Book News, In Brief

In the past few years, the only artist putting out more posthumous product than Tupac is Tolkien. Via the AP: An early, long-unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien is coming out. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, a thorough reworking in verse of old Norse epics that predates...The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will be published in May by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Perhaps the worst promotional gimmick ever, via The LA Times: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the New International Version of the Bible, the publishing house Zondervan is inviting people across the country to copy a verse in their own hand. Still, if any of y'all are planning to participate, I'd suggest checking out Cracked Magazine's list of The 9 Most Badass Bible Verses first. 2 Kings 2:23-24 is nuts!

Semi-related: A group of Minnesota monks spent 10 years and $5.5 million to create a seven-volume, hand-lettered, 'illuminated' Bible. And you thought your donations were going to molested choirboys and 'church renovations.' Via The Baltimore Sun: At a time when books can be written and distributed to millions by high-speed computer, there is no earthly reason why anyone would need to spend $5.5 million to create an illuminated manuscript of the Catholic Bible, featuring calligraphy applied by hand on calfskin parchment and other bookmaking methods dating back to the Middle Ages. And yet, that may be exactly why such a project was launched in 2000 by monks from St. John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn. They're not doing it because they have to, but because they want to, for the glory of God and the enrichment of those who view the work.