Book News, In Brief

Cover art superstar, Chip Kidd, makes a sensible guess as to the future of e-books: It's going to be similar to the current state of audio-books. Via.


I know this borders on being one of those snake-eats-its-tail/caged-chickens-eating-the-ground-up-remains-of-other-caged-chickens things, but still: This bookstore blog points you towards another bookstore's blog post about still other bookstore blogs (including this bookstore blog).


This isn't intended to inspire a mob uprising or a corpse exhumation or anything like that, but the Guardian UK does have a point when they ask, "Just how much of The Great Gatsby did Truman Capote steal for Breakfast at Tiffany's, and did he really think we were going to let him get away with it?"


This Thursday, at a rare book auction in Manhattan, a 59-year-old retired real estate developer and self-described "devout Christian" is selling his collection of over 100 rare Bibles, valued at over a half million dollars. To quote the hallowed, haloed hippie, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."


According to Amazon.com, the Kindle e-reader edition of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol is the top-selling book (note: not e-book) on Amazon.com. Is this a sign of things to come (a'la the music industry & digital downloads), or just another example of Jeff Bezos' unique brand of "I can't show you any actual numbers, but you can take my word for it" public relations (a'la the Kindle's sales numbers)?


YourMonkeyCalled has created a book-based word game that's one unmasked Asian commuter away from going viral -- Book titles, If They Were Written Today.
An example:
Then: The Gospel of Matthew
Now: 40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss
(Via: Estoreal)