Not to be outdone, HarperCollins has made all of Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods available online here for the next month. If anything the format is even less conducive to reading than the downloadable PDF of Beautiful Children I told you about earlier.--David E

Until the end of the day on February 29, you can download a free electronic copy of Charles Bock's novel Beautiful Children, a Dickensian trawl through the seamy side of Las Vegas. Click here for details.Why? My theory is twofold: a) Random House wants to get folks talking about the novel, and b) they're testing … Continue reading Free Trip to Vegas

Paul Thomas Anderson's movie There Will Be Blood (nominated for Best Picture) is based on Upton Sinclair's muckraking 1927 novel Oil!. Sinclair--a feverent socialist--hoped his novel would expose the greed and moral corruption inherent in capitalism--and generally smash the system.And how faithfully has Tinseltown brought Sinclair's message to the big screen? Well, There Will Be … Continue reading Oscar Small Talk