Book News, In Brief

Massachusetts is supposed to be a bastion of liberal thinking, dammit. Via 365GAy.com: "Two sets of parents whose lawsuit over the use of a gay-themed book by a Lexington, MA public school was dismissed by a federal appeals court say they will take the case to the US Supreme Court." Apparently, pops couldn't handle hearing his kid switch 'I hate you and I wish that I was never born' with 'I hate you and I wish that I were born to two legally wed mommies, the product of an in vitro fertilization.'

Via CBC.ca: "Thirteen people were arrested in Turkey last week in connection with a plot that included killing Nobel laureate Orham Pamuk, according to reports in the Turkish media. Turkish press reported that the ultra-nationalist gang is suspected of planning Pamuk's murder as part of a plot to sow chaos in preparation for a military coup in 2009.
"Turkish human rights advocates said they are hoping the investigation will probe illegal activity within the military and judiciary. High ranking officials have previously been protected because of their status, a spokesman for Istanbul's Free Expression Initiative told the British newspaper the Guardian. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Turkey is engaged in an attempt to revise its laws restricting free speech. However, just this Monday writer Atilla Yayla was given a 15-month suspended sentence for suggesting that Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, was not progressive."

Lastly, the World Book Day committee has released their shortlist for the Books to Talk About prize. It is:

Steve Aylett, Lint
Priya Basil, Ishq & Mushq
Jenny Downham, Before I Die
Eliza Graham, Playing with the Moon
Joshilyn Jackson, Gods In Alabama
Candi Miller, Salt & Honey
Pauline Rowson, In Cold Daylight
Rupert Thomson, Death of a Murderer
Jonathan Trigell, Boy A
Angela Young, Speaking of Love

For more information, the Guardian UK has a nice article here.