Beauty and Beast
A lawsuit filed by former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in France that sought to ban the publication of a book written by his ex-lover has been rejected. Beauty And Beast, written by Marcela Iacub, outlines account of her affair with the former French politician. According to the BBC, Strauss-Kahn had complained that he was “horrified” by the book. Although it can now be published, the book will have to include an insert, and Iacub and her publisher must pay 50,000 euros in damages.
Nook’s corner
The digital business is weighing on Barnes & Noble Inc., the largest traditional U.S. bookseller. The company posted on Thursday a loss in the fiscal third quarter, hurt by weak sales during the all-important holiday quarter for its Nook e-book readers as well as at its bookstores. Nook revenue fell 26 per cent, and the company has begun cutting costs at the unit due to the sharp decline.
Lent and found
A long overdue book has finally been returned to the New York Public Library - 55 years late. The Daily News says the biography of a 16th-century priest, “Fire of Francis Xavier”, was borrowed from the library's Fort Washington branch April 10, 1958. Library manager Jennifer Zarr told the newspaper that the book reached them Monday wrapped in a plain brown envelope. There was a cheque for $100 to cover the dues. Shanghai Daily quoted the librarian as saying that library records do not go back to 1958 and there’s no way to trace who borrowed the book.
