Faced with ferocious discounting by supermarkets, online retailer the Book Depository is slashing its price for Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” “to £4.99, almost 75% off its recommended retail price of £18.99.”
Tag: 09.15.09
Persepolis Is Philadelphia’s One Book Pick
“Philadelphians will have the chance to think, discuss, and argue all things Iranian, thanks to Iranian-French author Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, The Complete Persepolis, which will be announced today as the selection for the 2010 One Book, One Philadelphia.”
Staring Into The Mirror, Murakami Considers His Legacy
At 47, Takashi Murakami “is already turning fatalistic. The art world wunderkind,” now embracing self-portraiture, “believes that the real battleground for artists lies not in the time when they are alive, but in the future after they are dead.”
Will The Lost Symbol Cannibalize Fiction Sales?
“[J]ust as there will inevitably be casualties when yet another sinister secret society tangles with a plucky lone Harvard symbologist, so there are likely to be victims of The Lost Symbol‘s sure-fire success. Foremost among them could be all writers of adult fiction not called Dan Brown.”
The Music In Sarah Palin’s Voice
Sarah Palin “has achieved one measure of fame – someone’s written an opera about her.” Composer Curtis Hughes says that “Say It Ain’t So, Joe” is more about voices — the contrast between Palin’s and Joe Biden’s — than politics.
Reflecting Economy, Big Deals Scarce At Toronto Film Fest
“At the halfway mark in the 10-day gathering, the vast majority of more than 140 films that showed up in search of American distribution” had yet to find it, “according to a count by the Indiewire news service.”
Jane Fonda Tempers Criticism As Toronto Protest Simmers
“Actress Jane Fonda, one of the principal voices criticizing the Toronto International Film Festival’s special spotlight on Tel Aviv, stepped back last night from her position. … The Fonda statement comes amid a flurry of pro- and anti-Israeli statements.”
Regulators Probe Prince Charles’ Architecture Foundation
“The Charity Commission has asked the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment to explain its relationship with the heir to the throne, amid concerns that it had gone beyond its remit as a registered charity and tried to influence a number of planning decisions.”