Smatterings

Thanks to the dedicated crowd who turned up at Scandinavia House yesterday evening to hear your gravel-voiced moderator lead Val McDermid, Jeffrey Frank and Edward Kastenmeier in discussion of Stieg Larsson’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. It was lively and enthusiastic and sociopolitical, not unlike the book itself. And now I can’t wait to see what the reactions will be to THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, which is even more of a standout….

Your Booker Prize winner: Aravind Adiga. Michael Orthofer is not happy.

Your National Book Award nominees.

Frankfurt has begun, and Orhan Pamuk’s speech denounced Turkish oppression.

Tough times ahead in publishing, obviously.

Oline Cogdill delivers a positive response on THE BRASS VERDICT.

Dwight Garner is leaving the NYTBR as deputy editor to replace William Grimes as a book critic for the daily paper.

Roberto Saviano should be placed under even more serious protection.

Was Milan Kundera an informer in the early 1950s? He says no, documentation indicates otherwise.

And RIP Neal Hefti, your TV themes were beyond awesome.