Did you know that Michael Jackson was a Bibliophile?
The LA Times recently chronicled the book-loving ways of the King of Pop. Jackson frequented a local Santa Monica shop, Dutton's Books, where he was a fan of the poetry section. His favorite poet? Ralph Waldo Emerson. Jackson's lawyer also told LA Weekly that the star was well read and could engage in conversations about Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Nathaniel Hawthorne, black history and sociology. Jackson's personal library included 10,000 books. Can't judge a book by its cover, can we?
Is it Ever the Full Story?
Grand Central Publishing is head-over-heels happy to announce that they are re-releasing the 1990 out-of-print, New York Times bestselling Michael Jackson biography by J. Randy Taraborrelli. "Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009," which hasn't been available in the U.S. for more than a decade, drops this month and has been updated to include "developments surrounding [Michael Jackson's] death and the aftermath." Taraborrelli said, "I've known Michael since he was 10 years old and interviewed him at every milestone since then. I've always worked to set the record straight - popular or not - on his life and career. This is a tribute to that extraordinary life." Even so, will this book be the "full story" about Michael Jackson's remarkable and turbulent life? Could it ever be?
Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?
That's the question that Touré is proposing in a forthcoming book by the same title. According to Publishers Lunch, the journalist and author recently landed a contract with Free Press to interview black intelligentsia of all types and discuss what it means to be black in these new times. He recently championed post-black literature in his New York Times review of Colson Whitehead's "Sag Harbor." I wasn't convinced. But maybe the book will make me see differently?
Would You Read a Golf Book by Justin Timberlake?
The New York Observer reports that Justin Timberlake wants to write a book about golf. Apparently, the pop star is a lover of the sport, plays in charity games, and owns his own course in Tennessee. The project is rumored to be "something of a memoir, consisting of stories of rounds he has played and people he has played with." Am I the only one not feeling this idea?
is a writer, speaker, author of books for adults and youth, and the book columnist for The Root. Her most recent book is \"The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop’s Greatest Songs.\" Visit her at feliciapride.com.