Umberto Eco, an Italian scholar in the arcane field of semiotics who became the author of best-selling novels, most notably the blockbuster medieval mystery “The Name of the Rose,” died on Friday in Italy. He was 84. Source: Umberto Eco, Italian Semiotician and Best-Selling Author, Dies at 84 – The New York Times
Harper Lee, whose first novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” about racial injustice in a small Alabama town, sold more than 10 million copies and became one of the most beloved and most taught works of fiction ever written by an American, died on Friday in Monroeville, Ala., where she lived. She was 89. Source: Harper
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Harvey Weinstein Promises His ‘War And Peace’ Miniseries Isn’t Homework Oscar-winning film producer Harvey Weinstein may be best-known for producing movies like Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love. But the indie film mogul has also been busy producing TV. His latest project is a version of War and Peace, a co-production with
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BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — Author Pat Conroy says he has pancreatic cancer, but promises he will fight the disease hard and finish a novel he owes his fans. The 70-year-old South Carolina novelist made the announcement Monday… Source: Author Pat Conroy has pancreatic cancer, promises hard fight So sorry to hear this. I loved his
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Not too long ago, in the book section at Target, I overheard a woman say to her companion, “I stay away from big books.” They walked away, so I didn’t get to hear any more of the conversation, but it made me think about big books. I can imagine many reasons someone might offer for
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Anne over at Modern Mrs. Darcy recently suggested listing The things that are saving my life right now. Here’s her explanation of this idea: The idea comes from author Barbara Brown Taylor. In her memoir Leaving Church, Taylor tells about a time she was invited to speak, and her host assigned her this topic: “Tell
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David Bowie’s Top 100 Books Bowie’s top 100 book list spans decades, from Richard Wright’s raw 1945 memoir Black Boy to Susan Jacoby’s 2008 analysis of U.S. anti-intellectualism in The Age of American Unreason. his list shows a lot of love to American writers, from the aforementioned to Truman Capote, Hubert Selby, Jr., Saul Bellow,
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The International Dylan Thomas Prize 2016 longlist has been revealed, including Granta senior editor Max Porter’s debut and two books that were shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize The £30,000 prize, designed to ensure a “Welsh link with the great global phenomenon of contemporary English writing”, is now in its 10th year. The prize is open to poetry, drama,
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The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) nominated five finalists in six categories–autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry–for the outstanding books of 2015. Ta-Nehisi Coates, who already won the National Book Award and the MacArthur “genius” fellowship with Between the World and Me, is up for the NBCC Award for criticism. Also among the finalists
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Joyce Carol Oates: ‘People think I write quickly, but I actually don’t’ Joyce Carol Oates, often described as “America’s foremost woman of letters,” recently talked with writer Hermione Hoby for The Guardian. At age 77, Oates has written more than 100 books and has been a Pulitzer finalist five times. What Hoby calls “a pronounced
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