Book briefs: A literary heist in Colombia claims a rare first edition
Welcome to your weekly roundup of book news and literary highlights from The Thread.
This week, a thief makes off with a rare first edition and many beloved books head for the small screen with new TV adaptations.
Book heist: Signed first edition of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" stolen
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" has bewitched readers for decades. At a book fair in Bogota, Colombia, a signed first edition caught the eye of a particularly bibliophilic thief.
The rare copy, valued at over $20,000, was snatched from a locked case. Police have so far been unable to explain how a thief removed the book, but they are still reviewing surveillance from the event.
Television adaptations coming for Kurt Vonnegut, Dr. Seuss and more
Critics says we've entered the golden age of television — and the age has a decidedly literary bent. The latest round of books to be optioned for shows and miniseries covers everything from assassinations to Dr. Seuss:
• Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" is bound for the small screen, courtesy of IM Global Television. The 1963 satirical sci-fi novel involves a nuclear arms race, a mysterious religion and a strange substance that can coat the world in ice.
• Lev Grossman's "The Magicians" trilogy has been picked up by the Syfy channel. Grossman's books have been billed as a dark and twisted spin on "Harry Potter."
• Will you watch this new TV? Will you watch it in a tree? Netflix is turning Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" into a 13-episode cartoon series. According to Vulture, it will be the most expensive animated program ever produced for television.
• Macalester College professor Marlon James' new book, "A Brief History of Seven Killings," which just won a Minnesota Book Award, has been optioned by HBO. James is working on the screenplay himself, under the guidance of screenwriter Eric Roth, who won an Academy Award for "Forrest Gump."
Mark Twain stories unearthed after 150 years
The literary treasure troves keep on coming. The latest find is a stash of articles a 29-year old Twain wrote for the San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle.
Researchers at the University of California - Berkeley recently uncovered the collection, in which Twain writes about everything from the police to mining accidents. His trademark brand of biting humor is on full display — in one piece, he compares the San Francisco police chief "to a dog chasing its tail to impress its mistress." The chief sued, unsuccessfully.
You can read pieces from the collection, including the offending dog reference, at The Guardian.
Courtney Love being sued by the ghostwriter of her memoir
Courtney Love doesn't like her own memoir. After working with the writer Anthony Bozza on the project for several years, she rejected a draft last year, telling The Telegraph that it didn't sound like her. "It's like me jacked on coffee and sugar in a really bad mood," said Love.
Now Bozza is suing Love for failing to pay him for his work on the manuscript. This isn't his first rodeo with celebrity autobiographies: He's previously worked with Tommy Lee, Slash, Wyclef Jean and Tracy Morgan.
Love's book, which was tentatively titled "Girl With the Most Cake," was originally supposed to hit shelves back in 2012. With the legal uproar, the world may now never read the life story Love didn't write.