The Olive Reader

According to a report released by the MLA (the Museums, Libraries, and Archives Council), British people fib about the books they’ve read to seem more intelligent. Here are the Top Ten unread reads:

1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien
2. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
3. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
4. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – John Gray
5. 1984 – George Orwell
6. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone – J.K Rowling
7. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
8. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
9. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
10. Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank

I tend to lie about the books I have read. ’50 Cent, whhaaat!!

For the last few weeks or so, The Plimpton Project has been popping up from a various number of sources. The wizards over at Honest have put together a snazzy, interactive website. (I hear they’re all quite handsome. Or maybe I just think that?) Anyway, the whole point of the site is to raise $20,000 dollars to erect a statue of George Plimpton in Central Park. I’d donate, but I’m saving for my own statue fund. For a post with the most visit Chekhov’s Mistress.

The NY Times runs A True Friend and a Good Writer — a review by Roy Blount Jr. of the Letters of E.B. White: Revised Edition. Before you run off and purchase this latest doorstop, why not first visit with the Essays of E.B. White and E.B. White: Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976. The reading of these two Harper Perennial Modern Classics will no doubt enhance the experience of reading his letters. Is that a remarkable statement? No. No, it’s a blog entry.

Oh, the National Book Critics Circle handed out some love over the weekend as well. Check here for the 2006 finalists.

As CK noted on our MySpace page, Harper Perennial got some nods from the Mystery Writers of America:

• The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard (Novel)
• Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris (Novel)
• Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson (Best Fact Crime)
• A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger (Best Fact Crime)

Galley Cat reports:

But the big hit of the afternoon – at least, judging by applause – was Josh Kilmer-Purcell, who used Powerpoint in hilarious fashion to describe how MySpace hooked him up with fellow members of the Memoirist Collective. And for those who need help interpreting the slide, Kilmer-Purcell illustrated how his book, I AM NOT MYSELF THESE DAYS, was published by HarperPerennial, which is part of HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who owns “half the world” – and when the Judith Regan graphic cued up, the room erupted in laughter.

“Tonight at the Pit. Everyone…gets…laid.” Movie? Anyone? Anyone? Lameness aside, Grant Stoddard, author of the above, will read for the In the Flesh Erotic Reading Series hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel tonight at Happy Ending Lounge. The reading begins at 8pm.

John Barlow author of Intoxicated, which is now out in paperback from Perennial, has a fittingly giddy video posted on his site. Be curious. Click.

More indy bookstore news in New York: Booksellers Fight Back as Five New Stores Open

If you haven’t read Zadie Smith’s essay, now is the time. It’s made the round of blogs and inboxes rather quickly, so don’t be caught off guard: Fail Better

And the Times UK revives a variation of the aged complaint: Has fiction lost its power?

Here you have Executive Editor Tim Duggan and author Ken Kalfus, A Disorder Peculiar to the Country, at McNally Robinson this past Wednesday. I can’t speak to the quality of the photo (as in lighting, pixels, etc.), but, no matter the technological dimness of the photographer, you cannot hide those smiles. Ken read from the last chapter of his novel, a bold move, that drew wonderful contrasts with headlines of late.

And here, I hope sufficiently cropped for legality (and remember it’s all in good fun!!), is an informed consumer with Tete-a-Tete by Hazel Rowley in hand. Further proof that real people buy books.

From Amy Bryant, author of Polly (see post below):

What was the best book of the year?
Of the very few books I read this year that were published in 2006, my favorite was The Brambles by Eliza Minot. It’s about three adult siblings, and it reminded me of The Corrections.

What was the best movie?
My favorite movie in 2006 was The Departed. I can tell it’s going to be one of those movies that I watch 600 times, because it’s that perfect.

Who was the person of the year?
The first female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

What is your New Year’s resoution?
To finish my new book!

Or should I say love potion? Yar, yar, yar. Damn. I’m funny. You can listen to the podcast for Polly by Amy Bryant here. For more information on this title, place your cursor here, then click.

Is “sign of the times” old hat? Does that question even apply to this post? Perhaps indirectly. No matter. The Habitual Reader, “soon to be the world’s biggest online fiction book club,” hosts a community of readers, reviewers, and booksellers, bound by their love for fiction in all its forms. It looks as though the Habitual Reader has only recently embarked, but the structure of the site, its easy navigation and fun tools, speaks to its potential. Whether or not it will be our “world’s biggest online fiction book club” remains to be seen. We wish them the best of luck.

Start your Wednesday with a laugh, courtesy of McSweeney’s.

Ken Kalfus, author of the National Book Award-nominated A Disorder Peculiar to the Country, will read at McNally Robinson Bookstore (52 Prince St.) this Wednesday at 7pm. Hope to see you there!