books

Be Scared: Dick Cheney's Memoir Due in August

Jim Newell · 05/19/11 11:14AM

America's most huggable teddy bear, Dick Cheney, has been working on his memoirs from his CIA-bunker house ever since leaving office. It should have been on bookstore shelves for a year or so by now, former vice president's rather serious heart problems got in the way. But now that's all over! In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir will hit shelves on August 30, so grab your sleeping bags and head over to the nearest bookstore entrance now.

Donald Trump Is Writing a 'Policy Book'

Jim Newell · 05/12/11 03:57PM

Guess whose turn it is now to accept a fat welfare check from the world of conservative publishing imprints? It's Donald Trump's turn, naturally! The skinny-mouthed death hologram has signed on with Regnery Publishing — the folks behind bestsellers from Michelle Malkin, David Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and whoever else sucks — for a "policy book," to be written on a crash schedule and released late this summer.

Star Jones' Book About The View Is Not About The View

Brian Moylan · 05/03/11 05:16PM

Did you know that Star Jones has a new book out? Yes! It's called Satan's Sisters and it's about five women who co-host a daytime talk show. Oh, no, no, no, it's not about The View. No, really!

The 'Advertising in Books' Wall Has Been Breached

Hamilton Nolan · 04/26/11 11:24AM

Harry Hurt III (pictured, with pal) used to write a column in the New York Times business section called "Executive Pursuits," in which Harry Hurt went off and did something wacky and upscale and wrote about it. It always struck me as a wholly unnecessary exercise in self-absorption, which had nothing to do with business at all, except for the fact that Harry Hurt is a rich guy. Now, he's back—pioneering the use of advertising and product placement in books. Oh. Good.

'Three Cups of Tea' Guy: I'm Sloppy, Not a Liar

Hamilton Nolan · 04/19/11 09:08AM

Last weekend, 60 Minutes cast serious doubts on portions of Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson's uplifting memoir of walking around Afghanistan and Pakistan and building schools. Mortenson has found a friendlier news outlet to which to proclaim his innocence.

Bernie Madoff Loves Danielle Steel

Max Read · 04/09/11 04:20PM

Convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has a lot of time to kill in jail. So what does he do? Well, for one thing, give jailhouse interviews—such as this most recent one to the Financial Times—where he can rail about the banks he believes (more or less accurately, in our estimation) were complicit in his scheme. But also: Keep up with his mail (of which he gets "lots," all from "well-wishers"); work at the prison commissary ("10 a.m. to 7 p.m., four days a week"); and, apparently, work on "ethics courses," for which he's been solicited by "several business schools," including Harvard and Northwestern. Oh, and also, read:

Natalie Portman's Dad Shopping Around His Novel

Seth Abramovitch · 04/06/11 03:26AM

Have you read Misconception, a page-turner of a "reproductive thriller," self-published by fertility specialist Dr. Avner Hershlag? Well, you might want to jump on that baby now, before a major publisher buys it and hikes up the price considerably. That's because Hershlag — who happens to be the dad of Natalie Portman — has been shopping the book around.

The Future of Libraries Is Bookless

Hamilton Nolan · 03/29/11 11:39AM

Libraries: who needs them? We all have our very own libraries by the name of "The Internet" at our fingertips now, and these libraries include porn. So what can old public libraries do to keep up? First, toss those books.

Bill Ayers Again 'Admits' He Wrote Barack Obama's Memoir

Jim Newell · 03/28/11 02:40PM

One of the all-time Top Five, or really Top One, Barack Obama conspiracy theories is back in the news! Did you know that Barack Obama's terrorist friend, former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers, secretly ghostwrote the president's memoir, Dreams From My Father? This story has been around for several years and still comically emerges from time to time, like right now. The wingnuts have caught Ayers "admitting" that he wrote Barack Obama's book, again, when he was clearly making fun of them for ever believing something so stupid.

Andy Rooney Hates E-Books

Matt Cherette · 03/06/11 08:55PM

It had been a little while since 60 Minutes had graced us with a show-ending Andy Rooney segment, but tonight, everyone's favorite senile curmudgeon was back—and complaining about something, naturally. Tonight's victim? The confusing, evil, soul-destroying e-book!

All Books Must Now Appeal to Cracker Barrel Patrons

Hamilton Nolan · 02/28/11 01:02PM

Now that Borders is dying, book publishers are collectively asking themselves, "Huh, where do we sell all these stupid books, now?" I mean Barnes & Noble is okay and all, but it's gonna take more shelf space than that to show off all those fancy attractive book covers designed to make people forget they could be buying this copy much cheaper used, on Ebay. The solution? Placing books in every kind of store, anywhere, that sells anything at all.