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Jul 18 2012 12:16 PM ET

Oprah Winfrey sits down with 'Wild' author Cheryl Strayed -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Cheryl Strayed, Exclusive!, Memoirs, Nonfiction, Oprah Winfrey, TV

Image Credit: George Burns/Harpo, Inc.

Last month, Oprah Winfrey resurrected her defunct Book Club specifically for Wild, a terrific memoir by Cheryl Strayed. In an in-depth, two-hour interview airing this Sunday at 11 a.m., Strayed will be discussing Wild and the events that led her to hike the harrowing Pacific Coast Trail alone at the age of 26.

While the book details her grueling physical journey on the trail, it’s really about loss — how the death of her mother emotionally gutted Strayed, and how she set out to mend the broken pieces of her life.

In the exclusive clip below, Strayed discusses the difficulty of writing about her mother without romanticizing her. Catch the full interview July 22 on OWN as part of “Super Soul Sunday.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 16 2012 02:06 PM ET

See the trailer and first excerpt for 'The Kill Order', prequel to 'The Maze Runner' -- EXCLUSIVE

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Book Trailers, Dystopian, Exclusive Excerpt!, Exclusive!, YA

James Dashner’s Maze Runner series has sold over 1.4 million copies and has been optioned for film by 20th Century Fox. Now his fans are anxiously awaiting the prequel novel that will explain the origins that Thomas and his friends inhabit. From the official description:

Teenagers Mark and Trina are riding the underground train home from school one day when their lives are forever changed. Sun flares have hit the earth, scorching everything and everyone in its path, and leaving Mark and Trina to fend for themselves as they fight to survive in a world decimated by natural disaster. Witnessing the desperation of the human race, the pair link up with others who also want to find a way to exist in the aftermath. Just when it seems like they may have a fighting chance, the remaining population is attacked. They’re shot with darts that deliver a death blow like no other – a fatal virus that affects the brain and can spread like wildfire. As Mark and Trina witness the effects of the virus, they and their friends begin a frantic search to uncover the source, and to attempt to end any further destruction before it is too late. Before the virus takes them as well…

If you want more from The Kill Order before its release on Aug. 14, check out the exclusive trailer and excerpt below! READ FULL STORY »

Jul 16 2012 12:05 PM ET

'Encyclopedia Brown' author dies at age 87

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Children's Books, In Memoriam, News

Donald J. Sobol, creator of the Encyclopedia Brown series for children, died at age 87 on July 11. Over the course of his mystery writing career, which began in 1959 with Two-Minute Mysteries, Sobol wrote more than 65 books and won a special Edgar Award in 1976.

The Encyclopedia Brown series centers on Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown, a boy detective nicknamed for his vast knowledge of facts, who helps his police chief father solve local cases, usually by dinner time. Sobol came up with the concept when he came across a book by chance at the New York Public Library. The book had puzzles on one side of the page and solutions on the other, and it occurred to him to write a mystery book in the same style. Since the publication of the first Encyclopedia Brown novel in 1963, the books have never been out of print and have been translated into 12 languages.

He is survived by his wife, Rose; a sister, Helen; three children Diane, Eric and John; and four grandchildren, Gregory, Bryan, Lauren and Nicholas.

Did you grow up with Encyclopedia Brown, Bugs Meany, and Sally Kimball? What was your favorite mystery?

Jul 12 2012 09:30 PM ET

Comic-Con: Neil Gaiman to write new 'Sandman' series for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint

by Jeff Jensen

Tags: Comic Books, Comic-Con, DC Comics, Neil Gaiman, Publishing Biz, Sandman, SDCC

Call it a dream come true. Acclaimed fantasy author Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Coraline) is returning to comics and the character that made him a superstar scribe: Dream, a.k.a. Morpheus, member of the Endless, a deeply dysfunctional family of eternal though not immutable entities with names that begin with the letter ‘D’ who preside over various aspects of human existence (except Destruction did abandon his mantle and dominion and ran away… but never mind). Gaiman — who wrote 75 issues of The Sandman from 1988 to 1996 (all collected in “graphic novel” form), producing one of the most celebrated and most erudite comic book series ever — will team with artist J. H. Williams III (Promethea, Batwoman) for a mini-series that’s set prior to the events in Sandman #1. In that story, an English occult leader inadvertently summoned Dream using a black magic ritual involving rat claws and angel wings on June 10, 1916 and held him captive for 72 years. (The foolish mortal was actually trying to trap Morpheus’ sister, Death, but something went awry. Magic: So darn unpredictable!)
READ FULL STORY »

Jul 10 2012 04:58 PM ET

See the cover of 'Vortex', the sequel to 'Tempest' by Julie Cross -- EXCLUSIVE

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Cover Peek, Exclusive!, YA

If you’re like me, you’re wishing time would speed up so you could get your hands on the next Tempest book by Julie Cross. The first volume, which came out early this year, centered on 19-year-old Jackson Meyer as he traveled through time to save his girlfriend Holly. Cross’ debut wasn’t just a page-turner — it was a surprisingly affecting read about family and loss. When talking to EW’s Breia Brissey about book 2, Cross revealed some vague tidbits about Vortex:

“Time-travel is definitely taken up a notch in the second installment. There are also a few new characters that I really enjoy writing. Readers will learn a little more about Jackson’s dad and some of the mysteries that surround him and his job. After a short prologue, the book opens about three months after the end of Tempest. Three months that Jackson has lived in full — the normal way, no time jumps.

Vortex and the paperback edition of Tempest are still a ways off — January 2013 — but here are the shiny new covers for both! READ FULL STORY »

Jul 10 2012 03:29 PM ET

Listen to 'Glee' star Chris Colfer read from his children's novel 'The Land of Stories' -- EXCLUSIVE

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Audiobooks, Children's Books, Exclusive Excerpt!, Exclusive!, Glee, Middle Grade

Image Credit: Maarten de Boer/SAGF/Contour by Getty Images

There’s only a week left until Chris Colfer’s first novel The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell hits shelves, and for those of you who miss hearing his golden voice every week, EW has an exclusive aural treat. The audiobook version of The Land of Stories will also be available on July 17, and it features the Glee star reading his own work.

Described as a “modern-day fairy tale,” the book will focus on twins Alex and Conner, who leave the real world behind and find themselves in a land where they come face-to-face with the fairy-tale characters — witches, goblins, trolls — they’ve always read about.

See below for a never-before-heard snippet! READ FULL STORY »

Jul 10 2012 10:30 AM ET

'Buffy' Season 9 spin-off 'Spike': The cockroaches aren't happy -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK

by Adam B. Vary

Tags: Buffy, Buffy comic, Comic Books, Exclusive!, TV

Image Credit: Dark Horse

At the end of the most recent issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9, Spike and Buffy went their separate ways. (Well, it was actually Buffy’s consciousness inside a robot version of Buffy, but let’s not get too technical.) Spike had had it with having his non-beating heart jerked around by Buffy’s inability to fully commit to him, and he blasted off in his spaceship piloted by a loyal crew of giant alien cockroaches. Naturally.

That’s pretty much exactly where the five-issue spin-off miniseries Spike (written by Victor Gischler and pencilled by Paul Lee) starts off, and EW has an exclusive sneak peek at how well — or, really, not well — Spike is handling his self-imposed separation from Buffy.

You can read the full issue when it arrives in stores Aug. 22, but you can check out EW’s four-page first look here.

Follow @adambvary

Jul 9 2012 05:40 PM ET

New biography: Mick Jagger had sex with David Bowie, Eric Clapton, every other famous person

by Ray Rahman

Tags: Biography, Celebrity, Christopher Andersen, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Mick Jagger, Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger

Image Credit: RB/Redferns/Getty Images

As you may have heard by now, Christopher Andersen’s scandalous Mick Jagger biography hits shelves tomorrow, July 10.

Titled Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger, Andersen’s latest celebrity tell-all recounts the Rolling Stones frontman’s 68 years of exploits, from his sexual escapades with David Bowie to his thoughts about Beyoncé (“impressed”).

The book’s index of bad boy antics stretch back to Jagger’s childhood (wee four-year-old Mick kicked down other kids’ sandcastles) to his prep-school rebellion (he “got into serious trouble for wearing his hair too long and his jeans too tight”).

Yet, of course, it’s adult Mick who got into the most trouble. The bio’s full of salacious stories, including some new details on Jagger’s run-ins with royalty, celebrities, sex, drugs, and, once in a while, rock and roll.

Overall, Mick clocks in at 328 pages, each jam-packed with juiciness. So to help prepare you, here’s a rundown of some of the tabloid goodness: READ FULL STORY »

Jul 9 2012 02:25 PM ET

Goodreads list: 'Not Bestsellers Yet, but Readers Think They Should Be' -- EXCLUSIVE

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Best-seller List, Fiction, Goodreads, Nonfiction, YA

Goodreads users — like most passionate readers — are an opinionated bunch, so it’s rare for them to come to a consensus about any book. But there are some under-the-radar titles that users of the literary social network widely agree are deserving of greater attention and acclaim. The editors at Goodreads have selected seven books that, according to user ratings and comments, should be on the verge of breaking out. Click through to learn more about these dark horses in the fiction, nonfiction, and young adult categories.

NEXT: A page-turner destined to become a classic?

Jul 9 2012 01:01 PM ET

'Tipping Point' author Malcolm Gladwell's next book announced

by Stephan Lee

Tags: Nonfiction, News

Image Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell has made an art form — and not to mention a lucrative career — of making the counter-intuitive intuitive in books like Outliers, The Tipping Point and Blink. Little, Brown has announced that his next book, scheduled for 2013, will be called David and Goliath. It is partially inspired by a New Yorker article called “How David Beats Goliath” that Gladwell wrote in 2009. The article followed a girls basketball team that defied considerable odds to reach the California state championship by reinventing, in a sense, the way defense is played. The book Here’s more information from an official press release: READ FULL STORY »