Hatter Potter Prequel for Sale

If you are interested in adding the unseen work to your Harry Potter collection you should plan to dig deep (really deep) to get in on the bidding action. According to organizers running the “What’s Your Story?” auction, the 800-word Harry Potter prequel written by the boy wizard’s creator J.K. Rowling appears on pieces of paper that are each only slightly larger than a postcard. Auction insiders say the famous author used both sides of the cards to hand-write what some are calling a prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga. Rowling’s work is one of 13 shrunken works to … Continue reading →

Barbara Tells All

During the entire Star Jones brouhaha and again during the Rosie O’Donnell drama she remained discreetly tight-lipped. I admired that about Barbara Walters, but now it appears her ability to stay mum wasn’t so much a credit to her professionalism, but rather her desire to use the material to fill pages in her new memoir. If you haven’t already heard, legendary TV journalist Barbara Walters has written a new book Audition, which chronicles her illustrious career and includes a few other tawdry tidbits, not the least of which is her admission that she carried on an affair with U.S. Senator … Continue reading →

Rock Star Babylon: They Did What?

I love the “Babylon” books – those named, of course, after the biblical city Babylon. These books talk about the materialistic and hedonistic pleasures of – you guessed it – celebrities and musicians. The first one I read was “Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood’s Darkest and Best Kept Secrets” by Kenneth Anger. Ah, this one dished a lot of dirt about classic Hollywood stories: Errol Flynn’s brushes with under aged girls (which lead to brushes with the law), Rudolph Valentino (was the “Latin Lover” really gay?), the Fatty Arbuckle scandal (so much for “innocent until proven guilty”), … Continue reading →

Bobby Brown Tells All

And, I can only imagine what a tale it is! Singer bad boy Bobby Brown, formerly Mr. Whitney Houston, has decided to write a tell-all book about he and Whitney’s rocky marriage. Titled “The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth,” Bobby makes such claims as the fact that he never used cocaine until after her met Whitney. He goes on to say marijuana was his drug of choice, but after marrying Whitney in 1992, he did every drug he could get his hands on, including heroin and cocaine. Bobby says in the book that the couple’s marriage … Continue reading →

When Good Writers Go Bad

As you have probably heard, another writer was nabbed for making up the story of her latest non-fiction book. Margaret B. Jones was getting rave reviews for her book “Love and Consequences.” It was the story of how the half-white, half Native American girl grew up on the mean streets of South-Central Los Angeles. A foster child, she was forced by the Bloods to run drugs when her foster brothers, Terrell and Taye joined the gang. There was only one problem…none of it was true. Margaret, whose real name is Margaret Seltzer, was ratted out by her older sister, Cyndi, … Continue reading →

Pop Culture Potpourri: Rowling’s Golden Touch and Minnelli’s Gray Day

It appears everything that J.K. Rowling touches turns to gold. The author made history again today when a book of fairy tales she hand wrote and illustrated sold for nearly $4 million at auction. A London art agent came in with the winning bid and is now the proud owner of one of only seven copies of “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,” which is leather bound with silver mounts. For Rowling, whose Harry Potter books have sold nearly 400 million copies and been translated into 64 languages, the sale means “Christmas has come early.” But, not because she will … Continue reading →

Ted Kennedy to Pen His Memoirs

Well, this could be REALLY interesting. The last surviving brother of the famed Kennedy clan is writing his memoirs. While the amount paid is unknown, some speculate that Ted’s price is comparable to that of Hillary Rodham Clinton for her “Living History” ($8 million) and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his upcoming memoirs ($9 million). Kennedy said he decided to write the book because “I’ve been fortunate in my life to grow up in an extraordinary family and to have a front row seat at many key events in our nation’s history.” Yeah, I guess he could say … Continue reading →

Pop Culture Updates: Harry Goes to China and Colbert’s New Bid

Potter mania is hitting China. Chinese-language publishers have printed nearly 2 million copies of the final book about the boy wizard and are considering issuing more, according to news reports. Similar to other parts of the world, unauthorized translations of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” surfaced on Chinese websites ahead of its official release last month. The Chinese translation of “The Deathly Hallows” hit stores October 20th in Hong Kong and Taiwan and October 28th in China as opposed to the English version of the book, which was released in July. The seven books about Harry, his pals and … Continue reading →

A Celebrity Mom’s Potential Best Seller

Here’s a book I doubt we’ll be seeing on the best-seller’s list. Then again… It may be a challenge for Lynne Spears to convince others to buy her new parenting book given her (most) famous daughter’s current situation. Britney’s mom is not lacking for juicy material for her new personal tell-all of raising two famous daughters. However, for whatever reason, Spears is not marketing her new book as such. Rather, the mom to 26-year-old Britney and remarkably “normal” (or perhaps she just appears this way in comparison to her messed up sister) 16-year-old actress Jamie Lynn teamed up with a … Continue reading →

Harry’s Author Reveals Big Secret

Was it really a secret? Hard core Harry Potter, you should know. I mean, really, how many of you were that surprised when J.K. Rowling revealed last night that one of her main characters, Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is gay. According to news reports, it shocked the heck out of thousands of fans who gathered to engage in a Q& A session with Rowling at Carnegie Hall Friday night. After reading portions from her final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the mega-selling author fielded questions from devoted Potter fans. One young fan asked Rowling whether Dumbledore finds “true … Continue reading →