The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert plans to launch “cOlbert’s Book Club.”

For the first installment of this humorous “rip off” of Oprah Winfrey‘s book club, Colbert plans to discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jennifer Egan and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann will be his first guests on Thursday, May 9th. The video embedded above contains the full announcement–what do you think?

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Academy Award-nominated actor James Franco will make his Broadway debut in the Of Mice and Men stage revival.

During an appearance on The Colbert Report to promote Oz the Great and Powerful, Franco revealed that he will take on the lead role of George Milton. The video embedded above contains the full interview–what do you think?

John Steinbeck‘s book was first published in 1937. Over the years, this celebrated novel has inspired countless adaptations from theatrical projects to award-winning movies and even a radio play. Who would you cast as the rabbit-loving giant Lennie Small? (via BuzzFeed)

Stanford University assistant professor of history Jennifer Burns had the great fortune to talk about her writing on both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show.

Over at the Oxford University Press blog, she compared the differences between the shows–some handy intelligence for writers who hope to be on the show someday. Burns is the author of Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right. Follow this link to watch The Daily Show interview. We’ve embedded the Colbert interview above.  Check it out:

The biggest difference, of course, is Jon vs. Stephen, but I had an unexpected reaction. Where most people seem to think Stephen Colbert would be a more difficult interview, I actually found him to be personally warmer and easier to talk to than Jon Stewart. Some of this was because I felt more confident the second time around. But the interview itself was also less serious and more of a performance, whereas on The Daily Show I felt I was being grilled by a formidable intellect …The Colbert producer also did a great job of helping me understand what would create a good interview. Her top piece of advice (which I also heard at The Daily Show): “Don’t be funny!”

Stephen Colbert will release his first children’s book on May 8th, and actor Tom Hanks will read the audiobook–complete with “interruptions” from the The Colbert Report star.  

You can see the cover of I Am A Pole (And So Can You!) at Amazon. Above, we’ve embedded a video of Colbert talking about the book: “the inspirational story of a pole trying to find his place in the world.” According to the publisher, both Hanks and Colbert “will donate 100 percent of the monies they receive for the reading of this audio recording to U.S. Vets.”

The kid’s book began as a comic moment during Colbert’s interview with  came about as a result of a two-part interview with Maurice Sendak.

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Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James debuted on TIME magazine’s TIME 100 list this year, joining comedians turned writers and Steve Jobs’ biographer on the prestigious list.

TIME editor-at-large Brenda Luscombe wrote: “Six months ago she was Erika Leonard, a mother of two who dabbled in saucy stories for the Web. Now she’s E.L. James, publishing phenomenon, whose Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has deeply stirred booksellers, Hollywood and, apparently, many, many mothers. Reading may never be the same.”

The TIME 100 list also included features about Ann Patchett (written by Elizabeth Gilbert), Walter Isaacson (written by Madeleine Albright), Stephen Colbert (written by Garry Trudeau), Chelsea Handler (written by Kathy Griffin), and Asghar Farhadi (written by Richard Corliss).

The marketing team behind film adaptation of Dr. Seuss‘ The Lorax have made more than 70 deals for promotional product tie-ins.

Comedian Stephen Colbert gave a sarcastic pitch (written in verse) asking for more: “I’m demanding more branding of Loraxian stuff!” The pitch included suggestions such as Lorax-themed SUV’s, oil drills and McDonald’s meals.

Follow this link for a full transcript of Colbert’s ranting rhyme and click here to watch the video. What do you think?

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TV host and author Stephen Colbert has inked a book deal with Grand Central Publishing for his children’s book, I Am a Pole (and So Can You!). Publication is set for May 8, 2012.

Here’s more from the publisher: “The book came about as a result of a two-part interview that Stephen Colbert did last month with legendary children’s book author, Maurice Sendak, on The Colbert Report. During the interview, Colbert gave viewers a preview of a children’s book he was in the midst of writing. The interview went viral and immediately became an internet sensation, with fans clamoring for copies of the book.”

Colbert quipped in the release: “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to write a children’s book. I hope the minutes you and your loved ones spend reading it are as fulfilling as the minutes I spent writing it.” Trident Media Group CEO Dan Strone and Dixon Talent agent James Dixon negotiated the deal with Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab.

The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert interviewed Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak this week. Follow these links to watch part one and part two of the interview.

According to Shelf Awareness, Colbert “turned [to Sendak] for advice on becoming a celebrity children’s author, pitched his sequel idea for Where the Wild Things Are 2: Still Wildin’ (featuring action star Vin Diesel) and generally let the wild rumpus begin.”

During the interview, some of the “rumpus” that emerged included Sendak’s opinion on the current state of children’s literature; he finds it “abysmal” and thinks that “most books for children are very bad.”

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Using coloring books as propaganda can be a bad idea. Talisman Energy released a coloring book called Talisman Terry’s Energy Adventure (follow this link to read), teaching children about the controversial practice of hyrdraulic fracturing (or fracking) for natural gas.

The coloring book was pulled after being ridiculed by various public figures last week–including Stephen Colbert, who mocked the coloring book in a segment (video embedded above). Scribd has a copy of the coloring book, in case you’d like to see it for yourself. What do you think?

The Washington Post has more: “Critics called the coloring book’s depiction of land before and after drilling overly rosy. The post-drilling image adds a rainbow and an eagle to the scene where the hydraulic fracturing drilling process took place.”

Illustrator and author Maira Kalman has worked for years as a visual columnist at the New York Times,  writing her illustrated Opinion column. While touring with her new book, And The Pursuit Of Happiness, she told television host Stephen Colbert why she would date Abraham Lincoln. Watch the complete interview in the video embedded above.

In the book, her portrait of Lincoln  includes the words: “I looked deep into his eyes and found.” Kalman added: “I thought he would be the most incredible boyfriend. If I were married to him instead of Mary Todd Lincoln, the whole history would’ve been a whole different thing.”

The book’s cover features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Other illustrations include Thomas Jefferson‘s bed and an “incredible pie” she encountered at an army base.  (Via Huffington Post)