The big publishing news of the day is that Bill Clinton is doing another book. Yay. I’m like, so excited. Obviously, none of the good stuff will be in there, but regardless, it will be a best-seller.
Who would you rather see publish a book? I’d be very interested in seeing a book on…David Blaine. Unless it already exists. If it does, I’m buying it this weekend.
For the last 6 months or so, I’ve been treated to some dreadful Teri Hatcher quotes every time I log into my account. I haven’t the slightest idea why, since I’ve never bought anything that’s even remotely related to Teri Hatcher, and nothing on my wishlist relates to her in any way - but regardless, I log into her “I have to get a boyfriend.” quote almost every time.
Does anyone else have this problem? Is anyone else equally irritated by it? Can anyone think of a WORSE celebrity author than Teri Hatcher?
Okay, okay, we’re going to eliminate Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie for the purpose of this post. Clearly, no one else could even compete if they were in the running.
Technorati Tags: amazon, teri hatcher, irritations, celebrity authors
Sometimes, I miss the boat completely. That’s definitely the case with The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Everyone I know has read the book, but somehow, I haven’t gotten around to it.
The basic idea is this: We have an aging writer who likes to make up stories about her life. We also have a young book nerd who decides that she wants the truth. And of course, there’s some weird ghostly stuff in there to mix it all up a bit. I realize it’s a gross oversimplification, but hey, I haven’t read it yet.
While I don’t usually care about reading the books that all my acquaintances are reading, this one actually sounds like it could be interesting. Did you see how I summarized the plot in just 1-2 sentences? That’s pretty darn high-concept for a novel, which is something that I like, assuming the book itself is still good. I just can’t swallow most of those “700 pages about some dude/lady’s feelings before, during, and after and affair” kind of novels. I grew up on the classic fairy tales and adventure novels, so I prefer that something actually HAPPENS in the books I read. Go figure.
Apparently, the latest hotness in reading education is something called Literacy Dog. A teacher has been bringing his dog in and letting kids read to the dog instead of their peers, which is supposed to help them be less self-conscious.
My thoughts? It’s just not the same if your classmates aren’t laughing when you mess up. It toughens you up. Of course, my major problem with the article is the complete lack of a picture. So - I’m open to suggestions. Nominate your choices for Literacy Dog.
This is what I’m talking about, people. Just more proof that authors really are a screwed up bunch. Their books may be outward signs of success, but inside they’re still the same old nerds - men and women who can’t just “let it be”, who have to “be different” and act the rebel…
So people, the question of the day is this: If you wish to rebel against MySpace, why have a page at all? Just let it be.
I did like PopCo
In case you were curious, the real book premise from my previous post was Premise #2. The book is called “The Mating Season: A Novel” by Alex Brunkhorst. I’ve gotta say, I really hate it when they at “A Novel” to a title - like they’re too good for a simple “Fiction” logo on the side, back, or inside cover.
I’ll admit, I haven’t read it. I don’t go for BWAs - Books with Attitude, of course. If the outside of the book can’t tell me what’s going on inside without resorting to craziness like “A Novel”, really long subtitles, or 500 testimonials, I have a hard time getting past that. Anyone else?
Sometimes you read a book summary and the premise is so ridiculous that you wonder how they ever managed to pitch it and get a call back. I’ve included three ridiculous book premises, but only one is real. See if you know which one:
-A young woman in the suburbs is captured by a serial killer. Instead of killing her, he makes her his “death secretary”. She is forced to pay his bills, keep track of his future victims, and file away his body parts in rubbermaid-style totes from the container store.
-A man is obsessed with the year 1959. A woman is obsessed with animals. Together, they try to repair their respective personality flaws. Oh yeah, and the houses talk and characters can time travel.
-A girl picks up a hitchhiker one night on her way home from work. He turns out to be her father, and he has been following her for years. He doesn’t clue her in on this. All the same, her life will be changed forever.
I’ll post the answer in a day or two, but for now I’m open to guesses. Have fun!