Links all the way round

I think it’s official: the New York Times is obsessed with Orthodox Judaism. The latest proof? Their piece on the revision of the Schottenstein edition of the Talmud, the first such revision in over half a century. The entire 73-volume set can be yours for the low, low price of $3,650…

MI5 former chief and current debut crime writer Stella Rimington sits down with the Boston Globe’s Mark Feeney to talk about her work and career switch. She also recommends favorite authors and titles.

HammettWatch, aka the 75th Anniversary of THE MALTESE FALCON, continues with David Kipen’s piece on NPR explaining why the book is so important not only in the crime genre, but in fiction. Also, Tom Nolan writes an excellent piece about the author for the Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press gives a handy overview of Hammett’s life and work.

Speaking of crime fiction masters, the complete works of Raymond Chandler have been bought by UK Entertainment company Chorion, presumably to make films and other multimedia versions out of them.

Oh, the mighty Penguin, how your fortunes have fallen drastically! In the wake of the warehousing scandal, the publishing company’s UK CEO, Anthony Forbes Watson, has resigned.

For the second year in a row, a charity project featuring writing by children in Ulster is now available, and the work is getting praise from folks like…the Corrs. Yeah, the band, as they wrote the foreword to the book.

Is it me, or is this news incredibly snooze-worthy? I mean, if they could work out the compromise now, why didn’t they do this years ago? Hello?

And finally, test your luck with the Looooove Calculator. No, not the one you’re thinking of.