Many, like Seattle's, now think of themselves as shells that can adapt rapidly to changing demands. Inspiring places to read books they are not so much anymore.

Prison gave her a lot of time to read. One book that influenced here was Marilynne Robinson's "Housekeeping," which taught her about loneliness and alienation.

"I find Gatsby aesthetically overrated, psychologically vacant, and morally complacent; I think we kid ourselves about the lessons it contains. None of this would matter much to me if Gatsby were not also sacrosanct."

How does she create such riveting books from such mundane frauds, trials and transcripts?

Thanks to the perils of the book publishing industry, the Review has very few ads. What can its life expectancy be?

Amazon's list puts Alexandria, Va, and Knoxville as the top two.

A reported $4 million advance produces a book with only a few tidbits of new information.

"While saying she was the victim of bias and mistreatment by Italian authorities, Ms. Knox also writes that her own mistakes contributed to her conviction."

Savage reviews, with barbs and some praise, a book by a gay journalist examining the way many churches deal with and ostracize gays.

Scott Turow writes: " the global electronic marketplace is rapidly depleting authors’ income streams. It seems almost every player — publishers, search engines, libraries, pirates and even some scholars — is vying for position at authors’ expense."