The first episodes are edited, graded and ready to go out. I feel anxious and protective about it. I want everybody to love it as much as I do. We'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile the 'real world' has obligingly caught up with our drama. Banks are collapsing, just as Mr Merdle's bank collapses in the book. Will we find ourselves bankrupted like our unfortunate hero? We shall just have to wait and see about that as well. One thing, anyway: we can't say Dickens didn't warn us".

Five Books that need to be adapted into movies

"Hollywood is unoriginal. We all know this. A study was recently conducted that proved that Hollywood is the second most unoriginal thing in the world (the first being Hollywood’s slightly retarded Hindi cousin Bollywood). Nowadays, nearly every new movie is either a remake or an adaptation of a book. I won’t complain. After all, tons of amazing movies are adaptations. That said, there are some books that, for some reason unknown to me, still haven’t been adapted. Following are five that need to be adapted - Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy; Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk" and three more here.

Joe Eszterhas and Anne Rice - the writers behind “Basic Instinct” and “Interview With the Vampire” explain their return to Catholicism in a New York Times review.

"Joe Eszterhas’s 16 movies have grossed something like $1 billion. Anne Rice’s novels have sold something like 75 million copies. So when writers with this economic mojo write memoirs about their return to the Roman Catholic faith of their childhood, attention must, and perhaps should, be paid.They could not be more different: Eszterhas writes with his fists. You practically duck as you turn the page. Rice is a voice whispering at you from behind a beaded curtain: you have to lean into the binding".

The biggest atlas ever to be published

CNN reports "It is being billed as the ultimate book about the world and it is something of a landmark in its

own right. "Earth" -- the biggest atlas ever to be published -- promises to be a luxurious benchmark in cartography.

"Earth" is the largest atlas ever produced. Created by Millennium House, "Earth" -- complete with a clam shell case --

measures 610 x 469 millimeters and weighs in at over 30 kilos. The price is pretty hefty too. The leather bound, gilt-edgedbook will set you back around $3500. It has taken a team of over 100 photographers, cartographers, geographers and

oceanographers eight months to bring the 576 page tome together. During production several cartographers' computers crashedand had to be upgraded because of the maps were so large and so detailed".

How to Beat Airport Security

An Atlantic Magazine article by Jeffrey Goldberg reflects that Long security lines at the airport are supposed to be for safety. He says, however, they “are almost entirely for show-security theater is the term of art.” In a hilarious piece, Goldberg exposes our airports’ terrifying security gap. Goldberg’s inventory of smuggled items includes pocketknives, matches, cigarette lighters, rope, nail clippers, toothpaste, bottled water, box cutters, and a Beerbelly. In an attempt to get caught, Goldberg enters security with a fake boarding pass, no ID, and an Osama Bin Laden T-Shirt. “All right, you can go,” the TSA guard tells him. “But let this be a lesson for you.”

Internet Searching May Boost Brain Activity

This blog may have unexpected consequences for me AS I trawl the net each week

"For middle-aged and older adults, searching the Internet could be a boost to the brain, a new study suggests. The new study, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, looked at the brain activity of 24 neurologically normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76 as they searched the Internet. Half of the

participants had experience surfing the Web, while the others did not. "Our most striking finding was that Internet searching appears to engage a greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading - but only in those with prior Internet experience," said study leader Gary Small of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA".

Alan Bennett's teenage musings are rediscovered

Vanessa Thorpe in the UK Observer writes "The student jottings and doodles of wits and entertainers such as Alan Bennett, Ned Sherrin and Russell Harty have been unearthed by researchers at Oxford University, who have been studying college documents from the Fifties. Exeter College is to publish a book of undergraduate comments and jokes taken from the college suggestion book. The excerpts, never before seen outside the college, include a series of satirical dialogues from Sherrin, who studied law at the college, and chatshow host Russell Harty, who read English there. Bennett read modern history at Exeter and has provided a foreword. Some of the contributions are in cartoon form, including one by John Morley showing Bennett dressed as Hamlet. Elsewhere, the teenage Bennett writes a parody of the poet Patience Strong that gives a glimpse of his future talent".

'Marcel Proust had a very poor figure

He hadn't the chest for sexual rigour

He lay with Albertine tout nu

Ce n'est seulement le temps qu'il a perdu'

The Londoner Diary in the UK Evening Standard is always a good source of blog material. It recently commented on the public school awards. Harrow School won the Tatler Award for Best School Food.The guide's editor Mark Palmer, Tatler's editor Geordie Greig and their boss, Conde Nast managing director Nicholas Coleridge, were all educated at Eton. John Walker, head of Abberley Hall, was nominated best prep school head. St John's College School was best prep school. Emma McKendrick, head of Downe House, was best public school headmistress, while Sir Eric Anderson, former provost of Eton, picked up a lifetime gong. He did once look after one T Blair at Fettes College, after all.

It would be interesting to see a similar Australian guide.

Alain Botton takes the biscuit

"Where do London philosophers get their ideas? Among the fig rolls and gypsy creams, if Alain de Botton is anything to go by. "Tesco's in Brook Green has been a favourite place for inspiration," the sage of Shepherd's Bush tells his local magazine, WestSide. "I've often stopped in the aisle, at the biscuit section, and written something down in a notebook that has been eluding me all morning. The author of How Proust Can Change Your Life and The Architecture of Happiness goes on: "The thing about writing is that you never quite know when you're at work. It's often when you're sitting at the desk that you're not doing anything properly productive. It's when you pop out to Tesco's that suddenly the ideas come."

"Historian Andrew Roberts once revealed that David Cameron leapt into the sea to save him from a shoal of huge stinging jellyfish. Last night it was payback time as the Tory leader came to toast Roberts at the launch of his new book Masters and Commanders at Sotheby's - and protect him from a huge shoal of wellwishers."

"Nobel Laureate Sir Vidia Naipaul had the most useful party accessory - a portable seat. Michael Howard had to go on bended knee to talk to him as if he were a visiting potentate".

The Canberra Times (1926-1954) is now online through the National Library of Australia

3699 issues have been indexed. To list the issues by year, use the Basic Search and supply a year to limit the results.

The NLA in collaboration with state and territory libraries, has commenced a digitisation program of 'out of copyright' newspapers. The free online service enables ‘full-text searching of newspaper articles’ and includes ‘newspapers published in each state and territory from the 1800s to the mid-1950s’. To date, over 1.3 million newspaper pages have been scanned from microfilm, about 90,000 of which are already available for public view. A further 20,000 pages will be added each week.

In the future, AustLit is planning to link at an item level to the digitised service and will also be exploring automated searching from relevant material indexed in AustLit. The project has already released a BETA search service. It can be accessed via the Australian Newspapers link on the Library’s home page and from the Search tab on the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program (ANDP) website. The Library welcomes feedback and suggestions on the service.

Rare Book Review reports on a Monster Book Bash

A medical doctor and lawyer from California, Dr. Gerald I. Sugarman, has after much deliberation handed over his superb collection on medicine and science, to PBA Gallleries for presentation at auction on November 20th.Scarce works on midwifery and obstetrics from the 16th century; early illustrated books on “monsters,” the result of genetic mutation and birth defects; impressive folios with colored plates depicting grotesque skin diseases, and seminal works on anatomy all feature in this select group of rare books, the product of decades of collecting for Sugarman.

Of particular interest to the science enthusiast, while not the most expensive work on offer, is the first illustrated edition of the first comprehensive collection of monsters, or "freaks," now regarded as an early classification of deformities and birth defects. The text of Fortunius Licetus’ De Monstrorum Caussis, Natura, et Differentis…, 1634, decorated with 55 copperplate engravings, was a main source of information on sexual and embryological matters, and still in use until late 19th century. It holds an estimated value of $2,000/3,000.

Tech Therapy: Why Can't Librarians and IT Departments Just Get Along?

The latest edition of Tech Therapy cited in The Chronicle of Higher Education gives another spin on the perennial issue of the differences and similarities between library and IT staff, and discusses why these two groups can't get along. "The differences? Start with gender: Librarians are stereotypically female, and IT staff members are stereotypically male. Libraries have a long tradition, while IT departments are relatively new. Libraries are very mission-driven, IT departments less so.

But the similarities are striking. "There are three major industries that refer to their customers as 'users': IT, libraries, and illicit drugs," says Tech Therapy's co-host, Warren Arbogast.

Going deeper, both IT staff members and librarians often feel like second-class citizens on campuses. Both groups inhabit a rapidly-changing work environment. Both have insecurities about the future of their professions. Unlike most Tech Therapy episodes, this episode does not end with any grand conclusions or answers. Give us your thoughts on the differences between IT departments and libraries, and why there is a rift between these two groups".

At one stage in universities it was thought a good idea to merge libraries and IT sections as administrators thought that libraries were becoming IT focussed in terms of the provision of access via computers. As a result mega Divisions in universities grew up. As ever, communication and leadership became the key issues for these mega Divisions, as well as the neeed for clear transparent priority settings. Recent decisions in several Australian universities have seen a decoupling of IT infrastructure sections from other information providers such as libraries. IT is now so ubiquitous that, like public infrastucture, it needs a consistent and stable platform and appropriate dedicated focussed responsibility at a software and hardware base level. Such platforms can be logically separated from, but still provide the infrastructure for, the value added components in e-learning and e-research within disciplines.The wider issues of scholarly communication also need to be addressed holistically on campus to maximise access to the research output of the academic community. Budget downturns will reinforce the need for leaner smaller, more transparent and accountable operations,for "users" maximising the intellectual impact of universities, particularly relevant in an open innovation context.

Susannah Frankel in the UK Independent comments on skirt lengths and images of librarians

"They say that skirt lengths rise when business is booming, in which case, only an almighty dose of collective wishful thinking might explain the fact that the spring/ summer collections, which came to a close last week, featured almost unanimously thigh-grazing designs. This autumn, however, a more pragmatic approach - Vogue calls it "the new austere" - decrees that skirts are more fashionable below the knee, falling to the ankle, or even so long that they form pretty puddles of fine fabric on the floor.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that heterosexual men struggle with this particular look. They think (God bless them) that ankle- or floor-length garments are only ever worn with a bonnet. My own dear other half, meanwhile, is of the opinion that, in a long skirt, "you look like a village idiot - like Stevie Nicks". He doesn't mean that in a good way...

Straight, long skirts have more than a hint of the sexy librarian about them (Chanel does a great sexy librarian just now). A full, mid-calf length is more dramatic, even poetic, in effect, but still more severe than anything bringing the droopily bohemian 1970s to mind.In the end, whatever one's body shape or preference, the truth is that anyone who likes to cover their knees would do best to shop now - come January, long and lean will no longer be an even remotely fashionable option".

From King James to James Bond, Chaucer to Sputnik, a personal library like no other

While many in Canberra have large personal libraries, such as Editor-at-Large of the Canberra Times, Jack Waterford, no-one in Canberra can compete with the personal library described in detail in Wired magazine. Extract below.

"Nothing quite prepares you for the culture shock of Jay Walker's library. You exit the austere parlor of his New England home and pass through a hallway into the bibliographic equivalent of a Disney ride. Stuffed with landmark tomes and eye-grabbing historical objects-on the walls, on tables, standing on the floor-the room occupies about 3,600 square feet on three mazelike levels. Is that a Sputnik? (Yes.) Hey, those books appear to be bound in rubies. (They are.) That edition of Chaucer ... is it a Kelmscott? (Natch.) Gee, that chandelier looks like the one in the James Bond flick Die Another Day. (Because it is.) No matter where you turn in this ziggurat, another treasure beckons you-a 1665 Bills of Mortality chronicle of London (you can track plague fatalities by week), the instruction manual for the Saturn V rocket (which launched the Apollo 11 capsule to the moon), a framed napkin from 1943 on which Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined his plan to win World War II. In no time, your mind is stretched like hot taffy".

Towards information for all from AL-AHRAM weekly

An international conference held recently at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina highlighted the role of libraries in meeting the

challenges of the formation age: "In a new millennium where the importance of equal treatment,respect and tolerance of the "other" is frequently highlighted, we nevertheless find such slogans shattered in reality and cultural misunderstanding proliferating in the media around the world bringing about feelings of hostility and intolerance.We also see how anti-terrorism legislation and national-security concerns have caused chilling effects on freedom of speechand decreased access to information. Major themes of the conference included the role of libraries as agents of freedom of access to information, the relationship between tolerance and freedom of expression and the responsibility of the producers of information to ensure the dissemination of information in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

These themes were discussed by a distinguished panel of speakers from Egypt, South Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. One of the keynote speakers was Justice Albie Sachs, a tireless human-rights activist who worked with the ANC in exile in the 1980s and survived attempts on his life to fight for the rights of his people.

Whether the conference will make a big difference or create real change is a difficult question to answer. But all those present hoped that it would be an important step on the long walk forward towards increased freedom of expression and human rights."Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land."

Questions posed in Oxbridge interviews

A survey conducted by Oxbridge Applications of more than 4,000 students who went through its training last year reveals the sort of questions that this year's hopefuls should be ready for:

• Talk about a light bulb (engineering, Oxford)

• Would you rather be a novel or a poem? (English, Oxford)

• How many monkeys would you use in an experiment? (experimental psychology, Oxford)

• What would you do if you were a magpie? (natural sciences, Cambridge)

• Should we have laws for the use of light bulbs? (law, Cambridge)

• Is there such a thing as an immoral book? (French and Spanish, Cambridge)

• How does geography relate to A Midsummer Night's Dream? (geography, Oxford)

• If I were a grapefruit would I rather be seedless or non-seedless? (medicine, Cambridge)

Dr Simon Haines of the ANU's English Department, tells me that this reminds him of the piece in A N Wilson's memoir of Iris Murdoch where he describes his New College interview. Christopher Tolkien asked Wilson what he thought of Bishop Robinson's notorious book Honest to God. Wilson replied that he supposed it "made people think". To which Tolkien responded: "what's the point in making people think if you make them think the wrong things?"

In the week of the Booker Prize announcement, the Guardian ran a quiz on the Booker.

See how you go

Harry Potter and other books vanish from libraries revealed by Welsh stocktake

More than 100,000 books worth a total of 600,000 have been stolen from libraries in Wales in just two years, according to the Western Mail. "Childrens books, novels and health books have been among those stolen or never returned to

branches across Wales.Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Chris Franks is calling for action to ensure that libraries can better protect their stock.He is also calling for an amnesty on fines to encourage people to return the books.

Unsurprisingly, as the biggest authority, Cardiff has suffered the worst losses during 2006-07 and 2007-08, losing 17,160 books, worth £136,000 - more than £1,000 each week.The council says it has worked hard to tackle the problem and had in the past run amnesties but with varying levels of success. It is introducing a new self-service system which will mean that all its books are tagged. It hopes that this will reduce the number of thefts of books.

Local authorities have also revealed the type of books which thieves have targeted.They include the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, children’s books by Roald Dahl and Jacqueline Wilson as well as novels by bestselling writer Terry Pratchett.

In Wrexham, 74 health books were not returned in 2006-07. Forty-one copies of books by children’s author Jacqueline Wilson were stolen or not returned over the same period.In Neath Port Talbot, the top adult authors of books stolen were Virginia Andrews, Terry Pratchett and Iris Gower while the most popular books for children to go missing were by Jacqueline Wilson, Roald Dahl, RL Stine and JK Rowling. In Cardiff, the highest number of non-returned books for adults were by Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, and Martina Cole".

Diamonds are forever

Serena Allott in the UK Financial Times comments on a new collectable Ian Fleming publication.

"The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning” is the famous first line of Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. It was published in 1953 by Jonathan Cape with a grey jacket decorated with pink hearts apparently dropping pink tears, or perhaps blood. Now, according to Andrew McGeachin, the managing director of London antiquarian booksellers Sotherans of Sackville Street, a well-preserved first edition of Casino Royale could sell for between £20,000 ($34,000) and £25,000.“The Ian Fleming market keeps going up and up,” he says. “Collectors often start by buying an author they like, and everyone knows James Bond,” McGeachin says.

To celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, Sotherans next week boasts a double display: a lavish, limited edition of the writer’s complete works, together with books that Fleming himself collected....

The diamond set into Diamonds Are Forever and the piece of eight (or rather piece of four, as eight was too thick a coin to sit comfortably in the cover) in Live and Let Die were the idea of Fergus Fleming, himself an author of books celebrating exploration and derring-do. “I was walking towards Spinks [a noted London dealer in coins] when I thought of the pieces of eight. I went in and enquired and was told: ‘Yes, sir, we have a pirate hoard fresh in.’”

In addition to the lettered sets there are a further 100 vellum-spined editions, based on Ian Fleming’s own design for a limited edition of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, numbered 001 to 100 and priced at £6,000. There is also a cloth-bound edition which has 250 sets numbered I to CCL, each to be stamped in gold with the recipient’s initials, at £2,000.

The end-papers of the cloth-bound edition are printed with the same goat crest that Ian Fleming had stamped on the black fleece-lined boxes he commissioned to contain each of his first editions. “It comes from a book plate given to the Fleming family in the 1930s. Ian had it and so did my father and Fergus’s,” says Grimond. It is a neat link that Fleming would not have anticipated: the collector has become the collected".

THE DAILY BEAST

Tina Brown is the Founder and Editor in Chief of the new online newspaper, The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller “The Diana Chronicles.” Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines. She has written for numerous publications including The Times of London, The Spectator, and the Washington Post.

Articles range from politics to celebrity. The latter section includes Jennifer Lopez who "opens up about motherhood, Scientology, and a “nervous breakdown” that she’s never publicly discussed. Newly minted triathlete Jennifer Lopez has two new feature films in the works, a Disney ’tween series, a greatest hits album, and a globe-trotting fall schedule".

The winners of the 2008 US Anthony Awards have been announced

CRITICAL WORK: Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower, and Charles Foley, ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: A LIFE IN LETTERS(Penguin)

SHORT STORY: Laura Lippman, "Hardly Knew Her" (from Otto Penzler, ed., DEAD MAN'S HAND (Harcourt))

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL: P.J. Parrish, A THOUSAND BONES (Pocket)

BEST FIRST NOVEL: Tara French, IN THE WOODS (Viking)

BEST NOVEL: Laura Lippman, WHAT THE DEAD KNOW (Morrow)

Laura Lippman was already an author to look out for but with two citations she will be even "hotter". Orion currently have "What the Dead Know" available in Australia.

ODD BOOK TITLE

The anger of aubergines. Bulbul Sharma. Spinifex Press 1998.

Libraries Australia report The 2000 edition is here.

The 1997 edition is here.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Rebecca West at a 1959 Foyle's Literary Lunch in London. Booksellers are "the most agreeable servants of civilisation". In the present day this would especially refer to independent booksellers who provide a variety of stock and service over and above mosr bookseller chains.