Hemingway estate rejects 'Vanity Fair'; more books news

It’s shaping up to be a strange Tuesday in book news: Instead of memoir-writing announcements, we’ve got verbal sparring between the Hemingway estate and Vanity Fair, a brawl over Kantian philosophy, and more. Read on for today’s top books headlines:

Ouch: The Hemingway estate rejected a request from Graydon Carter to publish a story on the author for Vanity Fair. Said Hemingway’s son, Patrick: “I’m not a great fan of Vanity Fair. It’s a sort of luxury thinker’s magazine — for people who get their satisfaction out of driving a Jaguar instead of a Mini.” Instead, the estate accepted a request from Harper’s. [The Independent]

Double ouch: A Russian man reportedly shot another while arguing about philosopher Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Surely this isn’t what Kant meant by “Enlightenment.” [WSJ]

In more positive news, James Patterson is donating $1 million to help independent bookstores survive during the transition to e-books. [CBS]

Those bookstores may be getting younger customers soon — a study has found that reading for fun improves children’s brains. (Log off, kids!) [The Guardian]

As for today’s awards news, the National Book Foundation announced its second of four longlists for this year’s National Book Award in Poetry, with nine of the 10 authors receiving recognition for the first time. [National Book Foundation]

And if you’re wondering why the National Book Awards have been rolling out longer lists, NPR has the answer, reporting that the Awards “have been criticized for nominating obscure authors.” [NPR]

But enough with the news, it’s time for some books-related art. First up, artist Doogie Horner, who creates spooky versions of pop culture characters including Breaking Bad, just tackled Game of Thrones. [USA Today]

The LA Times has a peek at images featured in Art Made from Books, on shelves now. It’s exactly as the title sounds — books are transformed into paintings and sculptures. [LA Times]