Day 97

So we are out in SF and to be honest, I don't have time this morning to recap yesterday, so you will get a two day recap tomorrow. In its stead, will be a guest columnist, the great Mark P. This James Frey vs. Oprah story is all over the news, you would think it involved Al Qaida or something. But anyways, Mark P emailed me his letter to the editor he wrote to the Chicago Tribune and I thought everyone should read it. What he says is the way it should be:
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Recently, Oprah Winfrey has been making headlines by first building up, and then crushing down author James Frey after it was discovered that parts of his memoir, A Million Little Pieces had been fabricated. Why is she being celebrated for admitting a mistake? Why does the world seem to hang on her every last word and action? It seems abundantly clear to me that Oprah does what ever it is that will make herself look good at any given point in time.

When James Frey first appeared on Oprah's show to promote his book, it was Oprah who heaped praise upon herself for selecting this book to her book club. You see, at that point in time, she realized that people were being helped by James's words. Why in the world would she want to give credit to the author for that?!

After the rumors of fabricated truths, she made a surprise call in to Larry King supporting James saying that the central theme of the book remained, and that the rumors were, much ado about nothing. What has changed in that weeks time? Could addicts no longer be helped by this book? Could casual readers like myself no longer enjoy they story because he wasn't in jail as long as he said he was? Or, could it be that Oprah's PR army had decided that her becoming a defender of truth would boost her popularity even higher in the eyes of her loyal fans?

Anyone who has read A Million Little Pieces will tell you it is a great book. While its unfortunate that parts of the book were indeed fabricated, the details in question have no affect on the reading experience.

And to the thousands, or millions of Oprah's fans who let her make up your minds for you, think about this whats worse, an author who embellishes details of his own life in attempts at selling a book, or letting a talk show host make your life decisions for you?

Song of the Day: "Come Together" by The Beatles - Mark P selection