A Million Little Refunds

The New York Times reports that a settlement has been reached in the consolidated cases by readers who sued Random House and James Frey when they found out his book A Million Little Pieces was not quite a memoir.  Want your refund?  According to the New York Times, here’s what the settlement requires:

To claim a refund, readers who bought a copy of the book on orbefore Jan. 26 must submit proof of purchase. This will not be limitedto a dated receipt however: hardcover buyers, who are entitled to a$23.95 refund, must submit page 163 (chosen at random, according to thesource familiar with the negotiations); paperback buyers (entitled to$14.95) must send in the front cover of the book; those who bought theaudio book ($34.95) will have to send in a piece of the packaging, andthose who bought the e-book, at $9.95 apiece, must send in some proofof purchase.

People making a claim will also have to submit asworn statement that they would not have bought the book if they knewthat certain facts had been embroidered or changed.

Seems like you’d just be getting back the jacket price – no compensation for the time you spent reading the apparently wrenching (and believable?) description of undergoing dental work without Novocaine.

[Meredith R. Miller]