Authors on the Air: Feel that Grief; Follow that Kinky; Pass that Mayo

Compiled by Diane Patrick -- Publishers Weekly, 2/17/2006

This morning on The Leonard Lopate Show, Cheryl Strayed lit up about her new novel Torch (Houghton, $24), which PW considered a "beautifully observed debut. Strayed shows how grief can divide people when they need each other the most. Though the subject is sad, the novel is not without humor; it shimmers with a humane grace."

Los Angeles Times op-ed columnist Norah Vincent looked in on The View to promote Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again (Viking, 24.95; unabridged Penguin CD, $35.95). PW's review said "the most fascinating part of the story lies within Vincent herself–and the way that censoring her emotions to pass as a man provoked a psychological breakdown. For fans of Nickel and Dimed–style immersion reporting, this book is a sure bet."

On Montel: Karin Sterling Anderson and Beth Roberts, authors of Finding Your Mate Online: No Fear Or Embarrassment, Just Love! (BookSurge Publishing, $14.99).

Montel also hosted Jane Bernard, author of Fine Tuning: Connecting With Your Inner Power (iUniverse, $19.95).

Tonight, journalist Richard Reeves will sit with Charlie Rose to discuss President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination (S&S, $30, Recorded Books audio CD, $39.99). In a starred review, PW found he "takes the same vivid, fly-on-the-wall approach he's previously applied with such success to Nixon and Kennedy, and uses it just as skillfully to take us inside the administration, mind and character of Ronald Reagan."

Tonight, Real Time with Bill Maher kicks off its new season with guests including Texas gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Friedman, whose latest is Texas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny Toad (St. Martin's, $23.95). As PW's review put it, "Apart from arguing for know-nothings in politics, Friedman supplies his readers with a great number of lists… his many fans will probably set aside a couple of nights' beer money for this latest collection, enhanced by the cartoons of John Callahan."

Also visiting with Maher will be 86-year-old veteran reporter Helen Thomas, whose Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times (Scribner, $14) is now out in paperback. PW said, "it provides a sharp chronicle of the nations recent history and of the crusade of women reporters to be considered the equal or better of their male counterparts."

This weekend, New York Times columnist James McManus will guest on Book TV's After Words with Physical: An American Check-Up (FSG, $24, Audio Renaissance audio CD, $29.95). PW's review explained: "In this disjointed, sometimes uproarious, sometimes powerful book, McManus describes his experience of the über-physical–the executive physical at the Mayo Clinic. One wonders whether he needed an $8,000 physical to learn he should exercise more, eat and drink less and cut out the smoking, but the tour of the remarkable Mayo Clinic and the best physical money can buy is well worthwhile."

Saturday on Book TV, Karenna Gore Schiff will talk about Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Shaped Modern America (Miramax, $25.95). PW's review said that "Schiff has done excellent research, and though her prose isn't especially stylish, she shows her heroines as fully rounded figures." Her mother, Tipper Gore, will conduct the interview.

Programming is subject to change. For more detailed information about author appearances on these shows and others as well as listings of book mentions and book reviews, see TitleSmart.

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