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Alexis Petridis reviews Paris Hilton's debut record. "She sings like a woman who has heard of something called singing, can't be sure of exactly what it might entail, but is fairly certain you do something a bit like this."

Will Collier tells the tale behind that $250 pre-publication sale of the final Harry Potter volume.

Louis Menand's <A HREF="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/07/09/070709crbo_books…; of <I>The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Politics</I> is an interesting read&mdash;possibly more interesting than the book itself. However, back in 2004, Gene Weingarten covered the same questions, getting up close and personal with Ted Prus, a non-voter who "just doesn't give a rat's ass."

The final article of <I>The Oxford American</I>'s Best of the South issue is Hal Crowther's splenetic rant about the region's less savory characteristics.

Thirty-five years ago this month, the first issue of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/708">new audio magazine</A>&mdash;cover price 50 cents&mdash;cautiously made its way out of a Philadelphia suburb. Its black'n'white cover featured a chessboard adorned with tubes and XLR plugs. Its 20 advertising-free pages included a feature on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/historical/108">how to write an ad</A> for an audio product, which had been penned by one Lucius Wordburger, a footnote helpfully pointing out that this was the <I>nom de plume</I> for one <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/historical/712">J. Gordon Holt</A>, "who wishes to remain anonymous."