Book News, In Brief

A shout-out to the sell-out who spoke out about selling her soul to Chicken Soup For The Soul. Or: Victoria Patterson talks turkey about 'Chick Soup-ing' her story, The Kindness of Strangers.


Congratulations to one of my all-time favorite cartoonists, Gilbert Hernandez, on being awarded a 2009 Rasmuson Fellowship in the category of literature. If you haven't read any of Beto's Palomar stories yet, get to it!


A "microanalytical examination" of an "illustrated miniature manuscript" of The Gospel of Mark found the kid-sized codex to be a fraud. That said, the faithful don't give a f*ck what scientists are able to disprove, so who cares?


First Publishers Weekly made a Best Books of 2009 list that didn't have any women, now they've come under fire for their unintentionally offensive 'Afro Picks' cover. Quick, before Hanukkah's over, can they pull off The Whoopi Goldberg Trifecta?


Do you obsess over J.D. Salinger's copyright and speak fluent legalese? Then head on over to the law offices of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz's website, where they've posted the transcripts to the entire Salinger vs. that guy who wrote the unlicensed sequel court case.


A gold and ivory retractable toothpick belonging to Charles Dickens is going up for auction in NYC next week. A word to my Secret Santa: Although I enjoyed A Muppets Christmas Carol as much as the next guy, please remember, I want a case of Sugar-Free Red Bull, not this bit of bacteria-laden memorabilia.