Mediabistro's GalleyCat takes a look at repetitive book jackets, comparing covers that bear uncanny resemblances to each other. Her examples include Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and Dave Eggers' How We Are Hungry, among others.

Proof that books, like, do something besides make us targets for bullies in the cafeteria. The New York Post is reporting that Disney muckety-mucks may actually be proffering resignations over James B. Stewart's DisneyWar: The Battle for the Magic Kingdom, which is scheduled to be released in March.

As USA Today reports:

Have you heard about Richard ("Don't Call me Dick Blow anymore") Bradley's book Harvard Rules? No? Then you clearly haven't been reading The New York Daily News this week.

Today's Times devotes an unusual amount of space to debating an issue that's been eating away at literally tens of people: How autobiographical is Curtis Sittenfeld's debut novel, Prep? Felicia R. Lee is on the case:

The New York Observer unearths yet another gig in the multi-hyphenate career of writer/editor/publisher/educator/pirate and super hero products mogul/voice of his generation, Dave Eggers: blurb-o-mat.

Newsweek has some inside dope on this month's upheaval at The Paris Review, beyond just the announcement of editor Brigid Hughes' departure. As Michael Hastings writes:

Not since the end of Kill Bill, vol. 1 has there been a cliffhanger as tantalizingly cruel as the ending of Michael Chabon's Inventing Sherlock Holmes in the new issue of The New York Review of Books. (Yes, we read The New York Reivew of Books: their fabulous party page photos make Gotham's look like out-takes from Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.)

Brigid Hughes, who was tapped to replace the late George Plimpton as editor of The Paris Review last year, has left the venerable literary journal. According to The Times:

Earlier this afternoon we ran an item on ULA publicity director Karl "King" Wenclas' claims that writer Tom Bissell may have lifted some lines for a 2002 piece and Wenclas' shaking down of lit worlders who ignore his claims.

Karl "King" Wenclas, publicity director of the Underground Literary Alliance, is trying to get the word out that he thinks writer Tom Bissell lifted some passages in a 2002 Harper's article.

Speaking of blogs, zeitgeist longboard surfer, Douglas Coupland is back with a new novel called Eleanor Rigby and he has something to say about everybody's favorite new medium. Here he is talking with Nerve's Emily Mead:

Week in and week out, we suggest readings in our (usually) daily To-Do lists. However, it hadn't occurred to us that these events might, well, suck.

The big guns, Vanity Fair's Christoper Hitchens in Slate and Charles McGrath for the New York Times, come out and write tribute pieces for Susan Sontag that describe a rare life and body of work that was capable of influencing a range of people and subjects few will ever see again. Perhaps it wasn't their place to mention it, but surely her longtime companionship with photographer Annie Leibovitz would turn up in the NYT's proper obituary. Instead, there's only the odd mention of Susan being photographed by Annie for an Absolut Vodka ad, which we're not sure is a euphemism for something. Well, at least the New York Daily News doesn't shy away from the fact.

Since there seems to be a serious mood going on around here today (we promise to get back to the levity soon), here's the news you might have already seen about Susan Sontag's death.

New Harry Potter tops book chart [BBC]

As we recounted yesterday, Scott Peterson's mistress, Amber Frey, has signed up to write a book for Judith Regan, publisher of Howard Stern, Jenna Jameson, Wally Lamb, and others. While it's a total drag that for the rest of her she'll be known as "Scott Peterson's mistress, Amber Frey," it is an awesome honor to be a published author. She should be psyched!

Today is comedian Bill Hicks' 43rd birthday. Too bad he's not with us to celebrate it.

According to today's Post, convicted murderer Scott Peterson's mistress, Amber Frey, has sold a book to Bernard Kerik's former mistress Judith Regan:

God, we wish we could draw.