Sunday Smatterings in the Sunshine

Of course I’m leading off with this piece of news: a new collection of Shel Silverstein poems will be published by HarperCollins’ Childrens Books in Fall 2011. This is awesome. What would be more awesome is if some more of his works for adults, currently buried in the Archives in Chicago, would see the light of day. One can only hope!

Oline Cogdill reviews Linda Fairstein’s new mystery, HELL GATE, for the Sun-Sentinel.

At the Guardian, Laura Wilson rounds up new crime novels by Jo Nesbo, Sophie Hannah, DJ Taylor and Julie Zeh.

Margaret Cannon analyzes new crime fiction offerings by Jo Nesbo, Carol Goodman, Keith Thomson, Kelli Stanley, S.J. Parris and William Peter Blatty for the Globe & Mail, which also gives Nesbo the Q&A treatment. 

Another big Jo Nesbo fan: Katherine Dunn, who reviews THE DEVIL’S STAR for the Oregonian.

Paula Woods has her say on Philip Kerr’s new Bernie Gunther novel IF THE DEAD RISE NOT in the LA Times. Kerr was recently in Australia to promote the book and talks to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Jason Steger.

The Independent on Sunday’s Mark Timlin is bowled over by Lee Child’s 61 HOURS, which sets things up rather nicely for the next book to follow this fall. 

Also in the Independent, Sophie Hannah explains why she sees the good in everyone and refuses to judge her characters in the pursuit of writing some very psychologically unnerving crime fiction.

Retired pathologist and crime writer Bernard Knight tells the BBC why he’s calling it a day as a writer – because of a combination of getting older and the CSI effect.

Ian Rankin defends the genre of crime fiction (not that he has to, but I guess it was warranted?) to Deutsche Welle. Oh and looky, now it’s a controversy! FFS.

Meanwhile, fellow Scottish writer Louise Welsh, whose new novel NAMING THE BONES is just out, doesn’t care what label is attached to her, as she tells the Irish Times.

Alafair talks with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about her new thriller 212.

Will the Babysitters Club novels, about to be reissued on masse, help tweens and their parents learn how to be more resourceful and independent? So posits Laura Vanderkam in a WSJ op-ed.

The Observer reprints a chapter from Tom Bissell’s forthcoming book EXTRA LIVES – a piece that goes deep into his twin addictions to cocaine and video games.

Michiko Kakutani ponders the mash-up, gets pissed off by David Shields’ REALITY HUNGER, and is made uncomfortable by the internet’s effect on culture, but I guess that’s to be expected. In the Book Review, Ward Sutton plays with the mash-up theme in graphic format.

Finally, this is exactly why every one should and must know about jury nullification.