Book News! In Brief!(now with extraneous exclamation marks!)

Angels are the new vampires! At least that's what the angel-obsessed Anne Rice thinks.


SFW! The title of this piece may sound like an episode of To Catch a Predator, but Erin Keane's Teen Books Lure Grown-Up Eyes is actually a fascinating look at the modern reader's Forever 21 mindset. (Via.)


WTF?! Also akin to an episode of To Catch a Predator, Reuters reports that a mob of paranoid parents in Beijing lynched a traveling book salesman after rumors spread that he was part of a human smuggling ring. Needless to say, he wasn't.


Controversy alert! Change.org has posted an online petition asking Scholastic to include gay-friendly books at book fairs. If it's a question of available space (note: it's not), they could make room by getting rid of some toys. (Via.)


Diva alert! Maybe it's just The Guardian UK's negative review of his new book causing him to lash out, or maybe Philip Roth really believes that the novel "will dwindle to a 'cultic' minority enthusiasm within 25 years." Whichever, he comes off like a whiny b*tch.