Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian novelist who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature, died yesterday at the age of 94.

Mahfouz, who the New York Times said is the "the Arab world’s foremost novelist" wrote 33 novels, 13 anthologies of short stories, several plays and 30 screenplays.

The Addison library has several of his works including, Arabian Days and Nights and Sugar Street.

Thursday links

Child Health Advice (Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center)

Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story (Christian Science Monitor)

What Makes a Planet? (Cornell University)

The Mindset of Today's 18 Year-Olds (Beloit College)

How To Actually Carry Snakes on a Plane (Slate)

Pretty girls write books too!

The latest big buzz in the literary world is the first novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Various literati have been grumbling that Pressl got her huge book contract based more on her looks than her writing abilities. Read it and judge for yourself.

New Terror Alert

For the latest on what's happening about the latest terror scare in Britain, see the Guardian Unlimited's Special Report: Terrorism Threat to Britain page.