NEW YORK ― One day. That was all the time Maya Sloan allowed herself to Google reviews of the dystopian young adult novel she ghostwrote for Kendall and Kylie Jenner.Not surprisingly, Internet trolls had it out for the youngest sisters of the Kardashians ― lampooning the idea that two teenage models who have yet to graduate from high school wanted to be taken seriously as authors. But Sloan, 37, didn’t escape unscathed, either.“Maya Sloan must have a serious need for money to submit herself to t

One of my souvenirs is a note from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. I paid a vendor in Victoria Falls $3 for it, and that was more than it was worth. Its value to me is in the impressive pledge on the note: “I promise to pay the bearer on demand TWENTY BILLION DOLLARS.”When your national currency is rooted in such paper promises, inflation and chaos are sure to follow.This is the lesson taught in “War and Gold” by Kwasi Kwarteng, a son of Ghanaian parents who is a historian, hedge fund analyst and

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without YouBy Courtney Maum (Touchstone)Richard Haddon, the morose British artist at the center of Courtney Maum’s amusing and yet still heartfelt new novel, used to be devoted to the avant garde. He made mixed-media collages using saw blades and driftwood and melted ramen noodle packets. He wrapped toy soldiers in Bubble Wrap to make a statement. He was confident and energetic and young. Hell, he even used to listen to Peaches.Now, though, things have changed. Richa

EuphoriaBy Lily King (Atlantic Monthly Press)This novel is as concentrated as orchid food, packing as much narrative power and intellectual energy into its 250 pages as novels triple its size.Inspired by the 1933 meeting of anthropologists Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson (Mead’s second husband and her third), and interweaving many other real characters and theoretical developments, “Euphoria” is a tale of passions, discoveries, jealousy, dedication, sexual mores and violence. It i

J.K. Rowling. (J.K. Rowling Official Site)If J.K. Rowling had as much fun writing “The Silkworm” as I did reading it, she had a blast.As the woman who created Harry Potter, Rowling became one of the most famous authors on the planet. But she was known as a writer for kids. Her first book for adults, 2012’s “The Casual Vacancy,” made headlines and was a bestseller, but critics were not impressed.For her next venture, Rowling decided to write in secret. She invented a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith,

The book came in on two rolls of microfilm ― an unusual way to submit a literary manuscript. Then again, the recipient was not your ordinary publisher: It was the CIA, the year was 1958, and the agency was about to lob a grenade onto the battlefield of the cultural Cold War.The grenade was “Doctor Zhivago,” by Russian writer Boris Pasternak. It would be his only work of fiction, but the controversial circumstances of its publication would spark a furor in the Soviet Union, where it was officiall

“Above the East China Sea”By Joy Tipping(The Dallas Morning News)I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching Sarah Bird’s career flourish during the past few years. Her books, sometimes serious in tone, sometimes lightly comedic, have a loyal Texas following.Her latest novel, “Above the East China Sea,” should be the one that lands the Austin writer among the literary elite. This is the rare tome that has the goods for both popular and critical acclaim at the highest level.“East China Sea,” like Bird’s 200

“Ruin Falls”By Oline H. Cogdill(Sun Sentinel)In her second novel, Jenny Milchman delivers an intense family thriller that touches on all the hot-button fears of a parent while keeping the threat of violence on the periphery of the story. Although “Ruin Falls” lags a bit in the middle, Milchman’s strength in creating characters who grow and change keep the story on track.Liz Daniels, her husband, Paul, and their children, Ally, 6, and Reid, 8, are taking a road trip to visit Paul’s estranged pare

An employee of Waterstones poses with a copy of “The Silkworm” by author Robert Galbraith, aka Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, as it goes on sale for the first time at a bookshop in London on Thursday. (AFP-Yonhap)NEW YORK (AP) ― J.K. Rowling’s latest novel has quickly climbed up the best-seller lists now that it’s finally available for purchase on Amazon.com. Rowling’s detective novel “The Silkworm” was in the top 100 by late Thursday for both print and e-book sales. She wrote it under the pe

A total of 369 publishing houses from 23 countries will participate in the fair, which also offers lectures, talks with authors

Josh Sims’ “100 Ideas That Changed Street Style” is the latest in a “100 Ideas” series of books from Laurence King Publishing (other titles include “100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design” and “100 Ideas That Changed Photography”), and the lavishly illustrated softcover book strikes an entertaining balance between encyclopedia and field guide as it sprints through some 70 years of street style.Many of the movements, trends, fads, statements and style tribes highlighted, cross-sectioned and decons

She hasn’t decided yet.Or if she has, she’s not telling.But if Hillary Rodham Clinton does run for president in 2016, her new book “Hard Choices,” a chronicle of her four years as secretary of State, leaves no room for doubt about how she might conduct foreign policy (pragmatically), how she will defend herself against charges that she mishandled the attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya (robustly) and about how much she regrets giving President George W. Bush carte blanche to wage

“The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair” By Marion Winik (Newsday)I just finished “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair,” by 28-year-old Swiss writer Joel Dicker, and all I can say is, God save Europe.According to the jacket copy, this book sold a million copies in France, won three literary prizes there and was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt, while knocking Dan Brown from No. 1 spots in Italy and Spain. I am not a Brown fan, but this book makes him look like Marcel Proust.Let’s assume t

“The Abduction”By Tish Wells(McClatchy Washington Bureau)In Jonathan Holt’s first book, he introduced readers to Capt. Kat Tapo of the Venice Carabinieri (police). She and 2nd Lieutenant Holly Boland make two interesting sleuths, along with the reclusive Daniele Barbo, creator of Carnivia, an elaborate online world that reflects Venice itself.His newest novel, “The Abduction” deals with the kidnapping of an American girl, interrogation techniques used by the United States in the War on Terror, d