* Book tours can be grueling for authors, but they also can be lucrative. And writers can rake in serious cash for speaking engagements. Bestselling author David Sedaris took it a step further on one of his tours by setting a tip jar on his signing table. Though it was free for fans to get their book signed, many tipped. Sedaris wound up collecting over $4,000 in tips, he tells The National Post . “The problem was then I started hating people who didn’t tip me,” he says. “I didn’t say anything to them, but I would just sit there thinking, ‘You cheap son of a bitch. I just signed four books and you can’t even give me a dollar?’ And why should they? But I just got so involved in it. I had to stop doing it. I told people it was all for me to spend on candy. They were delighted because it’s funny to give money to someone who doesn’t need it.” His most lucrative night? Dallas, where he got $530 in tips. * What’s cooler than being cool? No, not “ice cold,” it’s having an airstrip named after you. According to Air & Business Travel News , Jamaica’s third international airport will be named after James Bond author Ian Fleming. “Previously known as the Boscobel Airstrip, the upgraded and expanded Ian Fleming airport will mainly be used by travelers flying in on private jets,” the publication says. “The official opening of the airport, which now features a passenger lounge, pilot briefing room and customs and immigration points, is due this month.” So why Jamaica? Fleming’s friend James Bond (yes, he really existed, but he was an ornithologist, not a spy) let him use his Jamaican estate for writing. Fleming liked the island so much he later bought an estate there, named Goldeneye. * If you find yourself with a fistful of bookstore gift cards this season and are struggling to come up with a list of books to check out, consider surfing over to the Largehearted Boy blog (largeheartedboy.com) and spend some time clicking through the dozens of yearend best-of book and music lists the site offers every year at this time. Comments? Questions? Want more? Check out Booked online at thereader.com. Or email us at booked@thereader.com.

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