Random links: Potter in Paris, book reviews and the writer’s life online

Sacré bleu, Monsieur Harree!: The long wait may be over for English-language readers of Harry Potter, but the French are still waiting. A French translation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is scheduled to appear at the end of October, but a teenager there has gotten into trouble for translating three chapters into French and posting them on the Internet. The Quill and Quire’s blog reports that the 16-year-old was arrested not by just any police, but by the "anti-counterfeiting police," and that J.K. Rowling’s lawyers have been notified.

This is ridiculous. Look, the book is already out: The English version, the report says, is even being sold by some French bookstores now. What’s going to happen to this kid? Shouldn’t they give him a mild slap on the wrist or, for that matter, a translation prix instead of a court appearance?

Are book reviews useful?: Check out this item on Lynne Scanlon’s blog, The Publishing Contrarian, about the use and misuse of book reviews. The title of her piece gets right to the point: "The First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Book Reviewers."

The writing life online: A previous posting in Jacket Copy discussed the recent Ithaka study, which said that academic publishers, for their financial survival, may need to shift from print to online publishing. The posting included some comments about how it is difficult to treat online publishing with the same gravity as a book in print, especially if you’re of a certain age and were raised before the rise of the Internet. On this topic, also consider blogger Jason Boog’s point of view at The Publishing Spot . His thoughtful piece suggests, among other things, how online writing has led to the same hectic demands for copy that writers for pulp magazine faced in the early to mid-20th century.

Nick Owchar