Book News, In Brief

Literacy advocates will be thrilled to know that books are currently the most popular online purchase. Brick and mortar bookstores, on the other hand, lament the good old days, when porn was still the internet's main cash crop.

While we're writing the epitaph for bookstores everywhere (well, bookstores in the real world, anyway), we might as well let you in on another potential customer killer. Libraries in Texas and California are now offering free audiobook downloads from their web sites. And here I'd thought that George Bush Jr. and the return of granny-waist jeans were the worst that these two states had to offer.

Alright, let's put an end to all of this Eeyore-esque emoting. Here's something a bit more entertaining. E.L. Doctorow on The Charlie Rose Show.