paper trail

Mar 29, 2010 @ 6:00:00 am

Virginie Despentes

As James Shapiro's new book argues that Shakespeare really did write all that great work, Oxford University Press has announced a new complete, modernized edition of the Bard's work, set for publication in 2016. Oxford's scholars will "make careful use of all the surviving original documents," and offer readers alternate versions, a choice of modern or original spelling, and both print and digital editions.

The winner of the annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title has been announced.

Virginie Despentes, author of King Kong Theory, wonders why Hollywood spends millions on slickly rendered violence, while pornography is banished to "an economic ghetto." Despentes's idea of "blockbuster Hollywood porn" is usually dismissed as hyperbole—or sensationalized in racy Village Voice pages—and no wonder: King Kong Theory’s polemics on prostitution, rape, and porn aren't polite. But they're more than empty provocation, and are written with unusual intelligence, wit, and conviction.

The Barack Bump: Barack Obama once plugged Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland. Now, he's giving a boost to The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell, and pulling for indie bookstores.

The finalists have been announced for the "Lost Booker Prize."