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Reuters Video: J.K. Rowling’s thoughts on Harry Potter go on sale

Sotheby's is auctioning first edition books with handwritten notes by the authors and the top lot is the first Harry Potter novel containing revealing commentary by J.K. Rowling. Tara Cleary reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: The first edition of the first Harry Potter book. Its value would normally be set at around $30,000 U.S. dollars. But this particular version is worth a lot more, says Sotheby's specialist Philip Errington, as it contains handwritten notes by its author, J.K. Rowling.
DR PHILIP ERRINGTON: "The sale title is 'First Editions, Second Thoughts' and the authors really have done that, they've had second thoughts on their texts they have revised, they've annotated, they've put illustrations in, they have really engaged with their original texts."
REPORTER: One of Rowling's notes explains the idea for Quidditch:
ACTOR READING J.K. ROWLING'S NOTES: "Quidditch was invented in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with my then boyfriend. I had been pondering the things that hold society together, cause it to congregate and signify its particular character and knew I needed a sport. It infuriates men … which is quite satisfying given my state of mind when I invented it."
REPORTER: Other annotated first publications include Helen Fielding's "Bridget Jones's Diary", Roald Dahl's "Matilda" and Ann [sic] Martel's "Life of Pi". The "First Editions, Second Thoughts" auction took place on May 21st with the first edition Harry Potter book selling at 150,000 British pounds or 227,000 U.S. dollars.

NOTE
That should be Yann Martel!

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Reuters Video: Booksellers bet on Rowling's post-Potter novel

Harry Potter author J.K Rowling has released her first novel for adults, ''The Casual Vacancy'', concerning life and class prejudice in a small English town. After the seven-book Potter series sold 450 million copies worldwide, booksellers and publishers are hoping her latest work sells well too. Joanna Partridge reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Could this one novel give booksellers and publishers a boost? British bookshops opened early as "The Casual Vacancy" went on sale - the first book for adults by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Rowling's name alone will attract readers - and the book's virtually guaranteed to top best-seller lists in Britain, the U.S and around the world.
GRACE PROCTOR, J.K. ROWLING AND HARRY POTTER FAN: "I couldn't wait to have it in my hands and then I'll read it as soon as possible, maybe in my lunch break, maybe now, a bit before work, and try and read it as quick as possible, and then read it again like all the Harry Potter's."
REPORTER: The record-breaking seven book and eight movie franchise about the boy wizard made Rowling what Forbes magazine called the world's "first billionaire author". Five years on her first foray into adult literature has attracted the sort of coverage that most writers can only dream of. Rowling did very limited publicity ahead of the launch of her story about life and class prejudice in a small English town. But that's not expected to dent sales says bookstore manager, Gary Powell.
GARY POWELL, MANAGER OF FOYLES BOOKSHOP: "A lot of the market that read the Harry Potter books were adults anyway, so I think they're going to identify with her style of writing. It's going to be one of our key titles for Christmas, absolutely, and it's going to sell really well from now through until next year as well."
REPORTER: The Harry Potter books changed the face of publishing - they sold 450 million worldwide. In the UK the series tops the list of recent best-sellers according to Nielsen Bookscan with over 31 million copies sold. That's followed by 10 million copies so far of the Fifity Shades trilogy by EL James. And then 5 and a quarter million copies of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code". "The Casual Vacancy" reportedly saw pre-sale orders of 2.6 million. In the age of eReaders - it seems many book fans still want to get their hands on a hardback on publication day. Rowling herself has expressed a desire to avoid the "insanity" which surrounded Harry Potter publications, but booksellers hope this hype will also translate into sales. Joanna Partridge, Reuters.

COMMENT
The book's list price in the UK is £20. We saw in the video that Foyles is selling it with £5 off. However, other outlets are offering much bigger discounts: Tesco and Amazon are selling the hardback for £9.00, while the Amazon Kindle edition will cost you £11.99 (see here for a discussion of this seemingly crazy pricing strategy).

ALSO SEE
• JK Rowling: The Casual Vacancy – review (The Guardian)
• The Casual Vacancy: Review round-up and Twitter reaction (Mirror)
• JK Rowling's Casual Vacancy wins mixed response (BBC News)
• JK Rowling: US reviews slate The Casual Vacancy (The Telegraph)
• Marketing writers as ‘brands’ (The Hindu)
• Hypocrisy and the ruthless PR sorcery behind JK Rowling's invasion of her own privacy (Mail Online)

Reuters Video: Extremes meet in new Guinness World Records edition

The latest edition of the world famous Guinness World Records book is published, unveiling the latest and greatest in record breaking across the globe. Tara Cleary reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: A slam-dunking parrot, the tallest dog, the biggest biceps and the smallest bull who still packs a punch... They're all in the 2013 edition of the book of Guinness World Records. Published in 22 languages in more than 100 countries, it's expected to sell around 2.7 million copies. And this year's volume boasts a very special feature says editor-in chief, Craig Glenday.
CRAIG GLENDAY: "This year we've found this amazing thing called augmented reality. It allows you to really interact with the pages and the record holders. You can pet the shortest dog. You can even see a parrot doing slam dunks. It is incredible."
REPORTER: But not as incredible as some of the record holders. Johanna Quaas from Leipzig, Germany is 86 years old and still swinging from the parallel bars. Stand back! It's Sumo wrestler, Sharran Alexander, the world's heaviest sportswoman. And if thousands of Barbie dolls, or Hello Kitty memorabilia don't move you, then perhaps the world's largest bicycle will Which of course deserves a drum roll … from the world's largest set of drums.

ALSO SEE
• The Guinness book of world records: The biggest biceps, the sharpest Mohican and a two-feet tall lady (The Independent)
• From the human Popeye to the tallest Mohican: The weird and wacky entries in this year's Guinness Book of Records (Mail Online)

COMMENT
This topic would be great for teaching about comparatives and superlatives. 

Words in the News: Dumb Down

The Mail On Sunday claims that education secretary Michael Gove will announce a major overhaul of the exams system. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
If you dumb something down, you make it less accurate or educational, and of worse quality, by trying to make it easier for people to understand. • The BBC denies that its broadcasting has been dumbed down.

Reuters Video: Adults turn to teen fiction eBooks

EBook sales surge in the Young Adult category as teens and adults turn to hot fiction including Hunger Games, Twilight and Harry Potter. Jill Bennett reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Twilight, Harry Potter, and the Hunger Games. These young adult titles are igniting book sales, particularly in eBooks. The numbers speak for themselves, Children's/Young Adult fiction is a 2.8 billion dollar market and was the fastest growing category in eBooks last year - according to an annual survey by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group. But, it's not young adults who are leading the surge.
SARAH MADSON, AVID YOUNG ADULT READER: "After Twilight, read the Harry Potter series, loved them. Hunger Games, my favorite of all time. I really enjoy the easy-to-read, you can get through them quickly, they engage you they aren't really hard concepts for adults to get. I think that's why they are so popular with adults nowadays."
REPORTER: Call it a guilty pleasure. Sarah Madson, well beyond her teenage years, is an avid reader of some of the top young adult fiction on her Kindle. And she's not alone. 
SARAH MADSON: "I discuss these a lot with my friends we discuss the topics in there, relate them to different topics in our lives, go to see the movies together. It's a big part of our social circle." These crossover hits in young adult literature propelled eBook sales in that category by 12 percent in 2011, compared to the prior year. Michael Cader is the Founder of Publishers Marketplace.com.
MICHAEL CADER, FOUNDER, PUBLISHERS MARKETPLACE: "As this field of young adult literature has emerged, it's attracting not just teenagers, but people in their 20's, their parents. It's become a format that's a little less expensive than a hard cover, it deals with some themes in a way that some people find more accessible, oftentimes. YA literature is a little shorter than those big long books that some people don't want to take on, it's created for this group of readers that wasn't very well served but it's become such a dynamic field that it's attracting all sorts of readers."
REPORTER: And while young adult fiction is booming among ereaders, it has a long way to go before catching up to the industry giant, adult fiction. Jill Bennett, Reuters.

ALSO SEE
• Adult fiction ebooks outsold hardcovers in 2011-survey (Reuters)
• Adults Should Read Adult Books (New York Times) 
• Boom in young adult fiction as sales jump 150 percent in six years thanks to hits like Twilight and The Hunger Games (Mail Online)

Reuters Video: The book with 11 different endings

A new digital novel goes on sale on the internet on March 19 which for the first time offers readers the choice of 11 different endings. We meet the UK author behind the unique project. Hayley Platt reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Wondering how a book ends is one of the joys of reading. So having the choice of 11 different conclusions may seem a little strange. But that's what author Caroline Smailes has done. Her latest novel '99 Reasons Why' is the first ebook to place the fate of its characters firmly in the reader's hands. Caroline says she came up with the idea after some of her readers criticised the ending of her previous work.
CAROLINE SMAILES, AUTHOR: "My first two novels I had a habit of killing off characters at the end, maybe it was the mood I was in when I was writing them at the time but some people when they read the book had strong reactions to it some people threw the book in the bin, another person ripped it up they weren't happy with the fact that I was killing people when they'd invested in the character all the way through and they wanted something good to happen with them at the end."
REPORTER: So Caroline and her publisher Scott Pack from HarperCollins decided to try a little experiment by letting the reader choose their own ending. iPad users will be presented with a spinning wheel when they reach chapter 89. They simply pick a number and their chosen ending is displayed. E-books account for around 10-15% of sales for most UK publishers - at HarperCollins it's 50%.
SCOTT PACK, HEAD OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, HARPER COLLINS: "E-books need something a little bit different. The tradition with any new technology is that people just put old stuff on it so when television first started you had radio presenters in black tie behind a radio mic announcing tv shows and it took three or four years before people realised no you don't just do radio and put it on tele you have to do something different and ebooks at the moment, 95% of them, maybe more are just print books digitised. So we wanted to do something a little bit different."
REPORTER: Not everyone may agree but Scott and Caroline hope people will give it a go.
CAROLINE SMAILES: "I know that some readers and writers feel like there's only ever their responsibility to give one ending and some people say that there's only ever one ending to a book. For me for this one there was 11 but for the novel I've just finished there was only ever one ending, so it just depends on the story you're telling at the time."
REPORTER: New technology is being used to make the unique book. And Caroline hopes there will be plenty of people with Reasons Why they want to buy it. Hayley Platt, Reuters.

Reuters Video: Steve Jobs lives on in comic book

Apple founder Steve Jobs is immortalized again, this time in a new comic book about his life. Bobbi Rebell reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs- a superhero to many- is now the subject of a new comic book. The $4.00, 32-page book offers readers a broad view of the life of the now deceased Jobs, from his adoption as a baby- to his work at Apple. Thor Parker of Midtown comics:
THOR PARKER, MIDTOWN COMICS: "The artwork is pretty basic for a comic. You see a lot of iconic images that are related to Steve Jobs. You see comic renditions of his Forbes magazine cover, a lot of his keynote addresses. So you'll see a lot of stuff that you recognize and then you'll see some other people that popped up in his life, the other guys that ran Pixar, they are in there briefly. So you will recognize everybody that is in there pretty much."
REPORTER: Many regard Jobs as the greatest American CEO of his generation. He revolutionized electronic technology when his company Apple developed the iPod, iPhone and other hot gadgets- including the recent iPad. The comic was written before his death from pancreatic cancer at age 56, and so does not address that. At Midtown Comics in New York City, fans were curious to check it out.
COMIC BOOK FAN: "Seems like a collector's item so I picked it up"
COMIC BOOK FAN: "I think it's great. I think he's an interesting guy, interesting point of view in his life and in my opinion everything translates well into comics."
REPORTER: But not every fan was enthusiastic about the comic:
COMIC BOOK FAN: "I think I would rather read an autobiography about him, than a comic book."
REPORTER: And for collectors who want a tech titan trilogy, there is already one out about Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, and one on Microsoft's Bill Gates is scheduled to come out in March. Bobbi Rebell, Reuters.

COMMENT
Forget the Steve Jobs comic book and read Walter Isaacson's wonderful biography instead.

Reuters Video: Paper Promises—the history of debt

Financial columnist Philip Coggan talks to Reuters TV about his new book Paper Promises which explores the relationship between money and debt throughout history. Matt Cowan reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER The debt crisis gripping Europe may present new challenges, but it's also remarkably reminiscent of problems faced in the past says Philip Coggan, author of the new book Paper Promises.
PHILIP COGGAN: "Every forty years or so, we run into a problem that people simply can't repay their debts. Then, looking into it more it occured to me this is all tied up with the way money is created and the way financial systems operate between countries."
REPORTER: A columnist for The Economist and former writer at the Financial Times, Coggan says he hopes his new book will get people to think more about the link between money and debt.
PHILIP COGGAN: "All money these days is a form of debt from someone else. So the money we pay into our bank accounts, that's the bank's debt. The money we pay on our credit card, we are taking on a debt and the bank or credit card company stands behind that. The money we pay - the cash that we pay - is implicitly a debt of the government. We rely on the government to stand behind it. The government needs to raise enough money through tax revenues to make its finances sound. And that's what's broken down in the past, in countries like Germany in the 1920s, Zimbabwe recently. And that's what's so fascinating about the Euro Zone crisis today."
REPORTER: Even still, while the past may be instructive, it does not present a clear best option for dealing with the current debt crisis.
PHILIP COGGAN: "There's no great solution. This is like one of things like the story where you ask directions from a yokel and he says 'well, I wouldn't start from here if I were you'. From here, we know the debts cannot be paid in full. That is, in proper money rather than monopoly money. People will either have to default on their debts, or inflate their debts away."
REPORTER: The subtitle of Coggan's book is Money, Debt and The New World Order. And he has some concerns about the latter.
PHILIP COGGAN: SOUNDBITE: "You only need to look back to the 1930s to see what could go wrong. Basically, in 2008 the central banks and governments stepped in with almost all the ammunition they could through at it. So you have bigger fiscal deficits than at any other time other than world wars. You have interest rates at zero, at levels the Bank of England​ which has a 300-year-history has never seen before. Three years on, they've done all that and we're really not out of the mess. Indeed, the level of government financing is itself now part of the problem. And that's the difficulty where do you go?"
REPORTER: Debt was once thought of as a dull subject. Coggan is betting that many people no longer see it that way. Matt Cowan, Reuters.

ALSO SEE
• Till debt us do part (Financial Times book review)

Cartoon: Berlusconi Gets The Boot

This cartoon by Adams from The Telegraph relates to Silvio Berlusconi's decision to resign (though not quite yet) after a crucial budget vote win by the embattled Italian PM was overshadowed by a rash of defections that saw his ruling coalition lose its majority. Full story >>

COMMENTARY
The cartoon shows a trouserless Berlusconi being kicked by the map of Italy, which does in fact resemble a leg wearing a boot. The image symbolizes the Italian people's dissatisfaction with their much-ridiculed Prime Minister. Two idioms come to mind. If you get the boot or are given the boot, you are told that you are not wanted any more, either in your job or by someone you are having a relationship with. And if you get your ass kicked (butt in the USA), you are punished or defeated. All these expressions are informal.

MORE CARTOONS
• Dave Brown (The Independent)
• Andy Davey (The Sun)
• Steve Bell (The Guardian)

Book of the Day: Classical English Rhetoric

Ward Farnsworth, Professor of Law at Boston University (and fan of The English Blog), sent me a copy of his new book Classical English Rhetoric (thanks Ward!) While English learners may find the intricacies of anaphora and epistrophe a bit beyond them, teachers of English (and anyone who has to give speeches or presentations) will appreciate the numerous examples of the rhetorical art from Shakespeare through to Churchill.

Here's a quote which I thought was apt in present circumstances:

Everything in the English government appears to me the reverse of what it ought to be, and of what it is said to be. (Paine, The American Crisis, 1783)

No change there then. That's an example of symploce, by the way. You know, a combination of anaphora and epistrophe.

COMMENT
I wonder whose speeches will be used as examples of classic English rhetoric 50 years from now. Obama? Probably. David Cameron? Doubtful.

Newsy Video: Amazon Kindle Lending Library Books?

Amazon's slim and sleek Kindle e-reader will allow consumers to borrow books from more than 11,000 major libraries. View transcript >>

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

ALSO SEE
• Amazon to launch library service for Kindle (Financial Times)
• Amazon Kindle to open up to library lending (LA Times)
• Amazon Kindle Library Lending Coming Later in 2011 (eWeek)

COMMENTS
I've had a Kindle since Christmas and think the device itself is great. But I do have two major gripes about Amazon's Kindle Store. Firstly, although I am British and live just across the Channel in France, I am not allowed to use Amazon's UK Kindle store. I have to use the American store, where the selection of books is totally different (i.e. worse), and where you have to pay for many books (mostly classics) you can get for free on Amazon.co.uk. And secondly, some Kindle ebooks are more expensive than the hardback versions, which is just ridiculous.

Newsy Video: N-Word Removed in New Edition of 'Huck Finn'

Mark Twain's classic novel Huckleberry Finn is getting a controversial makeover. View transcript >>

BACKGROUND
The euphemism the N-word became mainstream American English usage during the racially contentious murder trial of ex-footballer O. J. Simpson in 1995. [Source: Wikipedia]

READ MORE
• New Huckleberry Finn Reprint Eliminates 'N' Word (TIME NewsFeed)
• Bob Englehart cartoon and commentary (Hartford Courant)

COMMENT
If you're still not sure what the N-word actually is, see here. And see here for an earlier post about the construction letter of alphabet + '-word' suffix.

Newsy Video: Kindle Named Amazon's Best-Selling Product Ever

Amazon's Kindle eReader has held off competition from more sophisticated tablets from Apple and Android. But what makes it so successful? View transcript >>

READ MORE
• Amazon's Kindle opens new chapter for publishing industry (LA Times)
• Amazon Kindle E-Reader Sales Will Keep Growing in 2011: 10 Reasons Why (eWeek.com)

COMMENT
I got a Kindle for Christmas and think it's just wonderful. OK, you can't play Angry Birds on it, but at $139 (or £109) it's a no-brainer if you want a dedicated e-reader. There are literally thousands of free books available for download and you can get a sample of any book you're thinking of buying in a matter of seconds. There are also two built-in dictionaries (one for British and one for American English), which allow you to quickly find the meaning of any word on the screen—great for learners of English! I'm not sure how the Kindle will change my reading habits yet. I'll probably continue to buy physical books for a while yet, but I'm pretty sure that the eReader's time has come.

Newsy Video: Julian Assange Signs $1.3 million Book Deal

The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims he unwillingly signed a book deal to protect his website and its cause. See transcript >>

READ MORE
• Julian Assange to use £1m book deals for legal fight (The Guardian)

Cartoon: Bush's Derision Points

This cartoon by Peter Brookes from The Times relates to the publication of George W. Bush's memoir, entitled 'Decision Points'.

Bush is shown in his office. On the wall behind him are pictures representing key episodes from his presidency: the waterboarding scandal, Hurricance Katrina, and the 'Mission Accomplished' speech. There's also a photo of Bush with Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally in the Iraq War. The shoe on the right is a reminder of the incident in which an Iraqi journalist threw two shoes at Bush during a press conference.

Bush is telling us, "Don't forget to buy my new book 'Derision Points'". The use of the word 'derision' instead of 'decision' is a typical Bushism, but the cartoonist is also making a comment on the various disasters and controversies which occured during Bush's time in office, and which he doesn't seem to regret.

VOCABULARY
If you treat someone or something with derision, you express contempt for them, or subject them to mockery and ridicule. • Lord Phillips of Sudbury has become the target of media derision for remarks in the House of Commons regarding the 'legality' of Zionist regime.

MORE CARTOONS
• Dave Brown (The Independent)
• Mac (The Daily Mail)
• Clay Bennett (Chattanooga Times Free Press)