Links o’ rama

If Edinburgh is such a World City of Literature, why do its tourist attractions only stock schlocky books like tartan guides and ghost stories? The Herald goes on a tear about the so-called lack of diversity.

Sure, JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien are incredibly popular (Philip Pullman too) but if you ask kids who else they read, Brian Jacques may come to mind. The Boston Globe meets the Liverpool-based fantasy author.

Ron Bernas rounds up crime books for the Freep, looking at the latest by Carol O’Connell, Claire Matturro, and Alexander McCall Smith.

Another day, another Q&A with James Ellroy, this time with the Seattle Times. It’s a bit unnerving to read that he “loves Yiddish,” for some reason….

Meanwhile, the Agony Column’s Terry D’Auray interviewed Denver lawyer-turned-author Stephanie Kane last week, who answered questions about her former career, why she made her protagonist dyslexic, and more.

The G&M’s Rebecca Caldwell catches up with Chris Turner, who’s written a book about how current pop culture can be seen through the prism of The Simpsons.

So Amazon can’t handle hucksters who try to scam people into buying fake goods like digital cameras and rare books–why am I not surprised to hear this?

And finally, it seems the thing to do around Booker Prize time is to hang out at Soho House–the real one, not that offshoot in the meatpacking district. Too bad the poseurs haven’t actually read the nominees…(link from Moorish Girl)