I was thrilled today when I came home from work and found a package from Amazon waiting for me (any day I’m able to add to my library is a good day). I am even more excited about today’s package because I got my copy of Harry, Revised (aff link) – the breakout novel of Mark Sarvas, who as you might recall from this previous post, is the very popular blogger from The Elegant Variation.

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If you’re a literary blogger that writes harsh reviews of other author’s books, and you get your own book published, be prepared the same type of literary-lashing to come back and haunt you. This happened to Mark Sarvas, of The Elegant Variation – a blog I read quite frequently.

Mr. Sarvas recently published his debut novel Harry, Revised (aff link), and according to an article from the Seattle Times, the novel did not receive a warm reception by all:

His tour trailed in the wake of a New York Times review that took several pointed jabs into the guts of "Harry": "Hang-ups about class seem to be both a theme of ‘Harry, Revised’ and a motive for its composition, with Sarvas writing about ‘old money’ in a fashion indicating that he’s never met anyone in possession of it," said reviewer Troy Patterson.

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Well? Can you guess? According to a Reuters article posted on Yahoo!, the Bible is the favorite book among Americans. Given the deep Christian roots in this country, that really doesn’t surprise me. But what about second place, if you believe the poll that the article was based on, it’s "Gone With The Win". Personally, I have never read the latter and only sections of the former.

Getting back to the bible, however, it has implications that go far beyond religion. Many themes and archetypes of characters can be found in the bible. For example, when a character goes from greatness to almost nothing, it is generally alluding to the fall of man (think of Adam and Eve). Or when a character sacrifices him/herself in some way to save others (Jesus anyone?). The list can go on in the number of different ways the bible has influenced Western literature over the centuries.

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Today it was announced that rocker Bob Dylan won an honorary Pulitzer Prize. As a longtime Dylan fan, I was very happy to hear this prestigious award bestowed on one of my favorite musicians. Back in September I wrote this post about Dylan and the influence literature had over him and his music.

According to an article from Yahoo! News, Bob Dylan was chosen for this award because of his:

…"profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

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As many of you know, I’m really interested in the intersection of literature and technology. This is a large subject that includes everything from ebooks, to the way the internet (ie. blogs) is shaping the way we think about literature.

There’s no doubt that previous sources of information of suffered as a result; mainly, print newspapers and the dwindling number of Books sections in news publications around the US. Whether or not this is directly related to the rise of blogs and other electronic media is up for debate. Personally, I think the electronic world of the internet has taken a large bite out of the world of print. People realize that there are more views and opinions than the few "elite" who get their essays published in nationally distributed papers and magazines.

This whole debate between print and digital formats is understandable. Literary critics, theorists and other academics have largely remained  creatures of the print world. Whereas the internet is showing that even your average, everyday, armchair critic can have a powerful voice in the literary community. But why must they fight?  Why can’t we combine that academic prowess of the old-school critics with the far-reaching, more popular online format?

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What happens when a bunch of lawmakers decide that it’s a good idea to make booksellers register with the state government if they sell "sexually explicit material"?

I’m not sure what the answer is, but we’ll probably see a few lawsuits and some good court battles as a result. Basically, on March 13 the governor of Indiana signed into law a bill that requires booksellers to register with the state if they sell sexually explicit material. How do they define sexually explicit material, you ask? Here’s what Publishers Weekly is reporting:

"Sexually explicit material" is defined as any product that is "harmful to minors" under existing law.

I’m glad those genius lawmakers were specific enough so there’s no gray area (sarcasm!). Basically, any sexual content in a book sold at a bookstore could be seen as sexually explicit and thus is harmful to minors. This means that even classics like Shakespeare could qualify, not to mention a lot of contemporary literature, books on human sexuality, photography books with nude photos and…well… you get the idea.

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It appears that literary fabrications are nothing new. Earlier last week I wrote about the most current author to fake her own memoir (see Woman admits fabricating memoir). And tonight I came across an article in the New York Times Book Section. Throughout history authors have been faking their way to literary stardom:

But the history of literary fakers stretches far, far back, at least to the 19th century, when a slave narrative published in 1863 by Archy Moore was revealed as a novel written by a white historian, Richard Hildreth, and into the early 20th, when Joan Lowell wrote a popular autobiography, "Cradle of the Deep," about her colorful childhood aboard a four-masted ship sailing the South Seas; in fact, she had grown up almost entirely in Berkeley, Calif.

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It wasn’t all that long ago when James Frey confessed that much of his memoir had been fabricated, only after Oprah had selected it for her book club and boosted its popularity – before the book came crashing back down to earth. So it seems incomprehensible that anyone would fabricate a memoir with the James Frey debacle still somewhat fresh in our collective literary memory.

Yet it has happened again. According to a very recent article I stumbled across in the New York Times, a woman has confessed to fabricating her memoir:

In "Love and Consequences," a critically acclaimed memoir published last week, Margaret B. Jones wrote about her life as a half-white, half-Native American girl growing up in South-Central Los Angeles as a foster child among gang-bangers, running drugs for the Bloods.

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Whenever another independent bookstore shuts its doors for good, we all shake our heads and say “These indies are going to be extinct before too long”. However, the news might be not all bad. I came across an interesting article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The article contends that while independent bookstores appear to be declining, just the opposite is true:

Happily, the trend is running in the opposite direction, reports the American Association of Booksellers.

The trade group for independents reported 115 new members last year, the third year in a row that more than 100 openings were recorded.

While it’s not record-breaking growth, it does show signs that maybe independent bookstores are not easily giving up. I also have a feeling that many neighborhood indies have a very loyal customer base that keeps them going, even during these times of mega-bookstores and easy online ordering.

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Back in August 2007, I wrote a post (In China, internet propels novel popularity) about people in China embracing internet technology to produce and consume literature. I presented a fairly optimistic view of China’s infant literary scene.

However, there are still many problems in China for writers, especially concerning censorship. According to an article published in the Guardian Unlimited, censorship still exists, but the line that separates what is considered appropriate and what is taboo has been blurred:

"Censorship’s not quite the blunt instrument it used to be," says the Beijing-based journalist and translator Eric Abrahamsen. "Writers can publish books, but then there’s pressure exerted on publishers not to reprint them, or media organisations not to cover them."

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