Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

A quick link before I go. In the Los Angeles Times (“Mystery writer John Shannon prowls L.A.’s dark streets“), Josh Getlin does a nice profile of mystery writer John Shannon. (Oh, wait, the headline explained that, didn’t it?) In John Shannon’s literary world, the neo-noir thriller is more than a lazy weekend read. He charges [...]

Every time I come to an ALA conference, I arrive planning to blog every day. After all, without the hassles of a daily commute, free from the myriad charming chores that attend a household with two small children, relieved of the need to even clean up after myself — well, surely I’ve added several hours to [...]

The New York Times has identified an unusual trend: books by farmers (“Old MacDonald Now Has a Book Contract,” by Dana Bowen). The lede features John Peterson, the organic farmer I used to buy vegetables and fruit from until parenthood eliminated cooking healthy meals from my schedule. (I’ll explain that one another day.) Mr. Hoffman [...]

BookPeople (TM) who follow book news have no doubt seen some headlines about the bankruptcy of Publishers Group West. And, like good BookPeople (TM), they probably didn’t read past the headlines, figuring that the business of books doesn’t concern them. True, many of the Publishers Weekly articles were a bit on the dry side. But [...]

So, while I’m feeling proud of myself because of my decision not to write about any more O.J. Simpson-related developments, it occurs to me that Laura Albert/JT Leroy has become my O.J. Sigh. OK, enough reflection. The Washington Post (“Nothing but the Truth,” by David Segal) offers an account of Albert’s testimony that includes a few choice quotes [...]

Galleycat has been trendspotting this week. Yesterday they noted that Conn and Hal Iggulden’s Dangerous Book for Boys has girls saying, “Anything you can do, I can do better”…. And on both Monday and Tuesday they tracked a new book-cover trope: tats. I hope nobody’s tried to put together a comprehensive list of book covers [...]

In my roundup of Booklist and Booklist Online editors’ various appearances at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., I forgot to mention an appearance in the two-dimensional realm: on the Booklist 2007-08 Calendar. Yes, I’m “Mr. February”; no, it’s not one of those fundraising things where we all pose in the buff with artfully positioned [...]

Ever since men first discovered fatherhood (when was that, the Sixties?), they keep on discovering it. Now “cool guys” have discovered it: Alternadad, by Neal Pollack (Pantheon) Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life, by Jim Lindberg (Collins) “No Rules, Just Real Life”? Hey, this parenting manual has attitude — just like me! Awesome! [...]

It turns out Judd Apatow has been accused of theft before. (Thanks, Ben Segedin!) I don’t know whether he’s an idea thief or not, but he does seem to come off better than his accusers. From a very old Harper’s (“Don’t have a cow, man“): I am sorry you are upset. I am not a [...]

I can’t resist another article about Laura Albert, née JT Leroy. According to the New York Times (“Going to Court over Fiction by a Fictitious Writer,” by Alan Feuer), a film production company that had planned to make a movie out of Sarah is now suing Albert for fraud. Their rationale? The person who signed [...]