Book Buzz

• I watched The Graham Norton Show this week (Norton is so funny but oh-so naughty) and saw Jonathan Creek (okay, his real name is Alan Davies) promoting his upcoming movie: Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Loyal readers know I love Georgia Nicolson, and I’m afraid I can only be disappointed by this adaptation of Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Davis says they changed Full-Frontal to Perfect so Americans wouldn’t find the title “pervy”). Other upcoming adaptations include a new version of Brideshead Revisited out today (USA Today thinks it’s okay) and a movie of The City of Ember in October.

• Have you heard the United States has a new Poet Laureate? It’s Kay Ryan.


• If you are looking for an award winner to read try Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie or Ikenna Goes to Nigeria by Ifeoma Onyefulu; both won the Children’s Africana Book Award. Kate Summerscale’s The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher recently won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction. The New York Times also likes it.


• If you want something a little less “deep” to read, James Patterson’s newest book, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, came out on Tuesday. Daniel Silva’s Moscow Rules was also released this week. Amazon compares Silva to Graham Greene and John le Carré.


• T.J. English’s Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and The Lost It to the Revolution is currently #8 on Amazon’s bestsellers list. English appeared on The Daily Show this week. The highlight? Jon Stewart comparing Fidel Castro to the Highlander.