Wire Book/Publishing News

NEW YORK - From a distance, wearing plaid and slightly grizzled, Sam Lipsyte looks like a grumpy lumberjack - although there are not many lumberjacks standing at the gate of Columbia University in Manhattan. And up close, it's clear he's not grumpy at all: Lipsyte has an air of restrained amusement that's perfect for one of America's best satiric writers.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - More than 100 pages into her first attempt at a novel, Holly Goddard Jones realized it was a failure.

"Down the Up Escalator: How the 99% Live in the Great Recession" by Barbara Garson; Doubleday (288 pages, $26.95)

What if Facebook isn't the intrusive, all-seeing eye that we fear? What if it isn't just a place where workers waste time and young people post regrettable pictures of themselves?

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.'s proposal to pay brokerages as much as $62 million as compensation for last year's botched Facebook Inc. initial public offering.

Chefs may hold their breath over the nominees for the James Beard Foundation awards. And the same is true for cookbook authors, who found out Monday which volumes made the list of JBF finalists. The winners will be announced May 3 in New York City.

That time you're spending on Facebook may not be wasted productivity, after all.

When it comes to tax deductions, who claims the kids after a divorce? This week, California Franchise Tax Board expert Daniel Tahara and CPA Gregory Burke offer advice.