers in a small Ohio town must overcome their adversarial relationship when faced with a new killing that has seemingly random ties to each of them. In "The Prophet," the ninth novel from 29-year-old Michael Koryta, one …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - First Watergate, then 9/11, now the U.S. economy. The next book from Bob Woodward, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, will detail how President Obama and congressional leaders handled the economic crisis. Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday that "The Price of Politics" would …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Convicted murderer Gregory Powell, who kidnapped two Los Angeles police officers and killed one of them in 1963, a crime chronicled in the book and film "The Onion Field," has died in prison at the age of 79. Powell, who was serving a life sentence in prison for the murder of officer Ian Campbell, …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billy Crystal will share his comedic views on life and aging in a new memoir to be published on his 65th birthday, Henry Holt and Co said on Thursday. The actor and comedian will reflect on his life, career and aspects of aging including forgetfulness, insomnia, endless doctor's appointments as well …

TOKYO (Reuters) - Writer Andrew Motion, England's former poet laureate, is taking a new generation of readers back to "Treasure Island" in his latest book, which follows the characters from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure. In "Silver: Return to Treasure Island," Jim Hawkins is four decades older and runs an inn …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "50 Shades of Grey" author E.L. James wants to serve you a little Bach with your mommy porn. James has curated an album, "Fifty Shades of Grey - The Classical Album," featuring 15 classical tracks featured in the "50 Shades of Grey" book trilogy, which follows the erotic escapades of college …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Friends Forever" jumped to the top of Publishers Weekly's bestseller list on Thursday. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Friends Forever" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte, $28.00) …

TOKYO (Reuters) - Aaron Burr, a lawyer and politician in the early years of the United States, has long had a reputation as a villain, mainly due to his famous killing of political rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. But in his book, "The Heartbreak of Aaron Burr," author Henry Brands paints a vastly different picture …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Journalist Michael Moynihan did not have to read past the first chapter of writer Jonah Lehrer's best-selling book "Imagine: How Creativity Works" to realize the high-profile writer had fabricated some of its material, namely quotes from Bob Dylan. Yet even after Moynihan exposed Lehrer's misquotations, …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Would you pay $100 to read the musings of the man who co-created "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory"? What if it were for charity? Chuck Lorre, arch-nemesis of Charlie Sheen, will release a new coffee table book called "What Doesn't Kill Us, Makes Us Bitter" in October. The proceeds will …

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - The death of author Gore Vidal at the age of 86 brought tributes from around the globe on Wednesday, as friends and fans mourned the passing of the man remembered as one of America's literary giants. Vidal, whose biting observations on politics, sex and American culture in novels, plays and essays …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Writer Gore Vidal, who filled his novels and essays with acerbic observations on politics, sex and American culture while carrying on feuds with big-name literary rivals, died on Tuesday at home in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia, age 86. Vidal's literary legacy includes a series of historical …

(Reuters) - Following are some of the books written by author Gore Vidal, who died on Tuesday at his home in California at the age of 86, in a publishing career spanning over six decades. -The City and the Pillar (1948) -The Season of Comfort (1949) -Messiah (1954) -Myra Breckinridge (1968) -Two Sisters (1970) -Myron (1975) …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Author J.K. Rowling launched an online book club for young readers on Tuesday and will appear in a live global webcast in October from Edinburgh, Scotland, to speak with her fans about the magical world of Harry Potter. Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic, which developed the Harry Potter Reading Club …

(Reuters) - Google Inc retook the offensive against thousands of authors claiming it copied their works without permission, and urged the end of a class-action lawsuit arising from its ambitious plan to build the world's largest digital book library. Friday's request by the world's largest search engine company followed …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The antagonist in Bridget Siegel's debut novel, "Domestic Affairs," is a charismatic Southern politician who has an affair with a staffer while running in the Democratic primary for president. But despite obvious parallels to the political soap opera that surrounded a real-life presidential aspirant, …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best-selling author Kurt Andersen isn't a spy, but that didn't stop him from writing his latest novel about a group of friends who hatch a James-Bond-like plot amid the tumult of the 1960s in the United States. "True Believers," which hit shelves earlier this month, tells the tale of a celebrated lawyer, …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Shadow of Night," the newest book by Deborah Harkness, shot to the top of Publishers Weekly's bestseller list on Thursday. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Shadow of Night" …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Electronic books more than doubled in popularity in 2011, with ebooks outselling hardcover books in adult fiction for the first time, according to a survey released on Wednesday. Net sales of e-books jumped to 15 percent of the market in 2011 from 6 percent in 2010, according to a report by the Association …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, a blind dissident who left his country after seeking refuge in the U.S. Embassy, will publish a memoir next year, his publisher said on Tuesday. In April, Chen made headlines worldwide when, days ahead of a diplomatic visit to China by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald J. Sobol, best known for his popular "Encyclopedia Brown" detective series of children's books, has died. He was 87. Sobol, the author of dozens of fiction and nonfiction books but was mostly celebrated for his engaging mystery books, died last week in South Miami, Florida, publisher Penguin …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Mockingjay," the final film installment of the blockbuster book series, "The Hunger Games," will be split into two parts, with the movies to be released in 2014 and 2015, the Lionsgate studio said on Tuesday. Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment, said "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part …