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If you were one of the dozens of people let go from Simon & Schuster in December, back when CEO Carolyn Reidy lamented that the company had "literally examined our budget line by line to find those areas large and small where we might further economize," you'll be particularly thrilled to hear that S&S imprint Scribner has dropped a ridiculous $5 million on Time Traveler's Wife author Audrey Niffenegger's second novel.

It seems that neither a recession nor the mounting evidence that traditional book publishing is dying anyway is obstacle to the special strain of stupidity that reigns during a book auction, when publishing houses outbid each other simply to prove they can—only for the "lucky" winner to suffer buyer's remorse when the book mystifying fails to sell anywhere near enough copies to turn a profit.

So come fall, when Scribner releases Niffenegger's novel, "a supernatural story about twins who inherit an apartment near a London cemetery," expect a desperate marketing campaign of Hollywood blockbuster proportions—and a lot of gleefully dismissive reviews.

Audrey Niffenegger Receives $5 Million Advance for Second Novel [NYT]