Problem: Boys Don’t Like to Read. Solution: Books That Are Really Gross: The book’s main character slaughtered his victims by running them through with sharp stakes. He once left hundreds dying slowly on a hillside while the soil grew “muddy with blood” and “blackbirds flocked around the corpses, fighting for a meal.” [WSJ]
Remembering a Native Son: Richard Wright’s friend and confidant recalls his last years in Paris and one quick, final novel. [Washington Post]
Mahmoud Darwish, Leading Palestinian Poet, Is Dead at 67: Mahmoud Darwish, whose searing lyrics on Palestinian exile and tender verse on the human condition led him to be widely viewed as the pre-eminent man of Palestinian letters as well as one of the greatest contemporary Arab poets, died Saturday night in Houston after complications from heart surgery. He was 67. [NYT]
The ‘next Satanic Verses’ shelved for fear of stirring up Islamic extremists: A novel about the child bride of the Prophet Mohamed has been withdrawn by Random House, which said it feared that publication of the book could “incite acts of violence”. Critics, however, have accused the publisher of abandoning the principle of free speech and caving into pressure from extreme Islamist elements. [Independent]
Overlooked gems?: Some authors recommend their favorite underread and unappreciated books. [Chicago Tribune]
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