Cornell biology majors are required to fulfill many requirements outside of standard biology, from organic chemistry to physics. However, according to Prof. Randy Wayne, plant biology, that is not enough. Students of many majors do not understand the underlying processes that tie these subjects together, Wayne said.

That is why his book Plant Cell Biology — From Astronomy to Zoology aims to combine aspects of biology, chemistry and physics to the study without defining boundaries. His book is for, as he says, “People who want to understand who they are and their relationship to the world, and how to learn techniques to discover that without making divisions.”

The only book that I have ever cried while reading is Jodi Piccoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. During the film adaptation of this novel, however, I could only glare at Cameron Diaz and wonder that they didn’t attempt to be a little more discreet in trying to gross as much money as possible — why would anyone cast Cameron in the role of an overprotective mother? I read about how she was super excited for the movie and loved how her part was so down to earth. She mentioned how she even wore her own jeans and Uggs in the movie. That’s great, really. But I liked her better in Charlie’s Angels.

Saturday marked the end of the 28th annual Banned Books Week. A display stood in the main lobby at Olin Library all last week allowing students to voice their opinions about the event and the books that were acknowledged.

The book and the Internet: One is old, staid and respected, the other’s young, sexy and rude. The new guy’s looking to knock the king down, and he’s looking good. Think Achilles vs. Agamemnon, Magic vs. Kareem, Happy vs. Shooter.

Suffer another analogy: Our adjustment to digital media has been like losing your virginity — fast, messy and painful. While legal issues surrounding music, movies and books have hardly been resolved, everyone’s pretty much in agreement now that the InterWeb is the image of the world.

Well, not really. But it’s getting damn close.

If you asked someone in the business of business, they would tell you that the business of books is in trouble. Readership is down, profits are way down and Internet retailers are massively screwing with traditional distribution models. The good news is that help is on the way. The bad news is that the savior of literature is Dan Brown.

If you fancy yourself cultivated, there’s a fair chance this suggestion has you all hot and bothered — and not in that good way, like when you read Danielle Steel. But calm down, I’m not suggesting that the guy should win the Pulitzer. Far from it. I fully recognize that Dan Brown sucks.

Google’s mission to put all “the books of the world” on the web is rapidly dividing the academic community. As the debate comes to a crossroads on Oct. 7 — when Justice Denny Chin must decide to either hear oral arguments for a pending class action or dismiss the settlement — the Cornell Library is trying to straddle a rapidly vanishing middle ground.

University Librarian Anne Kenney stated in a letter to the court, dated Sept 2, that despite reservations, the Library supported the deal as providing an “inestimable … potential benefit to research.”

To the Editor:

Re: “A Eulogy to the Physical Sciences Library,” Opinion, March 26

The Physical Sciences Library in Clark Hall will close at the end of 2009. The current budget climate necessitated this decision, and although the physical facility is shutting its doors, the library’s presence will remain as a portal for scholarly resources, a virtual collection and a service staffed by research specialists.

Would-be writers are a dime a dozen: every other English major, it seems, wants to be the next Faulkner. Those with talent may find themselves in an MFA program, and the lucky few will have a story published here and there in a small journal. But success like that enjoyed by Tea Bajraktarevic grad, who recently sold the rights to her first novel The Tiger’s Daughter to Dial Press (to be published next year), is rare indeed. Tea, who writes under the name Tea Obreht and whose first publication will be a story in The Atlantic Monthly’s summer fiction issue, sat down with The Sun to discuss death in the Balkans, the merits of MFAs and being stoked about success.

The Sun: When did you start writing?

Yesterday The Washington Post printed the last edition of its eminent Book World, the weekly insert that stood as one of the country’s best book reviews. The story is what we’ve come to expect from print media today: plummeting subscription, faltering ad revenue, disappearing profits. Considered alongside the recent deaths of the Los Angeles Times’ and Chicago Tribune’s print book reviews, this seems to be the death knell for the form.