Book News, In Brief

Still golden, forty years on: The New York Times reassess S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. Charges of plagiarism are addressed and dismissed -- not because they're unfounded, but because the final novel turned out so unmistakably original.

The New Yorker magazine has hired Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon as their new poetry editor. The GuardianUK finds this to be a refreshing, albeit ironic selection. "In 1990, Muldoon published a mischievous poem called Capercaillies, in which the first letters of each line spelt out, in acrostic, Is This a New Yorker Poem Or What? (The New Yorker maintains that it rejected the poem.)"

Borders has already drastically downsized their stock of cds and dvds, and it appears that ink & paper books are next. From ReadersRead: "Borders has renewed its agreement with Sony regarding the sale and promotion of the Sony Ebook reader. Under the new deal, Borders will continue to sell the Sony Readers, but will expand the number of stores where it is sold to 500 nationwide." Devoted Borders 'customers' are apparently okay with this, as it doesn't in any way threaten their freeloading, layabout habits. My advice to the company, though: don't f**k with your scone selection!

Tim Lucas' definitive Mario Bava biography, All The Colors Of The Dark, has finally been released. It's $260 (US), but that's why I asked for it for my birthday...two years ago. Delighted recipients have been posting pictures of themselves with their new, prized possession on the blog that Lucas set up specifically for the book. To the left is my personal favorite.