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Overweight? Try the Food Critic Diet

New York's most terrifying critic recalls his weight struggle

(Newser) - Frank Bruni endured a lifelong struggle with his weight, veering close to 300 pounds before getting a handle on it—and going on to a 5-year reign as New York City’s most feared food critic. Though his New York Times job required him to sample the city’s most...

Spencer: I Want to Be the Next Brad Pitt

The scary part? He's probably serious.

(Newser) - Spencer Pratt has officially gone off the rails: In his upcoming book, How to Be Famous, he expresses his ambition to be the next Brad Pitt, the New York Daily News reports. Pratt is most in awe of Pitt for managing to dump “beloved” Jennifer Aniston for “home-wrecking...

Vixen Author Embraces Her Inner Betty Crocker

And, surprisingly, some would benefit from listening to her

(Newser) - Karrine Steffans has had drama-riddled relationships with famous rappers and celebs such as Mike Tyson and Bill Maher. Her “relationships have been major public train wrecks,” writes Jo Piazza for DoubleX, from allegations of abuse at the hands of Tyson to her suicide attempt following her breakup with...

Inability to Stop Dad's Suicide Drove Hero Pilot: Memoir

(Newser) - Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot hero of January’s Hudson River jet landing, was driven to help others by his father’s suicide, the New York Daily News reports. “One of the reasons I think I’ve placed such a high value on life is that my father took his,...

I Had an Affair With Madoff: Accountant

Zionist group's CFO, bankrupted by Ponzi schemer, writes tell-all

(Newser) - An accountant says Bernie Madoff didn’t just steal her money, he stole the shirt—and various other articles of clothing—right off her back. In her upcoming book Madoff’s Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie, and Me, Sheryl Weinstein, former CFO of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of...

James Frey's Latest Creation: Pro-Choice, Pro-Gay Jesus

Once Oprah's enemy, now Christians'?

(Newser) - James Frey pissed off a lot of people—including Oprah—when his “memoir” A Million Little Pieces was exposed as fictional—but his new book might spark even more ire. Illumination: The Final Testament of the Holy Bible features a Messiah who marries gays, impregnates a teen, and later...

How Recession Could Kill Chick Lit
 How Recession 
 Could Kill Chick Lit 
OPINION
Aug 11, 2009 2:27 PM CDT

How Recession Could Kill Chick Lit

Fluffy novels 'must respond to a more sober age'

(Newser) - The world of chick lit is populated with material concerns and hefty price tags—but in today’s battered economy, such themes may no longer resonate, writes author Sarah Bilston for DoubleX. Her latest book's “cheery consumerism and aimless career-dithering were clearly out of touch in a world of...

Has Tweeting Ruined Reading?
 Has Tweeting Ruined Reading? 
Aug 10, 2009 7:50 AM CDT

Has Tweeting Ruined Reading?

(Newser) - The digital world has become so engrossing that David L Ulin finds it difficult to focus and read a book—not a good sign when you're the editor of the Los Angeles Times book review. "The encroachment of the buzz," from hours of emails to inane rumors across...

E For Embargo, F For Fidel: Castro Dictionary Published

(Newser) - Fidel Castro usually likes to express his political views in rambling essays and hours-long speeches, but a new book now breaks down El Comandante's philosophy into a handy-dandy A-to-Z format. The Castro dictionary, containing entries such as "Unemployment" and "History," is targeted at Cuban academics, reports AP....

Romney Writing Book, Sounds Like a Candidate

(Newser) - Mitt Romney is writing a new book, and it sounds mighty presidential, the New York Times reports. Romney signed a deal with St. Martin's Press for No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, in which he will lay out his plans for the economy, health care, education, and everything else...

Not Feeling Sexy? 'Just Do It.'

New book reveals reasons behind lack of sex in marriage

(Newser) - Why does passion so often fizzle in a marriage? Prepare to be shocked: Bettina Arndt’s The Sex Diaries reveals the reasons aren’t what you think, the Daily Mail reports. Included in the nearly 100 couples who kept diaries for a year are many men who love their wives...

This Is Your Best Shot to Finish a Pynchon Novel
This Is Your Best Shot to Finish
a Pynchon Novel
book review
Jul 31, 2009 1:10 PM CDT

This Is Your Best Shot to Finish a Pynchon Novel

Author shifts gears, has fun with a stoner detective in the '60s

(Newser) - Thomas Pynchon's back with what appears to be his most accessible novel yet, in the unlikely category of detective fiction. Critics reviewing Inherent Vice say he pulled it off:
  • Laura Miller, Salon: It's "a sun-struck, pot-addled shaggy dog story that fuses the sulky skepticism of Raymond Chandler with the
...

Why the Kindle Stinks
 Why the Kindle Stinks 
opinion
Jul 31, 2009 10:34 AM CDT

Why the Kindle Stinks

(Newser) - Nicholson Baker wanted to like the Kindle, honest. But when he unwrapped it and began to see what all the fuss was about, he "tussled with a sense of anti-climax," the prolific author writes in the New Yorker. Things never improved. He slams the e-reader for having a...

Cooking: What Separates Men From Apes (and Women)
Cooking: What Separates Men From Apes (and Women)
INTERVIEW
Jul 29, 2009 1:14 PM CDT

Cooking: What Separates Men From Apes (and Women)

And anthropologically speaking, women are always the cooks

(Newser) - Cooking—not just eating—meat is what prompted human evolution, Richard Wrangham argues in his book Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, and he discusses his beliefs—including an opposition to the trend of raw diets—with Salon. “Raw foodists argue quite strongly that it is our natural...

Madoff Crafty but Dumb: New Book

Pals surprised he pulled Ponzi scheme off

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff was a swindler from a young age—but many acquaintances also considered him “the dumbest man on earth," says an upcoming exposé. Jerry Oppenheimer’s new book, Madoff With the Money, also reveals that the Ponzi schemer skirted 2 years of Army Reserve duty during the...

Dumbledore Sparks Fight for Real-World Justice

Nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance uses books as inspiration

(Newser) - Harry Potter’s battle against injustice in the wizarding world has prompted fans to take the fight to the Muggle universe, the Los Angeles Times reports. Inspired by moral teachings of Albus Dumbledore, Harry’s mentor, the nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance has registered voters, collected some 13,000 books to...

Spoiled Harry a Hero for 'Entitled Generation'

Books lack moral weight as Potter gets off easy

(Newser) - Harry Potter is a fitting hero for a generation of readers: his powers arrive on a silver platter, and from there it’s “all zapping bad guys, no taking out the trash,” writes Kyle Smith in the New York Post. While heroes like Luke Skywalker face obstacles to...

I Think, Therefore I Overeat
 I Think, 
 Therefore 
 I Overeat 
GLOSSIES
Jul 18, 2009 8:09 PM CDT

I Think, Therefore I Overeat

New fleet of books tries to explain American obesity

(Newser) - As the waistlines of Americans continue to expand, so is the genre of literature seeking to explain why, Elizabeth Kolbert writes in the New Yorker, profiling no fewer than seven books on the subject—including one that endorses “fat power.” The Fat Studies Reader argues that the real...

A Hundred Celebs, One Hotel Room
A Hundred Celebs, One Hotel Room
Jul 15, 2009 2:18 PM CDT

A Hundred Celebs, One Hotel Room

Book of portraits raises money for human-rights charity

(Newser) - During a four-month period in 2006 and 2007, 100 celebrities checked into Room 23 of Beverly Hills’ Peninsula Hotel. The result is photographer Deborah Anderson’s Room 23, a coffee-table book to raise money for a human-rights charity. “We wanted to portray anything and everything, from Minnie Driver reading...

Fact-Challenged Facebook Book Not Making Many Friends

Author Mezrich defends his reporting methods

(Newser) - Not everybody is friending a book detailing the birth of Facebook, Reuters reports. BusinessWeek calls Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires a “tawdry mismash,” amounting to “a fictionalized account of the founding.” The book is full of over-the-top scenes—like one in which Facebook founder Mark...

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