Book News: Mulholland Books, Navy Seals Memoir, Mother's Day, and L.A. Noire Video Game

Book News this week is a conglomeration of fabulous links for your enjoyment:

First, an amazing article in The New York Observer about Little, Brown's new imprint Mulholland Books. Miriam Parker and I have been in touch briefly after I requested a Michael Connelly title more than a year ago (long before Matthew McConaughey launched him into sudden stardom). Many other Mulholland titles will be coming up for review here on the blog.

The Guardian reports on a Navy Seal memoir being rushed to publication after the killing of Osama bin Laden by Seal Team Six. Titled Seal Team Six, it was slated to debut later in May, long before the raid.

Also in The Guardian, a discussion of a new video game by the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Rather than making killing the main focus of the game, creators looked to the crime noir genre for inspiration. Los Angeles in the 1940s is the setting for L.A. Noire.

In an excellent link (I'm sure they did this just for me!) between two things I've mentioned already today, L.A. Noire gamemakers also showed the game's literary connections. From EW's Shelf Life blog:

"To acknowledge the literary roots of its newest offering – and to expand L.A. Noire into a larger 'transmedia' entertainment franchise – Rockstar commissioned several prominent authors to pen short stories inspired by the game and stand on their own as crime genre fun. An eBook compilation from Mulholland Books, entitled L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories, will be available June 6, about three weeks after the game’s scheduled May 17 release."

Did you hear that? Mulholland Books. A look at the game:


NPR's Three Books... special series looks to mothers and daughters, just in time for Mother's Day.

Last week USA Today gave readers a list of celebrity memoirs coming up in May. I am currently reading Tina Fey's Bossypants, and literally laughing out loud. Betty White, Steven Tyler, and Chelsea Handler (one of my favorite celebrity authors) are included.

Jacket Copy's wrap-up list of all their L.A. Times Festival of Books articles from last weekend's book event. (Featuring Jennifer Egan, Rainn Wilson, Jillian Michaels, and more.)

An in-depth look at William Faulkner's Oxford, Mississippi, and his home Rowan Oak, by L.A. Times book critic David Ulin, complete with photographs.

 In conclusion, a Galleycat link for Mother's Day: Top 10 Lists of Literary Gift Ideas for Mother's Day.

I have had an incredibly busy last couple of weeks. I sincerely hope the weekend holds much laying around, drinking coffee on my porch, enjoying my flowers, and reading. I need some recuperation! (As an update to my ramblings about Relay For Life the past few weeks, I have to brag that my school's team has now raised almost $1400! I am thrilled with the effort by everyone.)

I will be enjoying the following books while I'm resting: Bossypants by Tina Fey (library), Virals by Kathy Reichs (Audible), and Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward (purchased hardback from Amazon). Happy reading this weekend!