Books News Headlines - Yahoo! News

	Books News Headlines - Yahoo! News
	Novelist Irvine Welsh spies future in mixed-media By Claire Davenport BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Electronic publishing is allowing authors to be more creative and the best ones are successfully blending video and online content with traditional text, says cult writer Irvine Welsh. The author of "Trainspotting" and "The Acid House", who has also written short stories and plays, said e-publishing meant writers had to work harder to grab readers' attention in an age when wireless devices are rapidly replacing paperback books. ... Read More » Merkel says has no secrets about her communist past By Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel has dismissed claims in a new book that she was more actively committed to East Germany's communist regime than she has acknowledged, saying she has never kept anything secret about her past. The book, "The first life of Angela M.", says that Merkel, who will seek a third term as chancellor in a federal election in September, was responsible for Marxist-Leninist education in a unit of the state's youth wing, in a role that went beyond the cultural duties she has previously spoken of. ... Read More » New book teaches children ABCs of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway By Jonathan Stempel OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc invests in dozens of businesses, and a new book tries to explain it all to young readers, from A to Z. Two Omaha residents, author Nancy Rips and illustrator Tom Kerr, have teamed up on "My First Berkshire ABC" to teach children about one of the world's best-known companies, and a little about the local billionaire behind it. More than 1,000 copies were sold at Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday, which draws thousands of people to Omaha, and where Buffett has a say on what gets sold. ... Read More » World Chefs: Richard Blais serves up restraint in first book By Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - American chef Richard Blais may be best known for using gimmicks and gadgets in his television appearances but in his first cookbook, "Try This At Home!", he shows his cooking can be fun and tasty without being complicated. The 41-year-old used often used liquid nitrogen and immersion circulators to make dishes on the U.S. cooking competition show "Top Chef All-Stars," which he won more than two years ago. Blais, a marathon runner and soccer fan, was born in Uniondale, New York and now lives in Atlanta where he owns The Spence and several other ... Read More » Michael C. Hall adapting talent-agent book for showtime By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The final season of "Dexter" hasn't premiered yet, but series star Michael C. Hall is already slicing into his next project for the cable network. Hall is working with Showtime on an adaptation of the Matthew Specktor novel "American Dream Machine," about a talent agent and his sons. The novel follows Beau Rosenwald, who arrived in Hollywood broke but by the late '70s has helped to build the most successful agency in Hollywood. The book chronicles Rosenwald as he rises, falls, and rises again - and goes to war with his partner. ... Read More » World Chefs: French politicians dish up passion for cooking By Chris Michaud NEW YORK (Reuters) - Few subjects stir French passions more than politics and food, so perhaps it was inevitable that the two realms would eventually collide - and meld - in a cookbook. "French Country Cooking," a compendium of recipes contributed by members of France's National Assembly, serves up a lavishly illustrated complement of French cuisine, from rustic one-pot stews to refined roasts and decadent desserts. Jeanette Seaver, the book's translator, spoke to Reuters about the unusual project and the French obsession with food. ... Read More » Libyans find old treasures at Tripoli book sale By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Flicking through an old book about Libyan history he never imagined he could buy under Muammar Gaddafi, Ashraf Hussein points to a picture of Tripoli's main square in the 1920s. "This is where we are standing now, Martyrs Square. Back then it was called Piazza Roma," the 31-year old history masters student said, referring to Libya's Italian colonial days. "Such books were forbidden before because they told the true history of Libya - Gaddafi did not want that. I bought many such books today. ... Read More » Novelist Banks "stunned" by fan support over terminal cancer By Li-mei Hoang LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish author Iain Banks, who announced this month he was suffering from terminal cancer, said he was "stunned" by the messages of support he has received from his fans. The "Wasp Factory" author said he was deeply flattered and touched by all the responses left on the website Banksophilia, which was set up by his friend Martin Belk. "Good grief! - what an outpouring of love, affection and respect. I honestly had no idea," he wrote. ... Read More » Late war reporter Marie Colvin listed for top UK writing prize LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran American war correspondent Marie Colvin who was killed in Syria last year was nominated on Thursday for the Orwell Prize, a British literary award for political writing. Colvin, a U.S. reporter for Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, was killed alongside French photographer Remi Ochlik as Syrian government forces attacked the town of Homs in February last year and rockets hit the house where they were staying. "On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin" was published in April last year. The book ends with her final written dispatch from Homs. ... Read More » Britain's Hilary Mantel tops women's fiction prize shortlist LONDON (Reuters) - British novelist Hilary Mantel's "Bring Up the Bodies" tale about Thomas Cromwell will take on five challengers in the Women's Prize for Fiction award in 2013 as she attempts to add to her groaning trophy cabinet. The historical bestseller set in Henry VIII's court has already won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the Costa Book Award. If she takes the Women's Prize, Mantel will become the first person to win all three of Britain's top literary prizes. ... Read More » Led Zeppelin digital-book author Neal Preston: "It's right up the vein" By Sharon Waxman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Led Zeppelin, that band that wrote the book on heavy rock, is now helping to rewrite the book on digital publications. Acclaimed rock photographer Neal Preston's new e-book breaks ground for the genre with interactive video, 80 contact sheets and photos never previously published. Preston followed the band throughout the '70s and opened up his vast archive to create a rich, intimate experience with the world of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. ... Read More » Led Zeppelin Digital-Book Author Neal Preston: 'It's Right Up the Vein' (Exclusive) By Sharon Waxman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Led Zeppelin, that band that wrote the book on heavy rock, is now helping to rewrite the book on digital publications. Acclaimed rock photographer Neal Preston's new e-book breaks ground for the genre with interactive video, 80 contact sheets and photos never previously published. Preston followed the band throughout the '70s and opened up his vast archive to create a rich, intimate experience with the world of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. ... Read More » Colonial psalm book could sell for $30 million at NY auction NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of 11 surviving copies of the first book printed in America is hitting the auction block later this year and is expected to fetch as much as $30 million, which would make it the most valuable book in history, Sotheby's said on Friday. The Bay Psalm Book was printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is being sold from the collection of Boston's Old South Church to fund building repairs and sustain its ministry. The church owns one other copy, and others are owned by Harvard and Yale universities and other institutions. ... Read More »