The science-fiction writer John Scalzi is philosophical about his one-star Amazon reviews, posting them on his blog. “Wretched crap,” says one. Other verdicts include “Very slow, very boring” and “emotional tripe without clear context”. Scalzi explains: “I am not under the impression that, alone among all writers who have ever existed, I will be the one whose work is universally acclaimed.” Optimistically, he challenges other writers to follow his example.

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Bibliography is cool in Toronto, where an International Standard Book Number appears as a graffito on the Humber Bay Arch Bridge. The (partial) ISBN is 486-28495-6, which is the Dover edition of Henry David Thoreau's Walden; Or, Life in the Woods.

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Hoaxers in California have been calling up bookshops pretending to be writers - among them Nick Hornby - booked for events. The hoaxer says that his car has been impounded and that he needs cash to get it back - $200, wired by Western Union. So far, though, there are no reports that anyone has fallen for the scam.

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The essayist and short-story writer Joseph Epstein has been reflecting, mostly unfavourably, on fellow Jewish writers for JBooks.com. Saul Bellow and Philip Roth are among those he thinks overrated. Of the critics George Steiner and Harold Bloom, Epstein says: “Steiner and Bloom give reading a bad name; here are two men who have read everything in sight and yet you feel that each would need a lot of help to find the men's room.”

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The police have been asking librarians for the records of library users, particularly in areas with high Muslim populations, The Bookseller reports. Librarians have protested. In the US, there have been similar approaches by the FBI under the Patriot Act, and booksellers have challenged attempts to search their records.

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