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Welcome to your weekly roundup of book news and literary highlights from 

This week, Walmart deems books more violent than guns and "Charlotte's Web" spins its way back into the spotlight.

If you're looking for Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey's new memoir at Walmart, you won't find it. The mega-chain has deemed the book "

Rousey made her name as a mixed martial artist, fighting in matches across the country. In 2008, she took home the bronze in Beijing, becoming the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo. 

The books' descriptions of her bouts and training are apparently too much for Walmart. While customers can order it online and pick it up in stores, the chain will not stock it on the shelf due to its violent content.

Maria Burns Ortiz, Rousey's sister — who co-wrote the book with her — took to Twitter to question Walmart's decision.

https://twitter.com/BurnsOrtiz/status/584428150605549569

Book your "Hunger Games"-themed vacation now

The idea of a literary theme park is delightful. You can ride the Hogwarts Express from "Harry Potter" in the humidity of Florida, and there's even a Charles Dickens 

But when you picture your next vacation, do you envision a battle to the death? Lions Gate hopes so: The company is opening a "Hunger Games" 

No word yet on what the specific attractions will be, but nearly every location in the book is steeped in death. How do you tour that? "Here's where Rue died, here's where Cato died, here's where everyone in the town died..."

Perhaps they'll draft 24 lucky tourists to serve as Tributes. May the odds be ever in your favor.

What are the greatest children's books ever? 

 critics around the world. In total, the critics named 151 best-loved books, but the BBC only unveiled the 

At the top of the heap is E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web," first published in 1952. Maurice Sendak and C.S. Lewis round out the top three, but it's not all fantasy and talking animals: Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder made the cut, too.

Battle of the (childrens) Books

And if you're looking for a certain magical boy, you'll find Sparrowhawk instead of Harry — Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" makes a surprise appearance at number nine.

"To Kill a Mockingbird"? Meh, three stars.

That's Salman Rushdie's review of the book, widely considered to be one of the best novels ever written. 

Rushdie just started dipping his toe into the social media waters, but this week he made quite a splash when his GoodReads account was discovered, along with his brutally honest ratings of other authors. He gave Harper Lee a mediocre three stars and Kingsley Amis' "Lucky Jim" just one. 

 he didn't know the reviews were public. "I thought these rankings were a private thing designed to tell the site what sort of book to recommend to me, or not recommend. Turns out they are public. Stupid me," Rushdie wrote in his defense. "Well, I don't like the work of Kingsley Amis, there it is. I don't have to explain or justify. It's allowed."

Not only is it allowed, some would like to see more of it. The Guardian's books 

 called for more of Rushdie's honest reviews, which are part of a long tradition of famous authors speaking their minds.

Take Virginia Woolf's review of "Ulysses," for example. Speaking about James Joyce's revered masterpiece, she wrote: "Never did I read such tosh."

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Tracy Mumford

Author

This week, a book steeped in death gets its own theme park and the BBC names the best children's books ever.

Book briefs: Would you really want to go to a "Hunger Games" theme park?

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