News Bits, In Briefs, Boxers and Panties...

Although HBO's Sex In The City never took off in the Middle East (due in large part to Sarah Jessica Parker's camel-like bone structure), sex-centric chick lit is all the rage in Saudi Arabia. Inspired by the success of Rajaa Alsanea's 2005 novel, Girls of Riyadh, 'The Land of The Two Holy Mosques' has seen an explosion in the number of young female writers being published. According to the Reuters article linked to above, the literary output of Saudi Arabia has more than doubled in the last two years, with this hot new trend in 'veiled fiction' (wink, wink) accounting for much of the growth.

Gawker.com has named Luke Janklow their Hottest Straight Man In Book Publishing. Surprise, surprise: he's a rich, white New Yorker. But that's not all there is to this handsome heartthrob. He's apparently a rebel and a rock star, too. According to a March, 2004 article in W magazine, Janklow thumbs his perfectly sculpted nose at the book world's tweed-heavy traditions by wearing sneakers to the office(!), putting said sneaker-clad feet up on his desk(!!) and leaving an electric guitar lying around in plain sight of his adoring interviewer(!!!). Swoon.

Via ChicagoPride.com: The Advocate's list of The 100 Best Gay Novels. The only problem? The list was made in 1999. In other words, no Fight Club.