California Literary Review

Why is sex so hard to put into words?: At which point you start to suffer from writer’s droop. How are you going to encapsulate the earth-moving wonder, the erotic arousal and tender protectiveness of the longed-for moment? [Telegraph]

The stillness within Stephen Mitchell: The religious-text translator has learned from the book of Job and reveres Laotzu. ‘At 60, all the debris is cleared,’ he says. [Los Angeles Times]

Tech Rumor of the Day: Barnes & Noble: Barnes & Noble (BKS Quote), the nation’s No. 1 bookstore chain, is working with a device maker and Sprint (S Quote) on a Kindle-like device, according to one wireless industry insider. [TheStreet.com]

Many phrases in popular use today were coined in science fiction: Robotics. Genetic engineering. Zero gravity. Deep space. Ion drive. Pressure suit. Virus. Worm. Still reading? Fine. Then you may be interested to know that these terms have one thing in common. While each word describes a current scientific phenomenon, observation or invention, each was originally coined decades ago within the unearthly and speculative pages of science fiction. [Telegraph]

Book Of A Lifetime: The Book Thief, By Markus Zusak: But the one book I cannot let go of is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. One of the most imaginative, thought-provoking pieces of writing, it will pull at your heartstrings while challenging your thoughts about the world you live in. [Independent]

Jane Austen in zombie rampage up the book charts: Already sitting at number three in the New York Times bestseller lists, the novel – which sees Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters battling a zombie menace that has descended upon the quiet English village of Meryton – looks likely to make a similar killing in the British market. [Guardian]

New digital library to display world on a website: But then the World Digital Library (WDL) is not every library. Hailed as an online “intellectual cathedral”, it is an unprecedented coming together of some of the world’s finest treasures. [Guardian]

Obama battles Red Sarah in comic clash: The US president set to star as a ‘mighty hero’ in a series of satirical comics [Guardian]

Leave unfinished works alone – let their authors rest in peace: The news that bestselling author Michael Crichton, who died last year, is to rise from the grave with two new novels raises the thorny issue of completions. [Guardian]

Back from the dead: unknown works by Crichton discovered: Crichton, who died of cancer in November aged 66, left a treasure trove of work on his personal computer, his estate revealed yesterday. The valuable cache includes a completed historical thriller and roughly a third of a new science-fiction novel. [Independent]