With today marking the release of J.K. Rowling's latest, the book world is clogged with articles about Harry Potter. The book is breaking and setting records, fans are flocking, etc. But if you want to read just one, one that captures the spirit of what Harry has done for children/teens/adults, I've got just that one. It would have to be an article written by a high school student in West Virginia in which a $10 bet and a certain boy wizard transforms a struggling reader into a life-long reader. (Also of interest...The Guardian Unlimited held a contest asking readers to write Dumbledore's death scene in the style of an author other than Rowling. They've posted some of the entries. Give them a try!)

When Hunter S. Thompson passed away, his last wishes were that his ashes be shot out of a cannon. So who, exactly, will be paying for a 150 ft structure that is being built to do just that? Reportedly none other than actor Johnny Depp who played Thompson in a film version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

"A Kingston author has set his most recent novel in the Great Depression, an era that he says will always resonate with readers." Where Somebody Waits for Me by Donald L. Angell talks about his family history during that generation, and how it affected the country as a whole.
- posted by M @ 6:59 AM