All Sarah Palin, all the time
If you follow book headlines (or headlines of any kind), brace yourself in preparation for this week. Pretty much what you are going to be hearing and seeing is all Sarah Palin, all the time. Her memoir "Going Rogue: An American Life" (on sale as of tomorrow) is already a bestseller. And the chatter surrounding it is only going to get more intense.
This afternoon Palin appears on television with Oprah. Then, starting tomorrow, she will be appearing on "Good Morning America," "World News," and "Nightline," as an interview with Barbara Walters is aired, first in pieces, and finally in full on "20/20" on Friday.
Also tomorrow, Palin launches her book tour by bus (a large bus, emblazoned with images of her face), accompanied by members of her family. For the most part Palin is avoiding the large cities more typical of book tours. Instead, she will be spending her time in small towns and mid-size cities like Noblesville, Ind., Roanoke, Va., and Washington, Pa. She will also visit military bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Hood.
But you can bet that the media will be following her wherever she goes.
At the same time, the media and the blogosphere are already electric with dueling accounts of what is accurate in her book. "Going Rogue" apparently paints an unflattering picture of some former aides t0 the McCain campaign, blaming them for some of Palin's missteps during the campaign.
But now, the McCain camp is firing back. Various former aides are speaking out, and one has released to ABC News e-mails that appear to contradict some of the accounts in Palin's book.
Whether you are a Palin supporter or not, there will be no avoiding her image this week – at least, not unless you turn off TV, radio, and swear off the Internet for a minimum of a week.
Or, if you want to immerse yourself in a different series of book-related headlines, I suppose you could turn to Twilight. "New Moon," the second film to be made from Stephenie Meyer's teen vampire "Twilight" book series will be opening in theaters this Friday night. The media buzz around that event will perhaps succeed in taking over, at least for a few hours.
Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor’s book editor. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/MarjorieKehe.
