Book News You Can Use 12/6/13

Relax in Paradise Mandela!!

This is a short documentary of the behind-the-scenes preparation and inspiration for "Sheer Good Fortune: Celebrating Toni Morrison". It was a poetry reading at Virginia Tech that was hosted by Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou.  This was also going to be the head picture for today, but I changed it due to Mandela's passing.

Relax in Paradise Andre Schiffrin.

If Donna Martin can write several books, Kelly Taylor can write a memoir too! #90210

Gone Girl will finally be published in paperback in April, almost two years after it released.

Slate came up with a list of the most underrated books of the year.  I agree with two of these.

Here's an article on how African fiction could (and should) grow.

So teachers are assigning students to read The Help to learn about civil rights. This story got so much coverage that there is a Change.org petition to stop teachers from doing this.  Did these teachers ever heard of To Kill A Mockingbird?

Looks like Marcus Books will be saved.

NPR dropped a very diverse Best of 2013 list, while introducing their new Book Concierge feature.

Here's a story about how James McBride brought John Brown to life.

Morrissey's relationship with a man was removed from the U.S. version of his autobiography.

Want to know more about Nelson Mandela's life? Here's a list to get you started.