From The New York Observer, Judith Regan has theories of who drove her from HarperCollins; here are some: Kerik, Ailes, Giuliani, Murdoch, Jane Friedman; retribution is her plan; and an article on the most popular publicist in New York: Sloane Crosley, 29, has shilled for Joan Didion, Jonathan Lethem and—hairball!—Dave Eggers. Now she’s got her own book—and shiny hair that will make you weep! Literature's invisible arbiters: We never get to read them, but reader's reports for publishers can make or break books, particularly so for translations. More on How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard. Why we read: At a time when books appear to be waging a Sisyphean battle against the forces of the Internet, the notion that someone could move from literary indifference to devouring passion seems, sadly, farfetched. Saving millions of lives is one thing but a well-stocked bookshelf is equally alluring: Is it possible to fall in love with a man from the contents of his bookshelf? Hard to say goodbye: It looks like hardbacks are on their way out and the line between literary and genre fiction will now begin to blur. "I no longer want to be a paperback reader": They seemed a good idea at the time, but the years, sunlight and central heating are taking their toll. Can Amazon save the e-book? The online retailer takes a crack at selling a portable book-reading gadget. Literature after books: The coming of the ebook is likely to reshape both how we read, and how we write. Think global, read local: Reading as a group activity rather than a private act has become a national phenomenon, but in western North Carolina they’ve taken a more local approach. The Soviet Union was once the best-read country in the world, but these days Russians prefer reality TV.
