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August, 2004 Archives | Homepage
Michael Moore Reporting From Enemy Territory
Bestselling author and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker
Michael Moore is reporting from deep in what to him is enemy territory: he's
actually on the convention floor of the Republican National Convention,
reporting for USA Today. John McCain took a shot at Moore in his
speech last night, referring to "a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace." The crowd knew McCain was
referring to the maker of Fahrenheit 9/11, which
is highly critical of President Bush's record,
and began booing and chanting "Four more years!" Moore, seated in the press
section, doffed his hat, laughed and answered "Two more months!"
He later said that he was thrilled with the publicity for his film, which
comes out on DVD in October, and has already grossed $150 million. Moore's first column for USA Today, entitled
"The GOP Doesn't Reflect America" was posted today.
Posted on August 31, 2004
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We'll Always Have Paris
At last, the long wait is over. Paris Hilton's autobiography, Confessions of an Heiress (Fireside), is finally available. In the new book (which we're sure she wrote all by herself), Ms. Hilton discusses her views on embryonic stem cell research, the intricacies of the Kyoto Treaty, and how Alan Greenspan's latest comments about the government's financial obligations to aging baby boomers could prove to be problematic for President Bush as he pushes for partial privatization of Social Security. Ok, so we haven't read it yet. But we're sure that's what it's about. Really.
Posted on August 28, 2004
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Sex Hits the Bookstores
A new New York Times article discusses a bunch of new sex-related books hitting bookstores. The Times says, "A wave of confessionals and self-help guides written by current or former stars of pornographic films is flooding bookstores this year, accompanied by erotic novels, racy sexual-instruction
guides, histories of sexual particulars and photographic
treatments of the world of pornography." Some of these books include Star, a novel by Pamela Anderson; How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale, a self-help guide by jenna Jameson and Neil Strauss and
How to Have a XXX Sex Life, by the Vivid Girls. If the Times
had waited another day or two before publishing the article they also could have mentioned the recently announced Paris Hilton memoir called Confessions of an Heiress.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on August 27, 2004
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Barnes and Noble Just Can't Win
Barnes and Noble is in a most unenviable position. The company is caught in the crossfire between the Swiftboat Vets and Kerry supporters.
The Kerry supporters want Unfit For Command pulled from the bookshelves because of its many factual inaccuracies in what purports to be a work of nonfiction. All the media coverage has made the book a bestseller. With a first print run of around 40,000, publisher Regnery just wasn't ready for the demand. Now the book is not available at Barnes and Noble outlets. Steve Riggio had to issue a statement saying that they are totally out of books. But Bush supporters are furious, accusing the bookstore chain of liberal bias and of hiding the books. A political bias at a major bookstore chain? You've got to be kidding. Call us cynical, but we think Barnes and Noble -- or Amazon -- or Powell's -- or any corporation would happily sell copies of any book that is sure to make money. Hide a bestseller? Not in this universe. No doubt, Regnery is printing books as fast as they can. Meanwhile, Amazon.com has suspended its normal practice of banning ad hominen attacks in the review portion of the page selling the book. Since it's an election year, apparently anything goes. The flame wars have already started erupting between the book's supporters and detractors. Says Amazon.: "[S]hort of obscenities, reviews on this book are now a free-for-all. We take no responsibility for the following discussion. Aren't presidential election years great? Have fun!" Well, I suppose that's one way of looking at it....
Posted on August 24, 2004
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Girls Night In
Bestselling author Meg Cabot was on CNN this morning to talk about her new chick-lit anthology, entitiled
Girls Night In (Red Dress Ink). Along with fellow authors Jen Weiner and Sophie Kinsella, Ms. Cabot has contributed a short story to the lighthearted anthology. All profits from the book go to the charity War Child, a network of independent organizations
working across the world to help children affected by war. Cabot said that her only copy of the book (which will be available September 1st) was stolen, so she hasn't even had a chance to read all the stories yet. Stealing a book which was written to help needy children? For shame!
Posted on August 23, 2004
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Where the Right Went Wrong, According to Pat Buchanan
Matt Drudge breaks the imbargo on Pat Buchanan's fiery new book,
Where the Right Went Wrong (Thomas Dunne Books), which describes the current battle in the Republican party, between the Neocons and the Old Republicans, who traditionally are fiscally conservative and favor a more isolationist approach to foreign policy, e.g., no nation-building. The excerpts listed by The Drudge Report show that Buchanan pulls no punches....On the War in Iraq: “[L]istening to the neoconservatives, Bush invaded Iraq, united the Arab world against us, isolated us from Europe, and fulfilled to the letter bin Laden’s prophecy as to what we were about. We won the war in three weeks -- and we may have lost the Islamic world for a generation." “[I]f Iraq collapses in chaos and civil war, there will be a ferocious fight in this country over who misled us and who may have lied us, into war....into the dock will go the neoconservatives whose class project this was...” On Bush's “Free Trade” Policies: “It is false to say President Bush presided over a ‘jobless recovery.’ His trade deficits have created many millions of jobs in China.” So does Pat Buchanan think John Kerry offers hope to Old Republicans? “There is simply nothing that [Kerry-led Democrat] party offers to the Right.” Nope, apparently not.
Posted on August 22, 2004
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Mothers Who Writer: Tessa Hadley
In an interview series on The Internet Writing Journal, "Mothers Who Write," Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D. talks with British novelist Tessa Hadley, author of Accidents in the Home (Picador/Henry Holt) and Everything Will Be All Right (Henry Holt). Dellasega's novels explore the intricacies of family relationships in the modern world. In the interview, Tessa discusses how she got her big break and how she juggles her writing career with the demands of being a professor and a mother.
Source: The Internet Writing Journal
Posted on August 22, 2004
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A Conversation With Adam Connell
Adam Connell spent years on Wall Street in the financial services sector, while working on his fiction writing at night. When a mega-merger caused him and 200 of his co-workers to be laid off, he knew it was time to change careers. A job interview in the publishing world let to the publication of Counterfeit Kings (Phobos Books), which is garnering rave reviews from critics and fans alike. An
edgy, gritty work of speculative fiction, Counterfeit Kings has a fast-moving plot and vivid characterizations. Adam spoke to The Internet Writing Journal
about his road to publication, his new novel and the literary masterpiece that inspired him to be a writer.
Source: The Internet Writing Journal
Posted on August 20, 2004
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Is Unfit for Command Unfit for Bookstores?
The Washington Post has a major story today which totally discredits the claims of Larry Thurlow which are detailed in the Kerry-bashing book, Unfit for Command. The Post obtained military records about the incident on the Bay Hap River in Viet Nam, during which Senator Kerry saved Green Beret Jim Rasmussen's life, while under heavy fire. Thurlow claims there was no gunfire during the incident and that Kerry made that part up. But Thurlow's military records describe "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him."
Should the book be pulled from the shelves, because of the false facts?
Salon reports that the Kerry campaign thinks it should be pulled. Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton told Salon: "If I were them, I'd be ducking under my desk wondering what to do. This is a serious problem."
"No publisher should want to be selling books with proven falsehoods in them, especially falsehoods that are meant to smear the military service of an American veteran."
Posted on August 19, 2004
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Author Turns Novel Into Text Messages
The BBC reports that Chinese author Qian Fuchang has turned his entire novel into a series of text messages containing only 4,200 characters. According to the BBC, the novel, which
was popular in book form, will be available as 60 chapters of
70 characters each for mobile phone users. The BBC said the novel "has been described as a steamy tale of illicit love among married people."
Source: BBC
Posted on August 18, 2004
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Michael Crichton's State of Fear
For those that can't wait until the next Michael Crichton book comes out, hope is on the way. HarperCollins has announced the publication of State of Fear, the new novel by the bestselling author. The one-day laydown is December 7, 2004. This is Crichton's first novel since the New York Times #1 bestseller Prey, which was released in November 2002.
But what is the book about? Speculation is running rampant among fans: terrorist plot? Bioweapons? Aliens? Global warming? Mum's the word, so far. State of Fear will be published in hardcover, audio, large print and ebook formats simultaneously around the world in the English language. The announced first printing is 2 million copies.
Posted on August 18, 2004
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A Conversation with Steve Alten
The Internet Writing Journal has an exclusive interview with New York Times bestselling author Steve Alten. Alten's first novel, Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (Random House), has to date sold over one million copies worldwide and has been optioned by a major film studio. His latest book is
Meg: Primal Waters (Forge), a heart-pounding thriller which picks up eighteen years
after Meg left off. Steve discusses his work, his writing philosophy and the influential charity he founded to help encourage children's literacy. He also talks about his decision to bring back Jonas Taylor -- a hero who is now on the far side of middle age.
Source: The Internet Writing Journal
Posted on August 16, 2004
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J.K. Rowling Drops Some Hints About Harry's Future
The Guardian reports that J.K. Rowling dropped a few hints about Harry Potter's future at a book reading Sunday at the Edinburgh book festival. Rowling confirmed that Harry will live through Book 7, but wouldn't say whether he would ever become a grown-up wizard. She teased young fans a bit, but dropped some hints by indicating that there are two vital questions she had never been asked about the series which might help to unravel its mysteries.
She said fans should be asking themselves, "not 'why did Harry live' but 'why didn't Voldemort die?'" The second question, she added cryptically, is: "Why didn't Dumbledore kill, or try to kill, Voldemort?" The plot thickens....
Posted on August 16, 2004
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Rowling Returns to Hometown for Reading
Author J.K. Rowling has return to her hometown of Edinburgh in Scotland for a reading during the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The BBC reported that during her reading with fans Rowling told the audience of
about 500 that Harry Potter would survive until the 7th book. However, she did not reveal whether Harry Potter
will become a wizard or not.
Source: BBC
Posted on August 15, 2004
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Da Vinci Code Sells 8 Million Copies
The BBC reports that Dan Brown's thriller, The Da Vinci Code, has now sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The success of this book has put several of his other books, which also focus on conspiracy theories and codes, onto the bestseller lists. The BBC article, which gives some insight into the man behind The Da Vinci Code, also reports that Brown likes to hang upside in gravity boots and start work as early as 4 in the morning. Dan Brown has been surprised by the huge success of the thriller. Not only was the book incredibly popular but it has also had an impact on the publishing industry itself as the BBC confirms: "The Da Vinci Code has been translated into 42 languages and has spawned its own cottage industry of publications, including guides on to how to read the book, rebuttals and counter claims."
Source: BBC, Dan Brown Author Interview
Posted on August 10, 2004
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RITA Award Winners Announced
The 2004 Rita Award winners have been announced by the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Some of the winners this year include Back Roads by Susan Crandal (Best First Book), Shades of Midnight by Linda Fallon (Best Paranormal) and Her Royal Baby by Marion Lennox (Best Traditional). Nora Roberts won two awards with her books Remember When - Part 1 (Romantic Suspense category winner) and Birthright (Contemporary Single Title).
More winners can be found on ReadersRead.com's Rita Award Winners page.
Source: The Write News
Posted on August 6, 2004
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Lad Lit Not a Hit
Lad lit, a take-off on chick lit targeted at young men, has not been well received by young men. An interesting Christian Science Monitor
article ponders some of the
possible reasons books like Love Monkey and Booty Nomad have not resonated with male readers enough to establish a new genre. One reason, according the the Monitor is that there are many more women novel readers than male novel readers. Christopher Napolitano, editorial director of Playboy,
suggested another reason for the dull performance of lad lit. "No male reader wants to be identified with a
guy who can't get the girl," Napolitano told the Monitor.
Posted on August 6, 2004
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Barack Obama: Rising Star
Illinois U.S. Senate Candidate Barack Obama rocked the house with his
eloquent speech at the Democratic National Convention. Currently running unopposed for the open Illinois Senate seat after no less than three opponents self-destructed because of sex scandals, the youthful Obama attracts both White and African-American voters with his common sense ideas. Now his autobiography is being reissued by Crown Books on August 10th. Obama's fascinating story (his mother is from Kansas, his father from Kenya) and excellent communication skills make the book a must-read for political junkies. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance features a new introduction by the author. Thankfully, now you won't have to shell out a couple of hundred books for a copy on Ebay -- as many have been for several months.
Posted on August 4, 2004
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Is Your City Literate?
A recent study called America's Most
Literate Cities, has ranked Minneapolis as the most literate city
in the United States, followed by Seattle and Pittsburgh. The
least literate cities included Corpus Christi, Texas, Hialeah,
Florida and El Paso, Texas. The study ranked 79 cities with populations
of 200,000 or more. San Francisco, California had the most bookstores
per person.
Posted on August 3, 2004
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Forbidden Love Called a Fraud
The bestselling book, Forbidden Love (Random House) by Norma Khouri, about honor killings in Jordan has been canceled according to the Associated Press. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper disputed the facts in the book. The author still claims the facts in her book are correct and honor killings really do occur in Jordan. The AP article stated that there were "17 reported honor killings in 2003, and 22 in 2002."
Posted on August 2, 2004
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Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston Consider Time Travel
In an interview with Marie Claire magazine, Brad Pitt
disclosed that he and his wife Jennifer Aniston have purchased the
film rights to the bestselling novel
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.
Despite Aniston's earlier comments that she would never
appear in a movie with her husband due to fears of a
Gigli-type disaster, Pitt said that he and his wife
are considering starring in the movie as the time-traveling couple.
Posted on August 1, 2004
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