Book News, In Brief

J.K. Rowling began her US book tour in Los Angeles yesterday. In addition the usual crowd of silver spoon debu-tots and Hollywood royalty were a Benetton ad's smattering of lower-to-middle class and/or mixed race children. For photo ops.

Random House takes one small step towards the future (the Google Book Search), one giant step away from the past (bookstores like us!). PCWorld.com gloats.

The 2007 Ignatz Award winners have been announced. It's a comic book award. Yes, comics count as books. Oh, wait, we're calling them 'graphic novels' now, aren't we? Anyway, if you're up for a laugh, take a look at the gaping difference between the winners of the Ignatz and those of the Wizard Fan Award. Is there no common ground for geeks?