Books News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Dark 'Man of Steel' groomed to reboot Superman film franchise

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:22:27 -0400

By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Man of Steel," the latest iteration of the Superman series, lands on the big screen on Friday with the hopes that the dark, action-heavy film can revive the classic comic book superhero as a Hollywood franchise. But director Zack Snyder, who is best known for 2007 action film "300" and 2009 superhero flick "Watchmen," told Reuters that it was a delicate balance staying faithful to Superman's story without retreading earlier film and television versions. ...

'Inferno' maintains top spot on U.S. best-sellers list

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:04:57 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dan Brown's "Inferno" kept a tight hold on the top spot of the U.S. best-sellers list on Thursday for the fourth straight week. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) 1 2. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $28.95) 2 3. "Zero Hour" by Clive Cussler/Graham Brown(Putnam, $28.95) 3 4. "Revenge Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger (Simon & Schuster, $25.99) - 5. ...

English history with a twist in 'The Boleyn King'

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:31:34 -0400

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - 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 reign of Henry IX, known as William, in a Tudor court where Henry VIII had only two wives rather than six. William, an impetuous 17 year-old with one year left under a regency, is aching to prove himself as both king and man. ...

Tom Hanks Reteams With 'Cloud Atlas' Director on 'A Hologram For the King'

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:52:07 -0400

By Jeff Sneider LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Tom Hanks is reteaming with his "Cloud Atlas" director Tom Tykwer on a feature adaptation of Dave Eggers' novel "A Hologram For the King," TheWrap has learned. Tykwer adapted the book and will direct the indie movie, for which CAA is in the process of securing financing. "A Hologram For the King" was a finalist for the National Book Award when it was published by McSweeney's last year. Hanks will play a struggling businessman who heads to Saudi Arabia in a last-ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure and do something memorable with his life. ...

Could school gate politics replace mommy porn for women readers?

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:33:33 -0400

By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - 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 Brown's "most important new author of 2013" and NBC Universals' arthouse Focus Features snapped up the film rights even before the book's release on May 23. ...

'Someone Knows My Name' Bestseller Being Adapted as Miniseries for BET

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:20:19 -0400

By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Lawrence Hill's bestseller "Someone Knows My Name" is coming to the small screen, in a big way. Originally published in Canada as "The Book of Negroes," the 2007 novel is being adapted into a miniseries that will air on BET in America and CBC in Canada, under its original title. Shooting begins in South Africa in the fall. Clement Virgo ("The Wire" is writing the project, with Hill co-writing. Virgo is also directing. ...

Ringo Starr Publishing 'Octopus's Garden' Kids' Book

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:57:23 -0400

By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ringo Starr is developing quite the second career as a literary mogul. First came news that the former Beatle is releasing an interactive book of photos from his days with the iconic group. And now he's planning a children's book based on his Beatles song "Octopus's Garden." Simon & Schuster Children's Books said Tuesday that it will publish a picture book edition of the song from the 1969 Beatles album "Abbey Road." The book will include a CD featuring previously unreleased music from Starr and an audio reading of the story. ...

Book Talk: The tale of a time-travelling serial killer

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:11:18 -0400

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - When Harper meets Kirby, he is a grown man and she is a child. He gives her a toy pony, tells her he'll be back, then vanishes - into Chicago in the 1930s and a mysterious house that opens onto other times. Later, he tries to kill her. "The Shining Girls", by South African Lauren Beukes, traces Harper's compulsion to murder the women he knows as "The Shining Girls" and Kirby's stubborn fight to unravel the mystery behind him and bring him down. ...

Dan Brown's 'Inferno' keeps top spot on U.S. best-sellers list

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:59:03 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dan Brown's "Inferno" held on to the top spot on the U.S. best-sellers list on Thursday for the third consecutive week. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) 1 2. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $28.95) 2 3. "Zero Hour" by Clive Cussler/Graham Brown(Putnam, $28.95) - 4. "Deeply Odd" by Dean Koontz (Bantam, $28.00) - 5. ...

'Bling Ring' Author: Why Reality TV is To Blame for Burglaries

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:45:36 -0400

By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A rash of burglaries targeting stars like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan by a group of fame-crazed teenagers stunned Hollywood, earning the group the catchy sobriquet "The Bling Ring." These were criminals for the reality TV show age - a gang of club-goers, most too young to vote or drink, who stalked their B-list prey using Google maps and the internet. As icing on the cake, their thievery took place in and around Calabasas, Calif., the McMansion-filled seat of the Kardashian empire. ...

Chef Jamie Oliver cooks up global expansion for Italian chain

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:40:03 -0400

By Victor Coupe LONDON (Reuters) - Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver inspired home cooks across Britain with his "pukka tukka" or nutritious food recipes and now he wants to expand his profile internationally by opening up to 20 of his Italian restaurants around the world. Oliver, 38, whose book, television, and restaurant empire has made him an estimated fortune of 225 million pounds ($334 million), on Tuesday unveiled plans to increase the number of his Jamie's Italian restaurants overseas to 20 from 4. ...

Online demand boosts market for rarest books, expert says

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:34:18 -0400

By Nigel Stephenson HAY-ON-WYE, Wales (Reuters) - 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 booksellers' stock meant more collectors were aware when a rare find came on the market. ...

Many German tax inspectors oblivious to Holocaust, book finds

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:47:12 -0400

By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Many low-level tax inspectors in Germany's Nazi-era finance ministry were oblivious to the Holocaust and dutifully tried to contact murdered Jews whose wealth was being plundered by the ministry's top officials, according to a new book. Germans have publicly atoned for Nazi crimes in a myriad of ways over six decades, providing scores of billions of dollars in reparations to Holocaust victims, their descendants and the state of Israel. But only recently have leading government ministries come clean on their own particular Nazi past. ...

Europe should walk on the wild side, with wolves: author

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:37:22 -0400

By Nigel Stephenson HAY-ON-WYE, Wales (Reuters) - Europe has an extraordinary opportunity to re-introduce wolves, bison and beavers and allow its citizens to reconnect with their wild side, an environmentalist and author said. George Monbiot told an audience at the Hay Festival of literature on the weekend that some 30 million hectares - an area the size of Poland - were expected to be taken out of agricultural use between 2000 and 2030 as farmers chose not to stay on unproductive land. ...

Dan Brown's 'Inferno' holds top spot on U.S. best-sellers list

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:53:27 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Inferno," Dan Brown's latest book, maintained the top spot on the U.S. best-sellers list on Thursday for the second week. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) 1 2. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $28.95) - 3. "The 12th of Never" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown, $27.99) 2 4. "Dead Ever After" by Charlaine Harris (Ace, $27.95) 3 5. ...

Book Talk: When North Korea attacks, misfits are Japan's only hope

Thu, 30 May 2013 04:02:22 -0400

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - 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 the political fumbling that is the Japanese government's response and the eventual counterattack by a motley group of homeless, psychotic misfits using largely homemade weapons. ...

Mystery and science fiction author Jack Vance dead at 96

Thu, 30 May 2013 00:48:30 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 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 on Wednesday. Vance passed away at his Oakland, California, home on Sunday, according to the statement at www.jackvance.com, a site maintained by his friends and family. He won the Hugo award for his science fiction book "The Dragon Masters" in 1963 and again in 1967 for "The Last Castle." The Hugo is given for excellence in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. ...

Twitter and drunken texting trouble Bridget Jones in new novel

Wed, 29 May 2013 10:12:40 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - British author Helen Fielding's comic creation returns to battle her insecurities in a third novel entitled "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" due out in October, her publisher Jonathan Cape said. The fictional 30-something Londoner, who sprang from Fielding's newspaper column in the 1990s to become a popular novel and film franchise, is a little older in her latest outing and grappling with the cringe-making challenges of social media. In the book, she laments the nightmare of drunken texting, skinny jeans and the fact she has no Twitter followers. ...

New book asks: Could Germany have a Jewish chancellor?

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:49:50 -0400

By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - A new novel about a neo-Nazi plot to assassinate Germany's first Jewish candidate for Chancellor has shed a timely light on the right-wing extremist violence that has plagued the country since 1990 and was swept under the carpet for years. Political thriller "The Jewish Candidate" by British journalist David Crossland has been published just as Germany's September election campaign is heating up and at the start of a trial of a neo-Nazi cell blamed for a spate of racist murders that went undetected for more than a decade. ...

First edition of 'Great Gatsby' to be sold at auction

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:58:36 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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 $150,000, Sotheby's said on Thursday. 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 unpublished poem in the June 11 books and manuscript sale in New York. ...

Dan Brown's "Inferno" tops U.S. best-sellers list

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:52:10 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Inferno," Dan Brown's latest book, shot to the top of the U.S. best-sellers 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. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) - 2. "The 12th of Never" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown, $27.99) 2 3. "Dead Ever After" by Charlaine Harris (Ace, $27.95) 1 4. "Silken Prey" by John Sandford (Putnam, $27.95) 3 5. "The Hit" by David Baldacci (Grand Central, $27.99) 4 6. ...

James Salter breaks long silence with 'All That Is'

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:14:17 -0400

By Billy Cheung NEW YORK (Reuters) - Award-winning author James Salter, who completed his last full-length book more than 30 years ago, has released a new novel that chronicles a life drawn from many of his own experiences. Like Salter, the main character in "All That Is" leaves the military to embark on a literary career. Unlike Salter, Philip Bowman becomes an editor after failing to find work as a writer. Salter is considered by many one of the best postwar American novelists and short-story writers. ...

Robin Roberts memoir coming next year

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:46:28 -0400

By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Robin Roberts will release a memoir in April 2014 detailing her battle against her life-threatening illness and return to the "Good Morning America" anchor desk. Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, is publishing the book, which Jamie Raab, president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing, will edit. "I am humbled that many have an interest, and draw strength from my ongoing journey," said Roberts. "I'm grateful for the prayers and well wishes of so many people. ...

Novelist Irvine Welsh spies future in mixed-media

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:10:37 -0400

By Claire Davenport BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Electronic publishing is allowing authors to be more creative and the best ones are successfully blending video and online content with traditional text, says cult writer Irvine Welsh. The author of "Trainspotting" and "The Acid House", who has also written short stories and plays, said e-publishing meant writers had to work harder to grab readers' attention in an age when wireless devices are rapidly replacing paperback books. ...

Book Talk: Of apes and atheists - is empathy evolution?

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:10:42 -0400

By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - For biologist Frans de Waal, a peaceful species of great ape in Africa is a mirror of humanity and a living argument that empathy and cooperation are far from unique to mankind. "The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism among the Primates", argues that both traits may be evolved behaviors based on his studies of the bonobo, which is found only in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other primates. ...