Also: Behind the Beautiful Forevers will be adapted for the stage; Lionel Shriver attacks the media focus on weight; the best books coming out this week.

Curse words change over time — back in the ninth century you could say the "s" word and no one would be offended. But we always need a set of words that are off-limits, and in her new book, author Melissa Mohr explains how the words that shock us reveal a lot about society's values.

In a new book, former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe explores how to fix the gridlock in Congress. Earlier this year, the Republican from Maine left the Senate out of frustration with the partisan stalemate. "It has to change, for the country," she says. "People deserve ... better representation."

He takes over from Jimmy Fallon, who's tapped to replace Jay Leno on the Tonight show. Meyers, the longtime SNL cast member who anchors the show's "Weekend Update" segment, will take the 12:35 a.m. segment from Fallon.

Salter's first book, in 1957, won the admiration of writers and critics alike. But he hadn't written a novel since 1979, until now. All That Is sets out to give a sweeping portrait of human experience, with a main character who appears suspiciously similar to Salter himself.

Writer-comedian Mark McKinney could watch Hayao Miyazaki's anime film My Neighbor Totoro a million times. "It still makes me laugh, it still makes me smile," he says.

The stencil of a young boy sewing the Union Jack is the centerpiece of an exhibition in London, after which it will head to the U.S. where it is to be part of a private collection. Organizers say Slave Labour is not being put up for sale, but residents of the London neighborhood from which it disappeared want it back.

Filmmaker Josh Seftel thought starting a Web series with his mom could bring them closer together. Amazingly, it did. In My Mom on Movies, they take on the big topics in the entertainment and pop culture world.