Book news: erotic or not, births and freedom

The woman who sued Wikipedia because it included text calling her one of "the twenty worst" literary agents has lost her case; the Electronic Frontier Foundation is pleased to chalk another one up for free speech.

Speaking of freedom of speech, Edward Champion reviews "Best Erotic Comics 2008" on his blog, because he wagers it won't be touched elsewhere.

Speaking of dirty pictures, was Kafka's stash of racy pictures porn or not? One scholar who considers it pornography describes "animals committing fellatio and girl-on-girl action." Another says it's not nasty so much as slightly creepy, with "golem-like male creatures grasping women's breasts with their claw-like hands and a picture of a baby emerging from a sliced-open leg." Ah, wasn't that last bit how Zeus birthed Dionysus?

Speaking of births, ZZ Packer gave birth to her son three days before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. She tells Critical Mass about concerns for her husband's family there and later going to New Orleans to teach at Tulane.

Isobella Jade, a way-shorter-than average, not-always-clothed model who tells Galleycat that it doesn't matter if you're writing about pregnancy or porn; you should get out there and promote yourself and your work. She's also a master of freebies -- she says she penned her memoir on the display computers at an Apple Store.

-- Carolyn Kellogg