Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

In regard to last week’s query, yes, I did forget something. I forgot flarf.
So Enid Blyton, author of those fabulous Famous Five books I so adored as a callow youth, wasn’t much of a mum (”Why Enid Blyton’s greatest creation was herself,” by Garry Jenkins (Telegraph):
The drama reveals how Enid exploited even her own family to [...]

If a third instance makes a trend, then here’s a new trend: book titles that read like the T-shirts sold in spring-break hot-spots.
Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, by Chelsea Handler (2008)
I Drink for a Reason, by David Cross (2009)
You Can’t Drink All Day if You Don’t Start in the Morning, by Celia Rivenbark [...]

Nook, vook, blook, p-book, wovel, poegel . . . am I forgetting anything?
Some in the publishing industry say that, thanks to e-readers such as the Kindle, people are reading more books (”E-Book Fans Keep Format in Spotlight,” by Brad Stone, New York Times). Who, exactly, says this? Well, the manufacturers of the Kindle, but that’s [...]

I know something happened this week–everybody was talking about it. Writing about it, even. Something, something . . . some guy published a book? Oh, yeah! Dan Brown thrilled the world by finally–finally–giving us The Lost Symbol. The New York Times, which really is getting the hang of this breaking-the-embargo thing, wrote, puzzlingly, that Brown [...]