And a new week begins

And oh, let’s start with the Grey Lady, because we can. Karen Joy Fowler’s THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB is a huge (and surprise) success this summer, and Dinitia Smith catches up with the author to talk about the impetus for the book, book clubs in general, and what’s next.

Janet Maslin likes Chuck Palahniuk’s essay collection? That seems like an odd match to me…

Patrick Anderson takes on Pete Earley’s THE BIG SECRET, his first political thriller, and finds it quite wanting. Early has previously published seven non-fiction tomes, and Anderson wonders if perhaps Earley should really stick to what he knows best.

What happens when a novelist meets his idol? As Justin Cartwright found out when he met up with John Updike, the experience turned him into a drooling fanboy.

Peter Hill, at the age of 19, became a lighthouse keeper. He wrote down his memories of his experiences and self-published them, but they soon found an audience and major publishers jumped on board. He talks to the Sydney Morning Herald about the road to success.

There’s a new agency in town in the Uk, and it’s got some serious cred: it’s the Wade (for Robin) and Doherty (for Broo, formerly the editorial director of Gregory & Company) Agency, and they’ve just recruited former Transworld managing director Mark Barty-King to come on board.

Now that it’s been some time since the Net Book Agreement was abolished in the UK, has the overall result been a good thing for the publishing industry? The Sunday Herald gives a resounding, and harsh, no and explains why.

The Madison Capital Times gives a fairly good review to Mark Billingham’s LAZYBONES on the heels of his visit to the city last week. And I might as well throw in an old interview with Mark that ran in the free underground rag Metro last year, which is still one of the more amusing pieces I’ve run across on the man. Find out about his bizarre encounter with Daniella Westbrook (the Brit actress most famous for her coke-addled nose) and his favorite heckle ever.

Speaking of comedians-turned-authors, Alexei Sayle is profiled at The Age about how much he’s mellowed since his in-your-face days as a comic in the 1980s and early 90s.

The father-daughter tag-team of James Lee and Alafair Burke are interviewed by Linda Wertheimer in the final installment of All Things Considered’s mystery program, hot on the heels of the publication of the latest in the Billy Bob Holland and Samantha Kincaid series, respectively.

Our Pal The Rake is the latest litblogger to be Q&Aed over at Joe Bloggs.

And finally, Steven Levy, the technology columnist at Newsweek, launches a brand-new feature at the magazine on “Airplane Reading.” His inaugural column focuses on Lee Child’s THE ENEMY. It’s quite the rave, and Levy asks for suggestions for future pieces. You better believe I’ve sent in my fair share…