Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Penguin Group to pay $75M in e-book price-fix case

Ira Kantor — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:23:23 -0400

Penguin Group Inc. has agreed to pay $75 million to consumers nationwide to settle allegations of price-fixing and collusion in the electronic book market, Attorney General Martha Coakley said today.

Massachusetts consumers are expected to receive more than $2 million in restitution from the settlement agreement, which requires court approval, Coakley said.

Piers Morgan writing book about life at CNN

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:44:41 -0400

NEW YORK — Piers Morgan is going behind the scenes.

The host of CNN's "Piers Morgan Live" has a deal with Gallery Books for "Shooting Straight: Guns, Gays, God, and George Clooney." Gallery, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced Wednesday that the book is scheduled for October.

Morgan, in a statement issued by Gallery, promised a "warts and all" account of life at CNN and said the book would be like "'The Newsroom' on steroids," referring to the HBO series.

'GMA' host Roberts to write memoir about illness

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:33:54 -0400

NEW YORK — Robin Roberts will tell the story of her battle with a life-threatening illness in a new memoir.

Grand Central Publishing says the "Good Morning America" anchor will write the as-yet-untitled book for publication next April.

The publisher announced Wednesday that Roberts will write about her rare illness and her recovery, as well as the life lessons she continues to learn since her return to the "GMA" anchor desk.

Harry Potter book with author notes sold for $228K

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:22:49 -0400

LONDON — For fans of the boy wizard, this could be the most coveted copy of all the "Harry Potter" books in the world.

A first edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" that contains author J.K. Rowling's notes and original illustrations fetched 150,000 pounds ($228,000) at a London auction on Tuesday.

Sotheby's said the work, offered as part of a charity book sale jointly organized with the English PEN writers' association, was sold to an anonymous bidder by telephone.

Bernard Waber, children's author, dies at age 91

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:10:47 -0400

NEW YORK — Bernard Waber, the author of such children's favorites as "The House on East 88th Street" and "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile," has died.

Waber died May 16 at his Long Island home after a long illness, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced Monday. He was 91.

Waber's "warmth, energy, artfulness, elegance, and abiding respect for children were epitomized in his books," Houghton's senior vice president and publisher of books for young readers, Betsy Groban, said in a statement. His 33 books have sold 1.75 million copies, the publishing company said.

Annotated 'Harry Potter' 1st edition on auction

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:48:08 -0400

LONDON — A first edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" that contains author J.K. Rowling's notes and original illustrations is going on sale at a charity auction.

The personal annotations from the best-selling author included comments on the process of writing and a section from an early draft of the novel. They also included a note on how the best-selling author came to create the game of Quidditch.

CNN's Peter Bergen writing book on terrorism in US

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:58:52 -0400

NEW YORK — The author of best-sellers about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida is working on a book about terrorists in the U.S.

Crown Publishers announced Monday that CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen has a deal for a definitive book on homegrown terrorism. The book will cover topics including the Boston Marathon bombings and the impact of government surveillance. It's tentatively titled "The United States of Jihad." The release date has yet to be determined.

Ron Chernow receives biography award

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:49:17 -0400

NEW YORK — Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow was honored by his peers this weekend and in turn shared a few tips about his craft.

Chernow, 64, received the BIO award from the Biographers International Organization, a nonprofit established in 2010. During a lunchtime gathering Saturday at the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan, Chernow spoke about some of his most famous subjects, from John D. Rockefeller to George Washington, and how their public reputations often concealed a far more interesting private person.

Rohm takes ‘Baby Steps’ to reveal secrets

Jill Radsken — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Actress Elisabeth Rohm wrote “Baby Steps” to chronicle her struggle with infertility. So it’s no surprise the much-desired result — daughter Easton — would never be far from her reach. “If I’m not shooting, I’m pretty much at her beck and call. Right, kiddo?’” Rohm asked Easton, 5, her daughter with entrepreneur Ron Anthony Wooster. Easton sat in as her mom gave an interview at Cambridge’s Royal Sonesta recently.

Conroy memoir about his father coming in October

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:43:52 -0400

NEW YORK — Pat Conroy fans will finally get the real story about his father, the man who inspired the novel "The Great Santini."

Doubleday announced Monday that the author has a memoir coming out in October, "The Death of Santini."

The publisher is calling the book "a heart-wrenching account" of Conroy's father, the late Donald Conroy, a Marine Corps fighter pilot whom his son has depicted as cruel and abusive.

Mummified body of Chicana author found in NM home

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:03:04 -0400

SANTA FE, N.M. — A 70-year-old woman whose mummified body was recently found in her Santa Fe apartment was a Chicana activist, teacher and author.

Police say the decomposed remains of Barbara Salinas-Norman were discovered last week. Authorities say she may have been dead more than a year.

Free e-book excerpts from Sue Grafton, Amy Tan

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:07:18 -0400

NEW YORK — Upcoming novels by Sue Grafton, Elizabeth Gilbert and Wally Lamb are among 40 fall and winter releases excerpted in a free e-book.

"Buzz Books 2013: Fall/Winter" also previews fiction from Amy Tan and actor James Franco and such nonfiction as a memoir about Johnny Carson by confidant Henry Bushkin and a book about the Beatles' rise by veteran reporter Larry Kane, who frequently interviewed the band in the 1960s.

Captivating tale resides ‘Upstairs’

Mike Fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

“The Woman Upstairs” By Claire Messud (Knopf, $25.95)
Grade: A

Midway through “The Woman Upstairs,” Claire Messud’s spellbinding, psychologically acute and deliberately claustrophobic new novel, a character explains to the first-person protagonist how our view of a story is framed by the way it begins.

Snowe presses for bipartisanship in new book

Associated Press — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:13:45 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe describes a scene out of a Rockwell painting: With Washington crippled by a blizzard, President Barack Obama worked the week before Christmas with a fire roaring in the fireplace in the Oval Office. Outside the window, his daughters played in the snow with their dog.

Inside, Snowe writes in a new book, she delivered sad news to the president, whom she described as gracious.

Author’s kin rocks Boston roots

Jed Gottlieb — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Before F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great-granddaughter scored a cameo in “The Great Gatsby,” she was scoring hot music in Boston.

“Though I’ve lived in L.A. for some years now and love it, I still feel a strong allegiance to Boston,” said Blake Hazard. “It’s where I came up as a musician, through the tough love of the Boston music scene.”

Rare Hawaiian surfing book expected to fetch $40K

Associated Press — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:48:35 -0400

COSTA MESA, Calif. — A book about surfers in the early 1900s is expected to sell for about $40,000.

A copy of "The Surf Riders of Hawaii" will go before bidders Saturday at the Surfing Heritage Vintage Surf Auction. The auction will include more than 60 vintage surfboards and other items.

The book is one of eight made by hand by A.R. Gurrey Jr. between 1911 and 1915. Gurrey is considered the father of surf photography. The book helped spread surfing's appeal from Hawaii to the mainland.

Michelle Obama at book-signing: 'Buy away'

Associated Press — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:11:17 -0400

WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama on Tuesday returned to the business of selling her first book, and she started by telling scores of people waiting in line at a popular bookstore to "buy away" because Mother's Day is coming.

"It's a great gift," she said of "American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America."

Jason Collins denies he is seeking book deal

Associated Press — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:39:17 -0400

NEW YORK — Jason Collins, the NBA veteran who last week announced he was gay, is disputing reports from publishing insiders who say he is shopping a book deal.

Officials at three publishing houses told The Associated Press on Monday that they had been contacted about a planned memoir by Collins, the first active player in any of four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the proceedings.

Murakami: Relationships in new book intrigued me

Associated Press — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:09:43 -0400

KYOTO, Japan — In a rare public appearance, respected Japanese writer Haruki Murakami said his latest novel was an experiment and grew longer than expected as he developed a desire to expand on side characters while writing.

"Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and the Year of His Pilgrimage" has sold more than 1 million copies a week since it went on sale last month.

Judge: Sammy Hagar's memoir did not defame woman

Associated Press — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:51:31 -0400

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A defamation lawsuit against Sammy Hagar filed by a former Playboy bunny who claims he fathered her child has been dismissed, and the former Van Halen frontman is pleased with the result, his attorney said Monday.

U.S. District Judge Linda Reade ruled April 30 that Hagar did not defame the woman — identified as Jane Doe in court documents — when he accused her in his 2011 memoir of falsely naming him as the baby's father in order to extort money.