Literary Potpourri ~ August 29 and 30

FEATURED BOOKS PREVIEWED

“Barbarian Days” by William Finnegan
“Paper Towns” by John Green
“The Jezebel Remedy” by Martin Clark
“Wicked Charms” by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton
“Crooked” by Austin Grossman
“Oregon Trail” by Rinker Buck
“Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party” by Alexander McCall Smith

INTERVIEW
Patrick Nolan, Associate Publisher and Editor in Chief, Penguin Books

TUNE IN TO THE PROGRAM FOR
A preview of the summer’s hottest books in wide range of genres: fiction, nonfiction, travel and occult. Elaine speaks with Patrick Nolan of Penguin Books about the publishing house’s distinguished 80 year anniversary.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

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PAT CONROY TO OPEN A FITNESS STUDIO

After bad health habits nearly killed him, “The Prince of Tides” author Pat Conroy said he is opening a fitness studio near his South Carolina home to help him stay healthy enough to write several more books. Conroy announced the new business venture on Facebook recently and acknowledged it was an odd move for a 69-year-old writer who in 2009 published a cookbook featuring recipes for breakfast shrimp and grits and beefsteak Florentine.

“There is nothing on my resume that indicates I’ll be successful in this unusual endeavor,” he wrote in his Facebook post. “But I’m doing it because there are four or five books I’d like to write before I meet with Jesus of Nazareth, as my mother promised me … and I can’t write them unless I’m healthy.” In a related post on his blog, Conroy said he stopped drinking and began dieting on the advice of his doctor after nearly dying three years ago from “my own bad habits.” The novelist said he also joined the YMCA in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he met a trainer who has whipped him into shape.

Conroy, whose works of fiction and memoir include “The Great Santini” and “The Death of Santini,” said he is now partnering with his trainer, Mina Truong, to open the Mina & Conroy Fitness Studio in Port Royal. “For two years, I’ve tried to satisfy my great interior hunger with a diet that would satisfy a full-grown squirrel but did little to conquer the hippopotamus that lives within me,” he wrote.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

“The Games People Play” ~ Show Sept 6 and 7

This week on The Book Report

Featured Books Previewed

“Why Soccer Matters” by Pele with Brian Winter
“Michael Jordan: The Life” by Roland Lazenby
“Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America” by Jeff Ryan
“World of Warcraft: War Crimes” by Christie Golden
“The Outsider” by Jimmy Connors
“Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything” by Kevin Cook
“1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever” by Bill Madden

Interview
Alan Connor, Author

Tune In To The Program For
We preview new titles about “The Games People Play” – soccer, baseball, basketball, and the more sedentary, but incredibly popular pursuits. Elaine speaks with Alan Connor, popular British TV quizmaster who’s just out with an fascinating look at the history and lore of Crossword puzzles.

Stations & Show Schedules
Cocoa, FL
WMEL AM 1300
Saturdays 6pm
Listen Live at 1300wmel.com
Marco Island, FL
WBGY 88.1 FM
Saturdays 1pm
Listen Live at http://tunein.com/radio/WBGY-881-s42053/
Nashville, TN
WATX News/Talk 100.9 FM/1600 AM
Sundays 1pm
Listen Live at http://cookevillesnewstalk.com/news-talk-live-player/

Leisure Time Pursuits ~ Show June 7th and 8th

FEATURED BOOKS PREVIEWED

“Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty” by Diane Keaton
“The Storied Life of A.J. Firky” by Gabrielle Zevin
“Delicious” by Ruth Reichl
“The Closer” by Mariano Rivera
“To The Moon and Timbuktu” by Nina Sovich

INTERVIEW
Peter Essick, National Geographic Photographer & Author;
Thomas Thorspecken, Artist & Author

TUNE INTO THE PROGRAM FOR
Elaine spotlights topics and titles that feed into your leisure time pursuits: photography, drawing, cooking, reading, sports, travel and more.

A ROD

A ROD

Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez is about to seal a multimillion dollar deal for a tell-all book about his legal battles with Major League Baseball. Sources say the star plans to dish the dirt about the treatment he’s received from the league.

A Rod has also had meetings with filmmaker Billy Corben — whose body of work includes “Cocaine Cowboys,” ….Hmmm, will a film about A Rod’s battle to stay on the field follow the book? We’ll have to wait, but we know, if the star IS kept off the field, he’ll definitely NEED that money from the book.

For more on authors making headlines, check my website, bookreportradio.com. And, tune into my show the Book Report. 

MIKE TYSON, AUTHOR

MIKE TYSON, AUTHOR

Former world heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson was forced to cancel promotional appearances for his new book Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography after being banned from entering the UK.

HarperCollins said it had not been aware of the immigration law changes. Tyson, 47, was convicted of rape in 92, and served three years of a six-year sentence.

Under new 2012 immigration rules, anyone sentenced to more than four years in prison is barred from entering the UK. A spokesman for HarperCollins said: “Mike had to change location to Paris to salvage his press obligations for the UK.” Tyson also tweeted after his appearances were moved: “I want to thank the British press for being so accommodating by doing press in Paris until I am able to gain reentry into the UK.”

Never a dull moment in the book world. For more, tune into my show The Book Report.