Keep Your Hat on the Weekend Update

NYTBR: Liesl Schillinger really digs Charles Bock’s debut novel BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, a verdict I’m not at all surprised by because she also took to Marisha Pessl in a previous NYTBR cover review; Rachel Donadio rightly wonders why it takes so damn long to publish a book, even though those 18 months fly by very, very fast; and Dwight Garner’s “Inside the List” column gets Edgar-centric, but somehow forgets to point out that Otto Penzler publishes Thomas Cook and misses the awards date by a week. Also, (and yes, it’s a deliberate misinterpretation) the idea that crime fiction readers are relying solely on the “boldface names that crowd this page” makes me laugh my ass off.

And in the Week in Review section, Charles McGrath jumps off of the recent Joan Brady FumeGate to discuss the Genre Wars, after a fashion.

WaPo Book World: Jonathan Yardley is alternately entertained and chilled by a deadly tale of quackery; Art Taylor is happy to travel down the mean streets of Vegas with Joe McGinniss, Jr.; and Richard Lipez reviews November 2007 mystery titles by Gabriel Cohen, Martin Limon, James Church, Kevin Wignall and Barbara Cleverly.

LA Times: Donna Rifkind enjoys Meg Rosoff’s crossover novel WHAT I WAS; David Treuer argues for the salvation of the Ojibwe language; Lizzie Skurnick critiques the essays of David Shields’ new collection; and Richard Rayner rediscovers the marvelous and beautiful novels and stories by Angela Carter.

G&M: Marsha Lederman meets Eckhart Tolle, the newest Oprah-anointed author; Albert Manguel delves into THE DIVINE COMEDY; and Margaret Cannon rounds up crime fiction by Val McDermid, C.J. Box, Joseph Weisberg, Walter Mosley and Janet Evanovich.

Guardian Review: Costa winner AL Kennedy writes a new short story; Francisco Goldman talks about overcoming palpable grief after the loss of his wife; and Chimamanda Adichie indulges in the joy of reading Cyprian Ekwensi.

Observer: Jason Cowley traces the decline and fall of Charles Hills; Peter Guttridge seems uncommonly scared as a result of new books by Stephen King and John Grisham; and Viv Groskop approves of Lisa Appignanesi’s research into mental illness.

The Times: Erica Wagner talks with Peter Carey about HIS ILLEGAL SELF; Ian McMillan applauds a new festival of storytelling; and David Baddiel tries and struggles with fiction in translation.

The Scotsman: Chitra Ramaswamy muddles her way through James Meek’s new novel; Stuart Kelly wonders why Peter Ackroyd’s treatment of Poe is as short as the author’s life; and J.G. Ballard ponders the meaning of death.
**
The Rest**:

Oline Cogdill appears twice in this weekend’s Sun-Sentinel, reviewing James Hall’s newest thriller and interviewing Sleuthfest GoH Lee Child.

Adam Woog enjoys Earl Emerson’s new standalone PRIMAL THREAT.

The Ottawa Citizen’s Mike Gillespie has a good time with Linda Richards’ DEATH WAS THE OTHER WOMAN.

The Telegraph’s Susanna Yager reviews new crime fiction titles by Qiu Xiaolong and Simon Lewis.

Mark Athitakis talked with Richard Price about CLOCKERS, THE WIRE and a little bit on his upcoming novel LUSH LIFE.

The Sydney Morning Herald meets Toni Jordan, Australia’s newest romance writing star.

The Age’s Ian Munro wonders if Ancient Rome has disturbing parallels to current-day America.

At the Telegraph, Judy Blume talks to Melissa Whitworth about about her career, teenage girls and growing older.

Pete Warzel interviews Eli Gottlieb about the ten-year gap between novels, living in Boulder and what he’s working on next.

And finally, just who is Miss Daisy Frost? I’m not sure, but I am plenty amused at her chronicling of the UK publishing industry.