Penguin Press has bought Sapphire's sequel to Push and plans to release the novel next summer. The Kid focuses on Precious' son "as he approaches manhood - alone, brutalized and with the soul of an artist."

• Madonna goes all Italian neorealist for spring's Dolce & Gabbana campaign. You'd almost swear these images were by Vittorio de Sica, not Steven Klein. The advertising shots ran as editorial content "previewed" in Italian Vanity Fair. [Swide]

On the reception to Precious: "Some blacks have criticized Sapphire for focusing on black family dysfunction. She replies, "If you're upset, then ask, 'Why does this happen? What can I do?' Not say, 'Bring back the Cosby family.'" [USA Today]

Reading review after review of both Precious and Push, same words keep emerging: "bleak," "pathology," "devastating," and "stereotypes." However, after reading Push and seeing the much buzzed-about film adaptation, I discovered something slightly unexpected: a preponderance of hope.

"Believe it, bitches...As far as I'm concerned, Mo'Nique could take Meryl Streep in an Oscar bar fight one-handed - and clean the floor with her." -Entertainment writer Dana Kennedy, reporting on Precious from Cannes. [HuffPo]

• Ladies and gentlemen: Mickey Rourke is reportedly dating Courtney Love, and has been for a few weeks. Somehow this makes perfect sense. [Telegraph]

• Miley Cyrus is seen "slanting her eyes" in a picture that's been circulating on the web.