Chinua Achebe buried in Nigeria
On Thursday, the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe was buried in his hometown of Ogidi, Nigeria. Achebe, who died on March 21 and twice refused Nigerian state honors, suffered a semi-official funeral… Read more »
Penguin settles antitrust suit, will pay nearly $90 million
Penguin, one of five big publishers to be targeted by the Department of Justice in an ebook price-fixing investigation, has settled antitrust claims brought on behalf of consumers and 33… Read more »
Amazon employees strike in Germany
More than 1,000 staffers at two German Amazon warehouses walked off the job Tuesday in a one-day work stoppage. The workers are seeking higher pay and collective bargaining agreements, which are… Read more »
Amazon temps sue for backpay, German Amazon strike imminent
Workers for a temp agency that supplies staff to Amazon warehouses are suing for lost wages, accusing their employer—Integrity Staffing Solutions—of not paying employees “for all the time they actually… Read more »
Buried with the LRB
In a long remembrance of her father in the Financial Times, Julia Hobsbawm, daughter of the celebrated English historian Eric Hobsbawm, recalls her father’s need to be almost constantly reading.… Read more »
Benjamin Schwarz out at The Atlantic
In a little-reported move, Benjamin Schwarz has left The Atlantic. Since 2000, Schwarz has edited the Atlantic’s books and ideas section, which published reviews and essays by Christopher Hitchens, B.R. Myers, Caitlin Flanagan, Perry… Read more »
Announcing Edward Jay Epstein’s Unsolved Crime Q&A
Starting next week, prize-winning investigative reporter Edward Jay Epstein will speak to true crime fans and conspiracy enthusiasts around the globe through a series of interactive online video chats discussing… Read more »
Book covers for protests: the rise of the book bloc
“From Italy to England, Sweden to Spain, Oakland to New York, the book bloc has surfaced as a street protest tactic in which people create and use shields that resemble giant… Read more »
Major preservation group calls NYPL plan “a real estate deal,” demands library reconsider
A major new opponent of the New York Public Library’s “Central Library Plan” is on the scene: the Historic Districts Council, a prominent advocacy group that works on behalf of… Read more »
Random House profits up 75% on Fifty Shades sales
I was wrong. Last July I predicted that massive sales of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy might double Random House profits in 2012. Well, the numbers are finally out—and last… Read more »