April 1st has long been a day in which we've all needed to watch ourselves, whether we have annoying siblings, overzealous colleagues, or just slightly naive sensibilities while rummaging through the Internet. Once in a while, however, these April Fool's jokes and pranks are actually funny, and everybody gets to laugh together. [Editor's note: Unlike that time my brother shaved my eyebrows. That wasn't funny in the least. Nobody laughed then. Nobody.]
Here are some of the best book-related April Fool's jokes we found on the Internet (including the out-of-this-world story we shared on our Facebook feed yesterday):
Amazon unveils the new Kindle Paperscent in an effort to woo us old folks who still prefer the feel and smell of physical books. The Bookseller reports that the Internet giant will also be opening their first physical store... on the International Space Station.
Penguin unveils their new Penguin Now! imprint in an effort to modernise classic novels, even as others clamour for out-of-print guides.
Children's author Lemony Snicket and non-fiction author Malcolm Gladwell accuse each other of plagiarism!
George R.R. Martin signs contract to finish his A Song of Ice and Fire series before he dies. Breaking the contract carries severe penalties.
20th Century Fox sells the rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men franchises back to Marvel Studios in a surprising move much lauded by geeks everywhere!
The Paris Review unveils their entirely fictitious Fiction Issue, complete with interviews with Cormac McCarthy and Thomas Pynchon, two of the world's most reclusive authors.
The entirety of yesterday's Shelf Awareness issue is good for some guffaws.
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