The Malaysian Insider :: Books

Few takers at Faulkner auction in NY

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:34:45 GMT

June 17, 2013, New York - A major auction of manuscripts and letters of American writer William Faulkner, a Nobel laureate, drew an underwhelming public response at auction in New York Tuesday, with the most important lots finding no buyer. Sotheby's had classed Tuesday's event in the Big Apple as "the largest and most important group of William ...

Salman Rushdie to recieve 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:43:08 GMT

Denmark, June 16, 2013 - British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie (pic) , author of "Midnight's Children," has been announced winner of the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Litteraturpris, an award given every two years to writers recognized for sharing Andersen's "love of the narrative art of the fairytale." Given since 2010 and backdated to include the ...

Pulitzer-winner Gellman writing book on rise of spy state

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:50:56 GMT

NEW YORK, June 14 — Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barton Gellman is writing a book on the “rise of the surveillance-industrial state” after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, publisher Penguin Press said yesterday. Gellman’s new book, which has no title or release date yet, will follow surveillance developments from California’s ...

Long-lost diary of top Hitler aide offers window into Nazi soul

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:51:38 GMT

WILMINGTON (Delaware), June 14 — US officials yesterday unveiled the 400-page diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a top aide to Adolf Hitler, who oversaw the genocide against Jews and others during World War Two. The diary disappeared after the Nuremberg trials in 1946, sparking a nearly 70-year hunt that ended on April 5 in the upstate New York town of ...

Book Talk: English history with a twist in ‘The Boleyn King’

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:41:25 GMT

TOKYO, June 13 – What would have happened if Anne Boleyn, the wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I, had given her husband the son he so desperately wanted instead of miscarrying and eventually losing her head as a traitor? This is the premise behind “The Boleyn King” by Laura Anderson, the first book of a trilogy set to take a look at the ...

Rare 1938 Superman comic book fetches RM525,000

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:39:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES, June 13 — A rare 75-year-old comic book featuring the debut of Superman found in a Minnesota home’s wall fetched US$175,000 (RM525,000) at auction, comic book seller Comicconnect.com said yesterday. The identity of the buyer in the online auction, which ended Tuesday, was not disclosed. The comic book, Action Comics No. 1 from June ...

Could school-gate politics replace mommy porn for women readers?

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:33:11 GMT

LONDON, June 13 — A British writer whose debut novel about mothers at the school gate sparked a seven-way bidding war between publishers has attributed the overnight success of her book to striking a chord with women used to negotiating the politics of female groups. The hype around “The Hive” led to Gill Hornby being described as publisher Little ...

Greg Iles to write more Penn Cage thrillers

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:45:46 GMT

NEW YORK, June 12 — Fans of Greg Iles’ Penn Cage books can look forward to several more of the thrillers with the announcement of a new trilogy, the first of which is slated for release in May 2014, the publisher said yesterday. “Natchez Burning” will kick off the trilogy in which Cage’s father, Dr. Tom Cage, stands accused of killing his former ...

Comic writer’s Ghost Rider copyright lawsuit revived on appeal

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:34:12 GMT

NEW YORK, June 12 — A comic book writer who claims he created the flaming-skulled character called Ghost Rider got another chance to press his claim yesterday when a US appeals court revived his lawsuit against Marvel Comics. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a 2011 district court ruling that found the rights to the character belonged to ...

‘1984’ sales skyrocket in wake of US spy scandal

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:56:01 GMT

WASHINGTON, June 12 — Big brother is watching — sales of George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” have skyrocketed in the wake of revelations of US government surveillance. The centennial edition of the novel surged 7,005 per cent on Amazon, according to the online retailer’s “Mover and Shakers in Books” page that monitors biggest gainers in sales ...

Long-lost diary of Hitler’s aide found

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:51:32 GMT

WASHINGTON, June 10 — The US government has recovered 400 pages from the long-lost diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a confidant of Adolf Hitler who played a central role in the extermination of millions of Jews and others during World War Two. A preliminary US government assessment reviewed by Reuters asserts the diary could offer new insight into ...

Scottish author Iain Banks dies

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:25:41 GMT

LONDON, June 10 — Scottish author Iain Banks has died age 59, two months after he revealed he had late-stage cancer and was unlikely to survive beyond a year, the BBC reported on Sunday citing his family. The author of The Wasp Factory was one of Britain’s most prolific writers and wrote both mainstream novels and science fiction, the latter under ...

Israeli writer Yoram Kaniuk dead at 83

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 15:35:34 GMT

TEL AVIV, June 9 — Prominent Israeli author Yoram Kaniuk, who had been suffering from cancer for many years, died at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital after a long struggle with the disease, a hospital spokesman said today. He was 83. The spokesman said Kaniuk had agreed to donate his body to science, meaning there would be no funeral. Kaniuk, who died ...

Faulkner, Beckett and Conrad’s works up at auction

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:23:46 GMT

NEW YORK, June 9 — Manuscripts, letters and drawings of the writers William Faulkner, Samuel Beckett and Joseph Conrad start to go on auction in New York next week, in a rare chance to snap up their belongings. Sotheby’s has classed Tuesday’s event in the Big Apple as “the largest and most important group of William Faulkner material ever to ...

Unpredictable IMPAC Dublin Literary Award won by ‘City of Bohane’ author Kevin Barry

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 03:16:43 GMT

DUBLIN, June 8 — Kevin Barry is the 2013 winner of the hefty €100,000 (RM498,775) IMPAC Award with debut novel City of Bohane, chosen over nominations by Michel Houellebecq and Hakuri Murakami. Nominations were made by over 400 participating libraries in major and capital cities around the world, selecting contenders on the basis of “high ...

‘May We Be Forgiven’ wins Women’s Prize for Fiction

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:24:17 GMT

NEW YORK, June 7 — US author AM Homes has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize), beating favourite “Bring Up the Bodies” by Hilary Mantel. “To pick one book from the wealth of talent on show would make the strongest heart quail,” said judges chair Miranda Richardson of the panel’s task, congratulating each of the ...

US writer A.M. Homes denies Hilary Mantel literary treble

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:01:52 GMT

LONDON, June 6 – The American novelist A.M. Homes beat double Man Booker Prize-winner Hilary Mantel to the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction yesterday with a tale of murder, sibling rivalry, adultery and absolution. Homes’s May We Be Forgiven, which follows a violent change in the lives of a historian and his high-flying younger brother, secured the ...

Pippa Middleton signs on as Vanity Fair contributor

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:42:20 GMT

NEW YORK, June 6 – Pippa Middleton, the younger sister of Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, has signed on as a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, the magazine said yesterday. The 29-year-old self-described former tomboy writes about the Wimbledon tennis tournament in the glossy magazine’s July issue, which hits newsstands this ...

Publishers gave Amazon ‘ultimatum’ over e-book pricing, court told

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:32:01 GMT

NEW YORK, June 6 – Publishers gave Amazon.com an “ultimatum” to let them set prices of e-books sold on its website after they reached deals in 2010 to sell through Apple Inc as well, a top executive at the retailer testified yesterday. Amazon could have been barred from selling books for its Kindle e-reader the same day physical hardcovers were ...

British author Tom Sharpe dies aged 85

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:34:28 GMT

LONDON, June 6 – British comic novelist Tom Sharpe, known for his “Wilt” series about a harassed and hen-pecked university lecturer, has died aged 85, his publisher said today. The London-born author, whose last and 16th novel The Wilt Inheritance was published in 2010, died in Spain where he had a home in the northeastern coastal town of ...

Malorie Blackman named UK Children’s Laureate

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:45:31 GMT

LONDON, June 5 — “Noughts and Crosses” author Malorie Blackman was named Britain’s Children’s Laureate, yesterday. The post recognises outstanding achievement and the importance of exceptional authors in encouraging reading. Blackman (picture), whose books tackle issues including racism and ethnic identity will use the role to get “more young ...

Chinese parents seek imported children’s books, says rep

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:38:01 GMT

BEIJING, June 5 — The import market for children’s books is strong in China, according to Randy Wang, senior project manager for the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), citing data from online retailer DangDang. “The statistics from China’s biggest online retailer, Dangdang.com, show that 80 per cent and 90 per cent of the ...

Bieber’s mom pens teenage edition of her autobiography

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 01:56:08 GMT

NEW YORK, June 5 — Pattie Mallette, mother of teenaged singing sensation Justin Bieber, is releasing a special edition of her best-selling book Nowhere but Up aimed at teens, her publisher said yesterday. The new edition, published by Baker Publishing’s Revell Books and due out on July 2, directs Mallette’s life story as mother of the 19-year-old ...

Stephen King musical e-book stars McConaughey, Mellencamp

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 23:20:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES, June 5 — Sporting a cast list that counts Meg Ryan, Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey among its leads, with soundtrack contributions from John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello, Roseanne Cash and Sheryl Crow, is Stephen King’s June 4 multimedia release Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. Launching as a download as well as in CD and ...

Golden Brown: Finger lickin’ good Florentine fun from the Colonel Sanders of the genre

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 23:57:30 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Would you believe that this is the first time I’ve read any of Dan Brown’s books? Until now, I’ve only followed the news, read the hype and laughed at the brickbats. No way all of that could be true, I thought. Then a copy hit my table with a thud. I took just two hours to finish it. My unfamiliarity with the author’s work ...

Online demand boosts market for rarest books

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:23:36 GMT

HAY-ON-WYE (Wales), June 3 — Prices of the rarest books are rising as the Internet drives the trade off dusty shelves and into the digital age, a leading expert said this weekend. Matthew Haley, head of the books, manuscripts and photographs department at auction house Bonhams in London, said the rise of online catalogues and aggregators of ...

Morocco desert museum for Little Prince aviator-author

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 15:39:40 GMT

TARFAYA, June 2 – Battling the wind in his World War I biplane, a French pilot landed on a sandy Moroccan airstrip. Nearly 90 years on, a museum honours his stay and the world-renowned book it inspired. “Antoine de Saint-Exupery the writer was partly born here, in Tarfaya, where he spent two years as station manager of Aeropostale,” says Sadat ...

Typewriter aficionados in US rewrite history, slowly

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:37:05 GMT

LOS ANGELES, June 2 — Ermanno Marzorati has rarely been so busy. He is currently fixing a 1930 Underwood typewriter for Tom Hanks. But there are plenty more ancient writing machines awaiting his tender care. While the modern world taps away in an ever-increasing frenzy online, the Italian senses a new trend, from his calm Beverly Hills studio: ...

Michael Crichton’s forgotten works headed for e-book release

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 23:14:45 GMT

NEW YORK, June 2 — A clutch of out-of-print Micheal Crichton novels, written by the author during his time studying at Harvard Medical School, is destined for republication in e-book format on July 23. Writing under several pseudonyms—John Lange, Jeffrey Hudson, Michael Douglas—Crichton had a prodigious output that saw him lay the foundation for ...

Peer into Samuel Beckett’s mind for RM6m

Fri, 31 May 2013 23:16:20 GMT

LONDON, June 1 — A rare glimpse into the mind of one of the 20th century’s greatest writers will go up for sale in July when a manuscript for Samuel Beckett’s first novel hits the auction block. Six exercise books filled with the Irish-born Nobel laureate’s handwritten notes for “Murphy” alongside drawings and doodles will be the highlight of ...

Father Andrew Greeley, novelist and Catholic critic, dies

Thu, 30 May 2013 23:38:07 GMT

CHICAGO, May 31 — Father Andrew M. Greeley, an outspoken Roman Catholic priest who wrote more than 50 novels and publicly feuded with his superior John Cardinal Cody, died at the age of 85 in his Chicago home, a spokeswoman said yesterday. “Father Andrew Greeley was the most influential American Catholic sociologist of the 20th century,” said ...

Mystery and science fiction author Jack Vance dead at 96

Thu, 30 May 2013 13:40:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 30 – Mystery and science fiction writer Jack Vance, whose works included “The Dragon Master” and “The Last Castle,” has died at age 96, according to a statement posted on his official website. Vance passed away at his Oakland, California, home on Sunday, according to the statement at www.jackvance.com, a site maintained by his ...

Book Talk: When N. Korea attacks, misfits are Japan’s only hope

Thu, 30 May 2013 09:13:12 GMT

TOKYO, May 30 – Banks have failed, the yen has fallen and Japan’s economy has collapsed, leading to political turmoil. Its great ally, the United States, abandons it. Then comes the final straw: an attack by North Korean guerrillas posing as Korean tourists. “From the Fatherland, With Love”, by veteran Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami, chronicles ...

Ringo Starr unveils unseen Beatles photos in e-book

Thu, 30 May 2013 01:55:17 GMT

LONDON, May 30 — Former Beatle Ringo Starr is lifting the lid on a collection of previously unseen photographs of the Fab Four in their heyday from his personal collection, in a new photography book due out next month. “Photograph,” which will be released as an e-book on Apple’s iBookstore on June 12, will coincide with a Grammy Museum exhibit on ...

‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ excerpt released

Wed, 29 May 2013 11:42:53 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 29 – October’s new installment in the Bridget Jones’s Diary series will be titled “Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy,” announced its publisher Knopf, with brief excerpts released by both Knopf and the Bridget Facebook page. Seventeen years have passed since Bridget first burst onto the literary scene, and fourteen since the sequel, ...

Do tablets and e-readers inhibit reading comprehension?

Wed, 29 May 2013 00:15:11 GMT

INDIANA, May 29 — While prior research has found that digital devices can prevent readers from absorbing text as well as the printed page, a new study counters that: researchers found that university students did equally well on reading comprehension tests when using both formats. Announced Friday, research led by Jim Johnson of Indiana State ...

Mia Couto awarded Camöes Portuguese literature prize

Tue, 28 May 2013 23:38:50 GMT

LISBON, May 29 — The Camöes Prize for 2013 has been given to Mia Couto, the Mozambican author of “The Tuner of Silences” and “Sleepwalking Land.” The annual Prêmio Camöes recognises the achievements of an author writing in Portuguese, and Couto is the second Mozambican to receive it following José Craveirinha in 1991; José Saramago, winning in ...

Israeli writer Amos Oz wins 2013 Kafka award

Tue, 28 May 2013 08:41:07 GMT

PRAGUE, May 28 – Amos Oz, Israel’s best-known writer, was yesterday named the winner of this year’s international Franz Kafka literary prize for his imaginative tales of life in the Jewish state. Oz will receive the award and a US$10,000 (7,700-euro) cheque at an October ceremony in Prague, the Franz Kafka Society, which organises the annual ...

Norway crime novelist talks his way to live interview record

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:34:40 GMT

OSLO, May 24 — Defying the stereotype of the tight-lipped Scandinavian, popular Norwegian crime writer Hans Olav Lahlum set the world record for the longest interview yesterday after spending more than 30 non-stop hours chatting in an online broadcast. Lahlum (picture), who rarely paused for more than a few seconds, discussed topics ranging from ...

First edition of ‘Great Gatsby’ to be sold at auction

Thu, 23 May 2013 23:42:10 GMT

NEW YORK, May 24 — A first edition copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, “The Great Gatsby,” will be up for sale next month and could fetch up to US$150,000 (RM450,000), Sotheby’s said yesterday. The book, which once belonged to the critic and author Malcolm Cowley, will go under the hammer along with a group of Fitzgerald’s letters and an ...

Short-story writer Davis wins Booker International Prize

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:45:32 GMT

LONDON, May 23 – US writer Lydia Davis, best known for her unconventionally short stories, yesterday claimed the prestigious Man Booker International Prize at a London ceremony. The New York based author beat off competition from the nine other authors who made the shortlist to win the award, which honours “achievement in fiction on the world ...

Top Chinese literary couple’s letters on auction

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:36:33 GMT

BEIJING, May 23 — Around 100 letters and manuscripts by one of China’s top literary couples are to go under the hammer next month, a Chinese auction house said Yesterday, amid reports of a row over privacy. Qian Zhongshu died in 1997 but remains a household name in China for his novel “Fortress Besieged”, about late-1930s middle-class Chinese ...

Reading ‘Readings’ again

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:27:00 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 ― For reasons I’ll only divulge over coffee, I haven’t gotten involved in anything related with Readings since 2011. But is the latest release of Readings from Readings 2 that bad? Not really. Collective camaraderie Local poet, writer, and lecturer Bernice Chauly founded Readings about eight years ago. The “live” reading ...

Amazon launches fan-fiction publishing platform

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:14:06 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO, May 23 — Kindle Worlds gives fans with literary aspirations the chance to publish and sell their works based on their favourite books, comics, TV shows, music and games, free from legal reprisals. Described by Amazon as “the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of ...

Rare ‘Harry Potter’ first edition fetches record auction price

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:10:34 GMT

LONDON, May 22 — A unique first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” annotated by author J.K. Rowling has sold for a record £150,000 (RM686,364) at a London charity auction, Sotheby’s said yesterday. The 1997 book, featuring handwritten notes, 22 original illustrations and a 43-page “second thoughts” commentary by the author, ...

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone says son inspired latest cookbook

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:30:55 GMT

NEW YORK, May 21 — Celebrity chef, author, entrepreneur and television personality Curtis Stone said fatherhood provided some of the inspiration for his fifth cookbook, “What’s for Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life.” “I’m a new Dad,” said Stone who has appeared on TV shows including “The Biggest Loser” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” among ...

Book Talk: Preparing for Asia’s golden age

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:09:38 GMT

BEIJING, May 20 — There is a new gold rush in the Asia-Pacific: rising incomes and consumer spending by Asia’s fast-growing middle classes that is generating unprecedented opportunities for multinational firms. If western firms recognise those opportunities in markets for consumer and luxury goods, travel and other services, their strategies will ...

US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:49:15 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 19 — The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honoured by some, reviled by others and even called the “Bible” of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes. The first major revamp in more than 20 years of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, will be unveiled in ...

‘Harry Potter’ first edition annotated by author up for auction

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:38:46 GMT

LONDON, May 18 — Ever wondered what went through author J.K. Rowling’s mind when she wrote the first “Harry Potter” novel? Fans of books about the boy wizard will have a chance to bid on a unique first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” annotated by the author, at a charity auction this month, the English PEN organisation said ...

Four Nigerians among five shortlisted for writing prize

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:19:11 GMT

JOHANNESBURG, May 17 — Four of the five writers shortlisted for this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing are from Nigeria, a first for the prestigious award, organisers revealed Wednesday. The fifth contestant is from Sierra Leone, according to a list released on the Caine Prize website. The five were chosen from 96 entries from 16 African ...