BBC: “The average time spent reading was 10 to 15 minutes and over a quarter of those surveyed admitted to skipping pages to speed up the bedtime story.” (via Booksquare)

Publishers Weekly: “Because of the unusual format of Wickett’s Remedy (side notes appear in the margins of many pages), it had to be re-typeset for the paperback, which gave Goldberg the rare opportunity to substantially rewrite parts of the novel.”

Those who still believe that the Book Standard is a trustworthy beacon of journalism might wish to observe this unsigned item about O.J. Simpson getting $3.5 million for an upcoming memoir called If I Did It, which Galleycat is also questioning.

There are several reasons not to believe this:

1. The source is the National Enquirer, apparently a “secret source” who spoke to the Enquirer.
2. There is no publisher named for this deal. (Little, Brown was the publisher of O.J.’s last book.)
3. O.J. Simpson has already authored a book called I Want To Tell You, which appeared in 1995 and for which O.J. received a mere $1 million advance (along with $3 million more).
4. While I Want To Tell You was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller and sold half a million copies, it’s worth noting that these sales came when O.J. mania was in the air. There is nothing to suggest that anything O.J. Simpson authors eleven years later will have the same effect.

Given these circumstances, why did the Book Standard bother to report this without making a few calls to confirm the veracity of this rumor? Are they truly that lazy over there?

How the fuck did Wired get to “hang out” with Cormac McCarthy?

Scott Esposito reviews War and Peace and finds it “unfortunately restrained.”