News You Can't Use

Well raise your hand if you're shocked by this news. In this day and age, of course Tina Fey is writing a book. Don't get me wrong, I'm as amused by her as anyone, but why does every joanie-come-lately feel the need to put pen to paper? But what am I saying, if the price tag reached $6 million as the New York Post reported, why wouldn't she?

And I can see a fun book coming from Fey, based on her writing over at 30 Rock, which is a fantastic show... mostly. And I suppose it's good to see publishing as quick-moving as other media - her agent, Richard Abate at Endeavor, apparently employed a "no meeting, no proposal pitch." Outstanding! Did he just show youtube clips?

While watching the excruciating VP debate last week, a fellow viewer at a friend's house took issue not just with McCain's choice of Palin, but also with Palin's acceptance of the VP role. This young woman - a PhD in political science, it might be worth mentioning - is tired of the entitlement Americans have, shown by Palin who didn't question her own ability to be in this incredibly powerful position. Instead of saying, "Am I qualified?" she thought "Why the heck shouldn't I?!" Is Fey showing the same ignorance here? Did her agent say let's do this, even though she apparently could not even make time to meet with publishers, much less put together a proposal? He said strike while the iron's hot, and she said why not.

But then we have the publisher, Little, Brown. This is not some small outfit that may go under from this deal, I realize. Still, book publishing is sloooooooow. By the time Fey's book comes out, god willing, Palin will be a distant memory, perhaps reporting on quirky stories from Fox News in the same way Jeanne Moos does for CNN, but with a more moose-huntin' flavor. She'll find the oddest, funniest Joe Six-Packs and Hockey Moms around and report on their goings-on under the oppressive Obama regime. "How are you all survivin'?" she'll ask with a wink. This won't be SNL fodder, enjoyed only by the fringe still left watching this backwards channel, and Fey won't necessarily be the most watched comedienne on tv. The book may have to stand on its own, needing to earn out $6 million. This seems like a shaky business model to me.

And in other publishing news, Soft Skull has published the complete collection of David Rees' Get Your War On, and the author has been busy self-promoting online. I admit it, his ridiculous blog cracks me.

I'll also just admit, though I fit the demographic a bit too well, that I'm ready for Sarah Vowell's new book, The Wordy Shipmates, about the Puritans. Now there's a writer who can deliver a book. Just sayin', Tina Fey.