World-famous librarian (how often do you read those words?) Nancy Pearl has posted some great reading suggestions for the younger set. To whet you appetite, she's chosen books with particularly engaging openings. Among my favorites:"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.""I come from a family with a lot of … Continue reading Well Begun is Half Done

A purported hacker who broke into Bloomsbury's computers has posted what he claims is the super-secret ending to the seventh and final Harry Potter novel. Why did he do it? The hacker says, "We did it by following the precious words of the great Pope Benedict XVI when he still was Cardinal Josepth Ratzinger.He explained … Continue reading Just Can’t Wait

Residents of the little French town of Lussaud (pop. 25) are up in arms over their depiction in Pierre Jourde's novel Pays Perdu. Five of them are currently on trial for actually attacking the author's house with stones in 2003.What provoked such biblical outrage? Passages such as this: "That curious tradition of having only one … Continue reading The Sound of One Tooth Gnashing