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Krazy Kats
April 11, 2007
There was some chitchat (or as I call it, litchat) last week about Jamie Raab’s cat book grab. As I said, sometimes a book is just a book, and not a literary event. I don’t necessarily find anything wrong with the cat, dog, and dead person books out there (hello, Mitch Albom) that tug at various persons’ heartstrings. But neither do I necessarily read them…
However, sometimes a book is more than just a book – it becomes a litmus test of popular culture. The USA Today book editors showed that yesterday with their 25th Anniversary Top 25 Books list – Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code, Beloved… all the Big Books are there (or are they? Is something missing?)
So, what do these cat/dog/dead person books have to say about our culture overall?
I found myself wondering about that last night as I watched American Idol. (Oh, leave me alone. It’s one of the few shows one can watch with one’s children any more – especially if one doesn’t want to have to sit through “Boy Meets World” reruns.) Bear with me – this does pertain to my point about books.
The evening’s theme was Latin music, with the redoubtable J-Lo as maestra of the contestants’ offerings. Once the agony (Haley Scarnato wobbling through “Turn the Beat Around”) and the ecstasy (Blake Lewis, “I Need to Know”) were over, there was… Sanjaya. Yes, this time they saved the best fun for last.
All groomed up like a hep cat with ‘stache, America’s strangest mistake warbled “Besame Mucho” in his reedy, youthful way and – as Simon Cowell said: “It wasn’t horrible.”
To what depths, O My People, have we sunk?
In some ways, not that far: Cowell was right. It wasn’t a horrible performance, especially when compared with some of Malakar’s previous screeching stunts. It was inoffensive, pleasing to many, fairly smooth, and spotlight-ready (even Ryan Seacrest had to mimic Malakar’s mugging for the camera).
The Cat Book is the Sanjaya Malakar of publishing – and I don’t mean just Grand Central’s cat book. (I haven’t read that one yet, and it might well be beautifully written and most compelling.) One of the toughest things about book publishing is that reading tastes are wildly individual – yet sales numbers favor books that appeal to the widest possible audience.
Malakar’s performance last night wasn’t horrible, and most cat/dog/dead people books aren’t, either. They’re just not… great.
Posted by Bethanne Patrick on April 11, 2007 | Comments (4)
