Books

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Jane Austen novel in possession of added gore will be a surefire bestseller. That's the conclusion reached by publishers since the success of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," an unlikely literary sensation created by adding dollops of "ultraviolent zombie mayhem" to Austen's classic love story. "Zombies" -- billed as 85% Austen's original text and 15% brand-new blood and guts -- has become a bestseller since it was published earlier this year, with 750,000 copies in print.

The coverage of Elizabeth Edwards' week-old book and her promotional tour leaves us with two competing portraits. Is she (a) the valiant victim finally having her say for those who don't have a voice? Or (b) the unlikely opportunist, exacting revenge against her wayward husband and dragging her family back into the muck? Over two presidential campaigns and a public battle with cancer, John Edwards' wife mostly benefited from the media's predilection for a single narrative.

In brief remarks Wednesday to the annual meeting of the Assn. of American Publishers in New York, First Lady Laura Bush called books her "greatest love affair" and warned that a "nation that does not read for itself cannot think for itself." Bush, a former librarian whose advocacy of books and literacy have long made her popular in the publishing industry, cited such fictional characters as the Brothers Karamazov and "an intriguing man named Gatsby" and worried that many Americans had never heard of them.

One of the best-loved murals on the campus of 186th Street Elementary School in Gardena depicts some of the world's most inspirational figures -- Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez -- underlined by a question, "Are you a peacemaker?"

Tom Standage is known for his 2005 book "A History of the World in 6 Glasses," which begins with the invention of beer in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and works up to the United States and its love of Coca-Cola. His latest project, "An Edible History of Humanity," takes a similarly long view.

This fall, there will be nothing bigger in bookstores than Hurricane Dan. On Sept. 15, Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol," the follow-up to "The Da Vinci Code" -- which sold 80 million copies worldwide and is said to be the biggest-selling novel ever -- arrives with high expectations; fans have spent six years waiting for Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon's next adventure. As a consequence, perhaps, some publishers have gotten quieter literary fiction on the shelves in advance. Los Angeles novelist Michelle Huneven's "Blame" is about the lifetime of consequences that result from an alcoholic's mistake.

A jury can decide whether the author of a bestselling book about the death of Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith defamed her lawyer by making allegations that may be too outlandish to be true, including that he pimped her to up to 50 men a year, a judge concluded Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin found plenty of reasons to let a jury hear the facts behind a $60-million libel lawsuit brought by lawyer Howard K. Stern against "Blonde Ambition" author Rita Cosby, a veteran television news anchor and "Inside Edition" correspondent.

Will digital books catch fire this holiday? According to an online survey, 1 in 5 shoppers said they planned to buy an electronic book reader such as a Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle this year. When asked what they would like to get as a gift, about 1 in 10 cited a digital book reader. Portable music players, once the hot holiday ticket, got just 3.4% of the vote, while game consoles came in at 6%, according to the survey commissioned by Retrevo, a gadget review website. Likely buyers tend to be men under 35 years old who are living in the Northeast, where more people use public transportation, with an average annual household income of more than $100,000, according to the survey of 771 respondents.

In an upcoming book, a would-be San Diego sports marketer provides new details regarding allegations that he gave Reggie Bush tens of thousands in cash while Bush was still at USC. "Tarnished Heisman" shifts much of the focus from Bush's parents -- who also allegedly received benefits -- to the star running back. However, while the book hints that USC coaches may have known about some of the arrangements, it does not provide evidence that any school official was aware of alleged improper gifts.

A would-be San Diego sports marketer said Monday he laments dragging USC into alleged business dealings between him and former Trojans tailback Reggie Bush, a failed venture that has prompted a civil lawsuit and an NCAA investigation. In a lengthy telephone interview, Lloyd Lake offered no evidence that USC officials were aware of the cash and gifts he allegedly showered on Bush. But when asked if he believed they knew, Lake replied: "I would have to say yeah."