Books, Bucks, Parasites, and Cupcakes
Once again we peruse the net, and what do we find?
Harry Potter and The Golden Cash Cow.
I'm amazed at the success of Harry Potter. I wonder, what are the elements within the story that give it such a wide appeal? It's the Star Trek of of books, people read it over and over again.
To give you a perspective on the sales, let me point out some interesting stats: the fourth movie took in 77.4 million dollars, a record for first day ticket sales, the trifecta of Amazon, the U.S. Postal Service, and UPS, are expected to deliver 1.3 million copies. Think of that, in an age of cable channels, YouTube, video games, and other distractions. I consider most of that list to be inert matter, and believe that something of real substance will trump the competition.
J.K. Rowling now sits at 574.53 million dollars, passing the Queen herself like a sad cyclist on the Tour de France. Of course, this includes movie money and merchandising. It's all good, and I hope J.K. Rowling doesn't run into the kind of trouble that another wealthy woman has a load of...
Nobody Screws it to You Like Family.
I wanted to look up the earnings of Oprah Winfrey, but I'm sidetracked by articles of her family members publishing secrets about her for a quick buck. After a half sister sold her out for nineteen thousand dollars, the old man, Vernon Winfrey, is reported to be working on his tell all book. The subject matter may include such things as Oprah being an unruly child with dark secrets that he didn't discover until it was too late. I read that Oprah grew up in the custody of her grandmother for her first six years, and was sexually abused from age ten to fourteen. Is daddy, a person who was responsible for the health and safety of his daughter, wise to spar with Oprah in the arena of kids, parents, abuse, and abandonment? I would think he'll back off. Then again some people are not so smart. Now on to books and food...
Books, Cupcakes, and Your Boobs.
I made a visit to Rachel Kramer Bussel's site, The Lusty Lady. Rachel edits books on erotica, as you can see from the list on her web page. If I were a girl, I would be very jealous of her. She's published, lives in New York, has that sexy and smart librarian look, goes to all the good parties, and lives in what looks like a cozy wonderful apartment where she's occasionally photographed and served cupcakes. Rachel likes cupcakes. I noticed that one of the authors she's talking about, Elisabeth Squire (I really have to watch the tricky spelling of the names), has a book out called bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls. My first thought? Trendy sexy girls talking about their boobs is like rich people discussing how smoothly their Rolls Royce drives.
Well, I had better get back to helping clean the house. Wifey-Do is having a friend over for an all day Harry Potter read-a-thon that includes barbecue and High Tea.
2 comments:
Thank you! Hope it does not disillusion you but my apartment has actually been referred to as looking like a "crack den," not due to drugs, but for sheer messiness. Other than that, yeah, erotica and cupcakes are my beats. The Squires book, which I haven't read yet but plan to soon, is actually written by a woman whose mom had breast cancer and is, I think, a litte more academic, but also fun. Someday I'd totally love to edit an erotica book on breasts (I mean, why not?), but one thing at a time.
As for Oprah's dad, I very much believe in karma and that what goes around comes around. So anyone basically undermining their own family, I think the ultimate punishment is having to live with themselves. I guess maybe that's the task we all have - to live with ourselves and make choices that we can be proud of. Anyway, sorry to go on for so long, and thanks again.
Rachel,
No, I'm not disillusioned at all. I know that everyone has something in their closet. Could be a skeleton, could be white plastic baskets full of unwashed linens.
I didn't think of The Squires' book in the context you described. With cancer being in the top five leading causes of death among women (heart disease is #1), there is always room for more awareness.
I agree with you on the Karma. I've seen it come around. But I wonder how it will come around. I'm under the impression that daddy sold his conscience long before he sold out his daughter.
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