John Kennedy Toole

Toole completed "Confederacy" shortly before committing suicide in 1969, and his mother spent the next seven years trying to find a publisher. Her efforts were vindicated when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1976. The central character of this surprisingly assured first novel is the self-styled genius, Ignatius Reilly, who dwells in arrogance as a monk in piety. From the heights of his moral indignation, he alternately decries the foibles of lesser mortals and bewails the condition of his overworked pyloric valve.

Toole completed "Confederacy" shortly before committing suicide in 1969, and his mother spent the next seven years trying to find a publisher. Her efforts were vindicated when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1976. The central character of this surprisingly assured first novel is the self-styled genius, Ignatius Reilly, who dwells in arrogance as a monk in piety. From the heights of his moral indignation, he alternately decries the foibles of lesser mortals and bewails the condition of his overworked pyloric valve.

. . "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. Read by Arte Johnson. Abridged by Mary Margaret Moffitt on two cassettes. Dove. Success came too late for John Kennedy Toole, who died by his own hand before his mother badgered his manuscript into print, where it became a best seller. His portrait of a gross but vivid eccentric, Ignatius J. Reilly, his hard-tippling, hysterical mother and a supporting cast of New Orleans zanies gets a raucous, hilarious reading from comedian Arte Johnson.

. . "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. Read by Arte Johnson. Abridged by Mary Margaret Moffitt on two cassettes. Dove. Success came too late for John Kennedy Toole, who died by his own hand before his mother badgered his manuscript into print, where it became a best seller. His portrait of a gross but vivid eccentric, Ignatius J. Reilly, his hard-tippling, hysterical mother and a supporting cast of New Orleans zanies gets a raucous, hilarious reading from comedian Arte Johnson.

With his new novel, "The Neon Bible," scheduled to hit bookstores this spring, John Kennedy Toole would appear to be at a promotional disadvantage. He's dead. But then he was dead long before his first novel, "A Confederacy of Dunces," was published in 1980 and won the Pulitzer Prize.

The Super Bowl-bound Baltimore Ravens get their name from the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, making them the most literary NFL team. They can thank the people of Baltimore, who chose the name during a poll conducted by the Baltimore Sun. The radio show " Studio 360 " wonders what it might be like if every team were equally inspired by an author. Forget the animal predators and valiant warriors that currently serve as mascots, and instead change every NFL team to something you might find in a library.

In Margaret Thatcher's favorite book, the working class rises up to take bloody revenge against the rich. That's just one of the insights gathered by librarian Margaret Berketa in a survey of the rich and famous's reading habits as part of a major project to mark the International Year of Literacy. More than 150 celebrities have replied to her letters requesting details of their favorite books, and the responses are still flowing in.

A new blood clot study finds that flying economy class is not any riskier than first class , as sometimes thought, but sitting by the window seems to play a role, because it makes people less likely to leave their seats. Still, even on long flights (four hours or more) the risk for most people is extremely low, an American College of Chest Physicians' committee reported. For details, go to http://www.chestjournal.org . . . . Salt Lake City retail shopping scene undergoes a major upgrade March 22 with the opening of City Creek Center , a shopping and dining destination downtown.

"The Neon Bible" is not like any other period coming-of-age-in-the-South movies you've ever seen. It's not just that John Kennedy Toole's story takes a darker turn than most, but that it was adapted to the screen and directed by England's Terence Davies, celebrated for his autobiographical "Distant Voices, Still Lives" and "The Long Day Closes." Davies' special gift for playing nostalgia against bleak circumstances and events made him the ideal choice for this project.

With his new novel, "The Neon Bible," scheduled to hit bookstores this spring, John Kennedy Toole would appear to be at a promotional disadvantage. He's dead. But then he was dead long before his first novel, "A Confederacy of Dunces," was published in 1980 and won the Pulitzer Prize.

Like "Forrest Gump," which he co-produced, Steve Tisch has had a fortuitous career. At 48, the New York native has had a Hollywood run that started as Peter Guber's assistant at Columbia in 1971. Since going indie in 1976, his credits range from "Risky Business" (which launched Tom Cruise) to Kevin Costner's "The Postman." He's also executive producer of "American History X," starring Edward Norton.