20 questions for author Meg Wolitzer

“The Uncoupling” is best-selling author Meg Wolitzer’s ninth novel, in which she brings her signature brand of humor and insight to the topic of the changing nature of female desire over time.When a new drama teacher in a suburban high school puts on a production of “Lysistrata” (the classic Aristophanes play in which the women of Greece go on a sex strike against men until a war ends), the women

April 29, 2011

Tina Fey has it all on her funny terms

Ever since Vanity Fair put her on its January 2010 cover in what looked like a Wonder Woman costume, Tina Fey has seemed in danger of falling for the very canard she has spent a career satirizing: that a woman can “have it all” if she’s willing to lose 20 pounds, show her breasts and regularly remind everyone that, although she writes and stars in an Emmy-winning TV show, she is still essentially

April 29, 2011

500-year-old book surfaces in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ― Book dealer Ken Sanders has seen a lot of nothing in his decades appraising “rare” finds pulled from attics and basements, storage sheds and closets.Sanders, who occasionally appraises items for PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, often employs the “fine art of letting people down gently.”But on a recent Saturday while volunteering at a fundraiser for the small town museum in Sandy, Uta

April 27, 2011

New Books

Styron’s youngest daughter pens revealing memoirReading My Father: A MemoirBy Alexandra Styron(Scribner, $25)A decade after the publication of his last, lavishly acclaimed novel, “Sophie’s Choice,” William Styron wrote about his epic struggle with incapacitating depression.It was, as his youngest daughter, Alexandra, writes in a compelling new memoir, before Kay Jamison, Andrew Sullivan or other f

April 22, 2011

Former prosecutor metes out justice in new murder-mystery

LOS ANGELES ― It’s telling that the title of Marcia Clark’s murder-mystery debut is smaller than her name on the novel’s cover. Clark is best known as the lead prosecutor in the media circus known as the O.J. Simpson murder trial. She’s less recognized as an author, even though her 1998 book about the case, “Without a Doubt,” spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.Co-writing a book

April 22, 2011

Shin’s novel climbing NYT bestseller list

“Please Look After Mom,” the English edition of a Korean novel by Shin Kyung-sook, is climbing the bestseller list of the New York Times, setting a new record in Korean literature.The book ranked 21st in the hardcover fiction category of NYT’s bestseller list to be released on April 24, said KL Management, which handles the book’s copyright.The ranking is based on total sales from April 3-9. Shin’

April 17, 2011

New Books

A charming look at the elementsPeriodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, From Arsenic to ZincBy Hugh Aldersey-Williams(Ecco, $25)Some people collect coins or baseball cards. Others collect stamps or Pez dispensers. Hugh Aldersey-Williams collects the building blocks of the universe.Aldersey-Williams has been trying to collect pure samples of every element known to humankind -- from the c

April 15, 2011

Abby Sunderland revisits her around-the-world sailing adventure in book, documentary

Abby Sunderland is sitting barefoot aboard her brother’s boat in Marina del Rey on a recent morning, her blond hair fluttering in the light breeze. The only physical evidence of the five months she traveled by herself at sea before her sailboat rolled over, ripping off her mast and soaking everything on board, is a simple rope bracelet.The knotted white band on her left wrist was a gift from one o

April 15, 2011

[Herald Interview] ‘Korean writers should overcome nationalism’

Director of the Seoul International Forum for Literature speaks about the role of literature in multi-platform worldKorean authors should move on from nationalist writing and learn about the current trends in world literature, Kim Seong-kon, director of the third Seoul International Forum for Literature, said.“What the global audience is interested in can be quite different (from what Korean autho

April 11, 2011

EVENTS CALENDER

Exhibitions“Koo Bohnchang”: One of South Korea’s most renowned photographers, Koo Bohn-chang, is holding a solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery. Not only parts from his different series but also his personal collections of eclectic objects are on display, giving the viewers a hint of Koo’s youth, attitudes towards photography and more. The exhibition runs through April 30 at Kukje Gallery in Sogyeok-d

April 8, 2011

New Books

Insider’s account of city politicsPolitics and PastaBy Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Jr(St. Martin’s Press, $30)In the fall of 1974, a few days after he was elected mayor of Providence, R.I., Buddy Cianci sipped beer with a few reporters and joked about the “Philistines” he had ousted from city hall.The denizens of the Democratic machine that had run the city for 30 years had trashed the place, he said,

April 8, 2011

Author once confused with his writer father returns to the story of his youth in memoir

Andre Dubus III does not look like a man on a journey. Instead, sitting at an outdoor table at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, the 51-year-old author appears, finally, to have arrived. That may seem a stretch, considering his 1999 novel “House of Sand and Fog” was an Oprah Book Club selection and a finalist for the National Book Award, but Dubus has never had an easy road.The son of th

April 8, 2011

‘Mildred Pierce’s’ sober realism takes it beyond noir

Of all the classic noir writers, perhaps none has been as tarnished by the brush of genre as James M. Cain. That’s because Cain was not just a great hard-boiled novelist but a great novelist, period, whose vision of 1930s Southern California is as acute and resonant as anything ever written about that time and place.His first novel, “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” published when he was 42, is sa

April 8, 2011

Poet Ko Un shares his attachment to Czech culture

Ko Un, one of the most acclaimed living poets in Korea, shared his attachment for Prague and Czech culture at a Prague-themed book launch event held at Ceske Info Centrum (Czech Information Center) in Seoul, Thursday.The newly-released Korean language book, “Praha,” contains a total of 16 stories and essays about Prague by 14 established Czech writers, including Franz Kafka (1883-1924) and Jan Ner

April 3, 2011

Korea Best Seller

Murder and affectionPhoto Shop MurderBy Kim Young-ha(Jimoondang, 5,000 won)Kim Young-ha, one of the leading contemporary literary voices of Korea, has been capturing both the absurd and the mundane in our society. One of his short stories, “Photo Shop Murder,” portrays modern individuals who are desperate for affection while completely losing their morals and values.The nameless protagonist, who w

April 1, 2011

New Books

Literature Still MattersThe Use and Abuse of LiteratureBy Marjorie Garber(Pantheon Books, $28.95)In an age that prizes short bursts of electronic information, Harvard English professor Marjorie Garber asks whether literature still matters. As might be expected of someone who has spent her career teaching Shakespeare to undergraduates, she answers with a resounding “yes.”Garber sets the stage for h

April 1, 2011

Vampire writer becomes millionaire

26-year-old author Amanda Hocking signs a book contract worth more than $2 millionAmanda Hocking, a 26-year-old author in Austin, Minnesota who’s considered the biggest e-book seller in the world, has signed with an ink-and-paper publisher for a book contract reportedly worth more than $2 million. The four-book deal was confirmed Thursday by Hector DeJean, a spokesman for St. Martin’s Press.“I alw

April 1, 2011

Debut novel tells story of male friendships

Men may be overrepresented in the halls of power and executive suites, but a look around the bookshelves shows that boys are a great source of anxiety to teachers, parents and experts these days. One can’t escape titles like “The Trouble With Boys” and “Boys Adrift.”For a fascinating look into the world of boys and how they evolve into men, my money is on Hannah Pittard and her debut novel, “The F

April 1, 2011

New Books

Career tips for working womenTurn Your Passion into Your CareerBy Kim Joo-yeon(Business Books, 13,000 won)Being a working woman in Korea isn’t necessarily easy, especially when you are in your 20s and 30s.There are tough decisions to make between your career and family, and promotions and salaries to worry about. Being on good terms with everyone at work can be a challenge.For any working woman wh

March 25, 2011