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

From the Guardian (“Forward prize shortlists look to youth and experience,” by John Ezard): Britain’s richest poetry awards today choose by far the youngest poet in their history as a finalist for their most sought-after prize. He is Luke Kennard, 26, whose book of verse The Harbour Beyond the Movie is shortlisted for the £10,000 [...]

From the Tintin desk: Borders stores in the U.S. will also move Tintin in the Congo to the graphic novels section. From Publishers Weekly (“Borders Shelves Kids’ Tintin Title in Adult Section, by Karen Holt”): Borders in the U.S. released a statement about the book after PW raised the issue  last week. Spokesperson Ann Binkley [...]

In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (“Harry Potter a classic?”), Bob Hoover asks a bunch of nice people whether or not the Harry Potter books will be considered classics. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that some people say they are bona fide children’s classics while others say they’re wonderful because they get young people to [...]

I was reading Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind when I discovered that I’d missed the announcement of the Shamus nominees. And here they are: 2007 SHAMUS AWARDS – NOMINEES (For works published in 2006.) Best P.I. Novel The Dramatist, by Ken Bruen (St. Martin’s/Minotaur) The Darkest Place, by Daniel Judson (St. Martin’s/Minotaur) The Do-Re-Me, by [...]

On AL Focus, Beverly Goldberg talks to Susan Patron about the scrotum flap brouhaha: Susan Patron’s book “The Higher Power of Lucky” became known for two things in the past year: winning the 2007 ALA Newberry Medal, and being at the center of an uproar when some school librarians removed the book because it contained [...]

Ever since I signed up for the artsJournal newsletter, I’ve been reading more books coverage from Canada. (Confusingly, they spell “out” the same way we do.) In the Globe and Mail (“Books still win“), Rick Groen declares: I’ve done the math and here’s the bottom line. If you want consistent artistic bang for your buck, [...]

Galleycat (“Film Mogul Who Beat “JT” in Court Wants His Million“) offers a quick financial accounting of the Antidote Films v. Laura Albert case. When I asked people familiar with the world of litigation for comment, they suggested that, assuming Levy-Hinte is telling the truth about how much money he spent, Albert might not be the [...]

The second annual Thriller Awards have been announced. The winners? Best Novel Killer Instinct, by Joseph Finder (St. Martin’s) Best First Novel Mr. Clarinet, by Nick Stone (HarperCollins) Best Paperback Original An Unquiet Grave, by P.J. Parrish (Pinnacle) (I left out the screenplays — we’re a book site.) The other nominees? Best Novel False Impression, by Jeffrey [...]

Patrick T. Reardon suspects that “many readers enjoy the olfactory experience of reading” (“What’s in a book? Take a whiff,” Chicago Tribune). He also asks: Do e-books have a smell?

The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps, edited by Otto Penzler (Vintage), landed on my desk last Friday. And when they say “big,” they’re not kidding. At over 1,000 pages, this sucker weighs in at 3 lbs., 15oz. There are dogs smaller than that. But now I’m set for summer reading, anyway. Wish I could [...]