Bob Hoover is my new hero

Ha! Bob Hoover over at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published this article yesterday about how despite all the fake memoirs of late (Frey, Seltzer, that Holocaust lady), publishers still keep churning them out. Bob nicely takes the most recent and soon-to-be pubbed memoirs, divides them into sub-genres, and gives classic one line summaries. I have now come to the conclusion that Bob Hoover is an underappreciated (not to mention genius) BRE and should also be writing for Slunch. Check out his memory category breakdown below:

I'm sick, but it only hurts when I write about it: This is a favorite style of memoir. It differs from the "I'm an addict of some sort" in that the misfortune is not the fault of the writer.

Bad girls save themselves: In this appealing and well-worn route to publication, women of good breeding and education wind up in the gutter, then crawl out.

That old standby, celebrity

Guys do crazy things so they can write about it

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen -- till now

My fascinating life, updated

I'll leave it to you to click through and see who's books landed where (and how Bob summed each one up).

--Ladytron

ps. did you guys know that there was a sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?!? I don't how I missed this. Hmm, anyone want to hook me up with a publicity email for Antheneum?

James Frey is a liar - but do I care?

Wow. After I left work yesterday, emily gould posted a scathing response to the news that James Frey was back in the book biz with a 7-figure deal to Harper. On one hand, she's totally right. It's crazy that this dude could deceive millions of people, make Oprah look like an idiot, and still manage to come out on top. Plus, I totally had the hots for the bad boy image he created, and after seeing him reduced to a pathetic shell, I totally lost my hard-on (or lady equivalent of) for him. Hmm, although, thinking about it now, it was a pretty badass move to play O. Lying to Oprah - that takes balls.

On the other hand, I fucking loved A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard. And I'm totally curious to see what Jimmy-boy can come up when writing actual fiction, rather than a fictionalized account of his own life. So, yeah, I'm guilty of the "oooo, it's a train wreck. I must watch" effect that makes so many unworthy people famous. But the difference between Frey and say, Miss Teen South Carolina, is this - Frey became famous for writing something that people loved. Sure, his fall from grace made him even more so, but at least he's coming back into the spotlight with a piece of work that could be a shot at redemption. As opposed to hitting up Fashion Week and smiling for the cameras.

So for now, I'll reserve judgement until I can get someone at Harper to send me a free copy of the book. Because, after all, Frey was the man that once said "I don't give a fuck what they think of me. I'm going to try to write the best book of my generation and I'm going to try to be the best writer." Maybe this is his chance...

-Ladytron