News round-up: Hitchens and 8-yr old girl charmed by each other, alterna-Booker, zombies and Brutalist buildings

News too interesting NOT to read:

• "Mason Crumpacker and the Hitchens reading list" via Why Evolution is True
  "Though [Hitchens] was asked a variety of questions from the audience, none appeared to elicit more interest than the one asked by eight-year-old Mason Crumpacker, who wanted to know what books she should read. In response, Hitchens [...] asked to see them once the presentation was over so that he could give her a list."
  Just read this for Mason's thank you letter to Hitchens alone - priceless.
• Ooooh, snap: "War of words: major authors launch rival to 'low-brow' Booker" via the Independent
  "A group of prizewinning authors and literary aficionados have launched a new book prize which they claim will capture the original spirit of the Booker and become its most formidable rival. Among supporters of The Literature Prize are former Booker winners Pat Barker and John Banville [....] The award's advisory board said it would reward the best in quality fiction – a role fulfiled by the Booker prize until it shifted its criteria, it claimed. The prize[...] will include American writers – unlike the Booker which extends its reach across Commonwealth countries but shuns US authors."
• A well-rounded article about weeding: "Hard Choices: Do Libraries Really Destroy Books?" via NPR
  Includes this great quote from another related article: "Nobody likes it, but for a librarian it's like your best friend just got bitten by a zombie and you're the only one with a gun."
  See also my article about this topic.... More recent info (including Q and A from real librarians!) here.
  
• There's hope for Main Library yet: "Architectural fashions change, but even brutalist buildings should be saved" via the Guardian