Nice Digs

Following the recent passing of Nobel laureate Doris Lessing, The New Statesman republished the author’s London diary, first published by the magazine back in 1958.

Comedy Central will team up with Running Press to launch a joint publishing venture called Comedy Central Books. Their first title will be a “holiday themed novelty book” by Denis Leary. Fun Fact: Leary is Conan O’Brien’s third cousin.

Boldtype offers up a list of “10 Awesome Books to Give to Your Non-Reading Friends,” i.e. eye-candy gift books.

Recommended Reading: Amit Majmudar on Virgil’s The Aeneid.

Recommended reading: While only 39% of Pew-surveyed South Koreans believe that gays and lesbians “should be accepted by society,” wildly popular Korean dramas ironically present some of the most nuanced exploration of male affection on television.

Haruki Murakami’s latest book – the title of which translates to Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and the Year of His Pilgrimage – went on sale in Japan last month, and in that time it’s been selling over a million copies a week. You can catch a glimpse of the book’s first and earliest reviews over at the NY Daily News. (By the way, did you know Murakami translated The Great Gatsby into Japanese?)