ELS Editions in Canada have republished Lawrence Durrell's first two novels, Pied Piper of Lovers and Panic Spring, for the first time in almost seventy years. >>

In Origins, Lebanese author Amin Maalouf investigates the way his family evolved through the turbulent twentieth century. Along the way, he visits his hometown in Lebanon, as well as Cuba, and looks at how the changes of the last century affected his family, and how they tried to change their homeland. >>

Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet is a terrific book, especially for writers. One thing Durrell does well is the way he handles the people in his stories; there are some great examples for other writers about how not to waste their minor characters. >>

How do book bloggers select the titles they want to review? Other than issues like genre, what makes a good book to blog about? Are shorter books better than longer books? Are debut novels better than the latest work from an established author? >>

Andrew Davidson's debut novel, The Gargoyle, begins with a car accident that leaves its narrator, an unnamed, cocaine-addled pornographer, hospitalised in the burn ward. While he's recovering in the hospital he's visited by the mysterious Marianne Engel, who greets him with the enigmatic words, "You've been burned... again," and proceeds to soothe him with tales of previous lives and lost loves. What follow is a skin-deep tale of redemption and disfiguring burns. >>

24 for 3, by Jennie Walker (aka the poet and publisher Charles Boyle), is a terrific little book about love, life, and cricket, and it has an interesting story behind it. >>

People claiming to be literary agents are conning wannabe writers out of increasingly large sums of money, by selling them unnecessary or poor-quality editing services. Read on for information about how the scam works, and how to avoid it. >>

In The Boat, debut author Nam Le tries to prove that a writer needn't be bound by his own personal experiences. Instead, this collection of short stories serves as a reminder of the importance of experience, and the dangers of over-edited prose. >>