Image: City Moms Blog

The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. @SeattleDan, along with his wife, SeattleTammy, are operators of both an on-line bookstore here, as well as a brick and mortar storefront mini-store in Hoquiam, WA at 706 Simpson Ave (Route 101 South). Both have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.

The Book Booth: Pi Day Edition

Yes, it is the day all math nerds look forward to, International Pi Day! Enjoy a good apple pie, and take glory in its irrationality. May pi go on forever, and ever and ever.

We start off with the wild world of literary rumors. There are tons of them, of course, and the more eccentric the writer, the wilder the rumor. Flavorwire recently looked at eight such rumors. You might have a few of your own to add.
Literary Rumors

Some writers are born and some become that way. James Joyce was probably born to write, though he began a course in medicine while he lived in Paris as a young man. It seems that Gabriel Garcia Marquez's initial dream, like that of Anthony Burgess, was to be a musician. But somehow writing got in the way. h/t to Lucian for finding this story.
Accidental Writers

Another case of coming to writing late is the novelist Paul Beatty, who's latest novel is The Sellout. (His earlier novel, White Boy Shuffle, is a great read. Go find a copy.) Here he talks about becoming a writer and his work with Colin Dickerman, over at Work in Progress.
Paul Beatty on becoming a writer

Perhaps coming to the writing trade later in life isn't such a bad thing. Or at least, so contends British novelist, Joanna Trollope. With age comes maturity to put things, those very things you want to say, into perspective. So there is hope for us geezers, after all.
Coming to Writing Late in the Game

Of course the older one gets, the more stories one has to tell. But how to get it out to the public? David Wilson, a co-founder of that fine charity War Child, would like to get his story published. Check out a chapter of his work here and if you've got a few bucks to send his way, please do. I mean he has the recommendations of Sir Tom Stoppard and Brian Eno! h/t to my Second Life friend, Pavl.
Help Davis Wilson (co-founder of War Child) Tell His Story

It seems that Maurice Sendak was one of those who found his calling early. Although I am too old to have been able to enjoy his work as a child, I derived great pleasure in sharing his work with my kid and other children throughout the years. MentalFloss revealed a number of things about the illustrator that you may not know about here.
Maurice Sendak

I talked about Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day, and his decade long hiatus from publishing last week. He has hit the interview trail, and you may enjoy this fairly short ( eight minutes) video of him discussing his new work, The Buried Giant, at the BBC. Thanks again to Lucian for sending along the link.
Kazuo Ishiguro Interview

From the Department of the Weird comes this week some books you may just want to pass on as the covers pretty much tell the story. These were collected by Tiffany Willis, founder of the Liberal America blog, who is an "unabashed" member of the Christian Left.
Religious Book Covers That Leave Nothing to the Imagination

From the ridiculous to the sublime, here is a sweet photo essay of some of the most beautiful bookstores from around the world. One of these days, in my old age, I'll visit or re-visit them.
Beautiful Bookstores

Finally, I note the passing of the author of the Discword series, Sir Terry Pratchett. He was a fine, often brilliant, writer with a huge imagination. He will be missed.
Goodbye Terry Pratchett

Enjoy your Pi day and then enjoy St. Patricks Day next week. But in the meantime, let us know what books you want to rave about. A great weekend to you all.