Casey Anthony's Lawyer Tells All; The Return of the Grand Home Library
Today in books and publishing: Casey Anthony's lawyer tells his side; E.L. James at Comic-Con; Nora Ephron remembered; fancy home libraries are back.
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Your Casey Anthony beach read is on its way. Casey Anthony's lawyer, Jose Baez, tells his side of things in a 421-page book that's coming out July 3 from BenBella Books, publisher of Rielle Hunter's memoir (busy summer!). In Presumed Guilty, Casey Anthony: The Inside Story, Baez says that Anthony, infamously acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, had mental health issues likely related to her alleged sexual abuse that led to habitual lying—"her lies weren’t evidence of guilt but signs of someone with 'serious mental health issues.'’’ Baez shares his own trial woes as well: "He suffered depression...and he found it difficult to find joy in his wife’s pregnancy." For her part, Anthony currently remains at an undisclosed Florida location serving probation on an unrelated charge; Baez doesn't say where exactly she is. Maybe working on her own book? [AP]
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E.L. James and Comic-Con, together at last. A match made in heaven. Or, anyway, interesting! The Fifty Shades of Grey author will attend next month's Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center, with a free book-signing event on July 12. Crossover audiences, take note; get in line. [AP]
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Mother-daughter co-authors. Author Jodi Picoult and her teen daughter Samantha wrote a Y.A. book together. It's a riff on fairy tales called Between the Lines—"What if a fairy tale's characters lived entirely different lives after the book's cover was closed?"—and it's getting good reviews. [Los Angeles Times]
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Misty Nora Ephron memories. Take your pick of the many great remembrances of the great and funny author and director, who died last night at the age of 71. Her New York Times obituary is one must-read. Things she will miss, from her collection, I Remember Nothing: "Taking a bath. Coming over the bridge to Manhattan. Pie.” Nora, you said it the way the rest of us wish we could have. [The New York Times]
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Is your library hiding their e-books from you? There's more information from the Pew report on e-books that's worth mentioning, particularly as we head into the dog days of the summer. Your library might have e-books—about three-quarters of them in America currently do—even though more than half of U.S. library-goers don't know it. So, ask, if you are e-book acquisitive. [CNN]
Home libraries are back. For the wealthy, anyway, who can afford to style them (and never have to move their own books, because that is the worst). The purpose of these decorous refined spaces laid with printed material is twofold: "'Part of the desire [to create libraries] is for people to look smart and well-read, and part of it is the quest for some great knowledge in this electronic age,' says Thatcher Wine, owner of Juniper Books, in Boulder, Colo." If you're for real about books, it's recommended (at least in this piece) that you own something by Charles Dickens. No need wasting the space if it's not going to boost your book-cred. [The Wall Street Journal]
