Wow, that is a decent advance for a second novel. Audrey Niffenegger reportedly will receive $5 million for "Her Fearful Symmetry." That's a great title. I wonder if there are other Wm Blake-ish aspects to the story other than the title.

I loved her first book, "The Time Traveler's Wife." Its light-handed approach to the sci-fi was: okay, I time-travel because of my chromosomes or something; just get over it. The readers did get over it and read the novel in great quantities. I will read the second novel.

Perspective: here is a story about IBM's Chief Executive Officer, making $21M/year. This isn't grousing or hand-wringing. It is just interesting to see how the market values someone who runs a huge corporation successfully in a difficult market, and an individual who produces a hugely popular novel.