Books

Winfrey Web Site Notes Fabricated Memoir

Oprah.com, the Web site of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has posted a disclaimer acknowledging that Herman Rosenblat admitted he had invented portions of his Holocaust memoir.

• As Another Memoir Is Faked, Trust Suffers (Dec. 30)

Richard Seaver, Publisher, Dies at 82

Mr. Seaver defied censorship and conventional literary standards to bring works by rabble-rousing authors like Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller and William Burroughs to American readers.

'Lark and Termite'

Jayne Anne Phillips’s intricate, deeply felt new novel fuses wildly disparate influences into something incandescent and utterly original.

Executives Replaced at Borders as Sales Fall

The book retailer said that George L. Jones would be succeeded by Ron Marshall, a private equity executive with experience turning around ailing companies.

Laura Bush Signs Deal for Her Memoirs

Scribner has acquired Mrs. Bush’s not-yet-titled book, which will include her experiences in the White House, and plans to publish it in 2010.

Puttin’ Off the Ritz: The New Austerity in Publishing

Amid a relentless string of layoffs and pay-freeze announcements, book publishers are clamping down on some of the business’s most glittery and cozy traditions.

'The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death'

Charlie Huston has written a smoking-hot new crime novel.

Kyoto Celebrates a 1,000-Year Love Affair

This city, known for its shrines and blazing autumn hills, is celebrating the millennial anniversary of an ancient book about love and loss among the imperial set.

• Slide Show: An Ancient Book Still Enthralls Kyoto

'The Invention of Air'

Steven Johnson’s portrait of the 18th-century chemist, theologian and perennial agitator Joseph Priestley is also a lament about the intellectual specialization of our modern age.

Donald E. Westlake, Mystery Writer, Is Dead at 75

The prolific, award-winning novelist pounded out more than 100 books and five screenplays during his career.

• Times Topics: Donald E. Westlake

'The Mercy Papers'

In Robin Romm’s account of her mother’s death from cancer, her fury is transformed into an instrument for pursuing truth.

'Somebody'

The first serious Brando biography since his death includes a survey of his posthumous legacy.

• First Chapter
• Marlon Brando: Times Topics Page | Filmography

'Things I've Been Silent About'

The author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran” fleshes out personal stories left untold or half-told in her earlier work.

• First Chapter

'Downtown Owl'

In Chuck Klosterman’s first novel: nostalgia, angst and football.

• First Chapter

'The Red Convertible'

In her new story collection, Louise Erdrich chronicles Native American ways, but also captures the voices of multitudes.

• Times Topics: Louise Erdrich

'Mrs. Astor Regrets'

A journalist reports on the family drama surrounding Brooke Astor’s decline.

• First Chapter
• Times Topics: Brooke Astor

'Chicago'

The novelist Alaa Al Aswany places his emigré characters in post-9/11 Chicago.

'Hitler’s Private Library'

A tantalizing study of Hitler’s book collection and what it says about the man.

• First Chapter
• Times Topics: Adolph Hitler

'Graham Greene: A Life in Letters'

Graham Greene’s letters reveal a man in constant search of “the exciting thing” -- the insurgencies and coups of the world.

• Excerpt: 'Dearest Mumma'
• Times Topics: Graham Greene