Bookmarks: Barry Hannah, Dr. Seuss, Wayson Choy, Lynn Coady, and more

Some book-related links for hump day:

• Barry Hannah, R.I.P.
• Want the Dr. Seuss app? (Okay, but do you need it?)
• Wayson Choy thinks we need to take better care of ourselves
• Lynn Coady’s advice for struggling authors
• Saudi Arabian satire wins International Prize for Arabic Fiction
• What does literary modernism owe to the phonograph?

Bookmarks: tax advice from a poet, writing advice from Neil Gaiman, and more

Here is today’s crop of literary links:

• Vancouver poet laureate Brad Cran (who also happens to be an accountant) is offering a money-handling workshop for writers and freelancers
• The National Post profiles Andrew Kaufman, whose book The Waterproof Bible launches at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel tonight
• Charles Pellegrino weaves a tangled web – the primary source for his book The Last Train from Hiroshima turns out to be a complete liar
• Neil Gaiman’s rules for writing: “1. Write. 2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.”
• 100 Stories for Haiti – the book that originated on Twitter and spans multiple continents

Bookmarks: O’Reilly takes on Honest Abe, athletes sneak in a book before games, and more

To start you off for the weekend ahead, here are some literary links for your perusal:

• What does Fox News’s “fair and balanced” Bill O’Reilly know about the assassination of Honest Abe Lincoln? Apparently he has been studying up, and will co-write a book on the former president’s murder
• “Mixing” or plagiarism? Debut author, 17, comes under fire for sampling work from other writers
• MobyLives quotes Michael Cader of Publisher’s Marketplace, who defends higher e-book prices: “The implicit, false promise of cheap e-books was made by the people who profit, at very nice margins, from selling the devices, not from publishers.”
• Happy Olympics Day! Get to know how Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi became the Olympic mascots with this collectible storybook
• And in other sports-related book news, it turns out some millionaire NBA athletes are book nerds after all

Bookmarks: Librarian songs, Apple-themed poetry, and more

From today’s Web, some literary links for your perusal:

• Galleycat reveals that the book Deep River, by Japanese author Shusaku Endo, will play a role in an upcoming episode of Lost’s final season
• Flavorwire compiles the 10 best songs about libraries and librarians, including a rap song proclaiming, “The silence is golden, to books I am beholden, I know I’m bad cause of the knowledge that I’m holdin’!”
• Couldn’t make it to the Digital Book World conference this week in New York? Experience it vicariously through Twitter by following the hashtag #dbw
• Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo, presents “’Twas the Night Before iSlate” in anticipation of tomorrow’s much-hyped Apple announcement
• The L.A. Times talks to Committed author Elizabeth Gilbert about creativity, talking at last year’s TED conference, and having kids (or not)

Bookmarks: memories of a writer, whitewashed books, and more

Here at Quillblog, we scour the Web so you don’t have to. Here are some literary links for your perusal:

• Members of the literary community (including Q&Q’s own Steven W. Beattie) share their fond memories of writer and musician Paul Quarrington
• Less than a year after Bloomsbury received backlash for featuring a white woman on the cover of a novel about a black heroine, the publisher has done it again – haven’t they learned anything?
• Here are five ways to improve your writing and concentration (or at least discover some nifty new gadgets and websites)
• The Twilight phenomenon continues to grow (and grow, and grow) – this time, Meyer’s moving into graphic novel territory
• And finally, if folding the corners of book pages drives you crazy, maybe you need what Entertainment Weekly calls the “Cutest. Bookmarks. Ever.”

Bookmarks: New app from LibraryThing, voice acting by Stephen King, and more

A few bookish links from across the Web:

• Book-loving travellers, breathe a sigh of relief: Transport Canada explains that the whole “airplane book ban” was just a misunderstanding
• Hundreds of readers offer words of support after Marian Keyes reveals on her blog that “crippling depression” is keeping her from writing
• Toronto-based Scott Pilgrim series is one step closer to the silver screen – watch out, evil ex-boyfriends!
• Need to find the nearest bookstore or book events? There’s an app for that!
• Stephen King lends his voice to a new rock album as a doom-predicting radio host broadcasting his final show
• Does Google dream of Electric Sheep? The family of Philip K. Dick threatens to sue Google over new Nexus One phone

Bookmarks: Apple Tablet rumours, books banned on airplanes, and more

A few bookish links from across the Web:

• The rumoured Apple Tablet comes closer to reality: the new product, potentially called “iSlate,” is expected to be unveiled on Jan. 26 in San Francisco
• Danger! Apparently, books and magazines pose a security threat to airplanes. They have been banned as carry-ons by Transport Canada until further notice
• Hobbit-lovers, mount your high horses: The Guardian’s Andrew Brown turns his blog into “a place to discuss the literary demerits of Lord of the Rings”
• The Onion on adults who get slightly overexcited by children’s picture books, including the gem Green Man, Blue Cat
• Katherine Paterson, author of The Bridge to Terabithia, has been named the national ambassador for young people’s literature in the U.S.

Bookmarks: The Advent Book Blog helps you shop, The National Post picks a shadow Canada Reads list, and more

• Richard Lea at the Guardian blog: If you can’t get Roth, Palin, or Rowling on the Kindle, what can you get?
• David Suzuki’s garbage gets combed through for incriminating Kraft Dinner boxes, and now archeologists are looking at what the Bard may have tossed away
• The L.A. Times picks their 25 favourite books of the year and actually selects some – gasp – poetry! That provoked a hearty booyah from this cubicle
• Web 2.0 marketing guru and Bookmadam Julie Wilson has teamed up with Books on the Radio‘s Sean Cranbury to offer the Advent Book Blog: Great Books Recommended by Great People
• Those funny book blog dudes at the National Post noted this year’s Canada Reads pics and wondered, what should Canada also read? Get your answers in by 5:00 p.m. this afternoon and maybe you’ll be able to participate in the alterna-reads version of the popular CBC book debate show

Bookmarks: Encyclopedia Brown, Jonathan Ames, and Michael Turner

• Kate Sutherland, author of Kate’s Book Blog, writes about Encyclopedia Brown – specifically how the series taught her to think like a lawyer, and how the tough character of Brown’s sidekick, Sally Kimball, broke down stereotypes for girls in 1963
• Galleycat highlights a new book by Iraqi blogger: Iraqi Girl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq
• The Guardian on a new/old poetic form, the Englynion
• For our American friends, here’s a Thanksgiving journal by Jonathan Ames
• Stacey-May Fowles interviews Michael Turner about his latest book, 8 X 10, on The Walrus

Bookmarks: Coolio cooks, Anne of Green Gables tweets, and more

A few sundry links from across the Web:

• “Living in a Gourmet’s Paradise?” Rapper Coolio now has his own cookbook, Cookin’ with Coolio
• A new audio-book version of the Bible is available, featuring Richard Dreyfuss as Moses, Luke Perry as Judas Iscariot, and — who else? — James Caviezel reprising his role as Jesus Christ. The L.A. Times Jacket Copy reports the audio-book is described as a “verbal cinema” complete with a musical score and sound effects
• You can now be a follower, or “kindred spirit,” of Canada’s favourite redhead. Anne of Green Gables is using Twitter
• We’re well aware how prevalent bad sex is in fiction … so how about awards for good sex? 
• You are officially invited to attend Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry … with a new iPhone Spells app 
• Sad but true: Finn Reeder, Flu Fighter is a book for middle-school aged children about the ubiquitous H1N1 virus