Re: Nene’s Book is Not Your Fault
In a recent issue of OK! magazine, Jill Zarin was quoted in an article about Tiger Woods’ wife Elin Nordegren. As the bold red headline declared, the article was about Elin “Staying Strong For The Kids.” To this, Zarin added: “Regardless of what Elin chooses, the important thing is that she stays strong for herself and for her children.”
Apparently, Zarin’s qualifications to offer this insightful expert advice are that she is 1) a mother and 2) one of the housewives on the Bravo reality show The Real Housewives of New York City. Zarin is also the author of the book: Secrets of a Jewish Mother: Real Advice, Real Stories, Real Love which she co-wrote with her mother and sister.
A few pages over, the magazine features “Kim’s Holiday Getaway Guide” which is brought to you by reality mainstay and Team OK!’S Kim Kardashian. In a six page spread, Kim offers a paragraph on St. Bart’s, Aspen and Paris, complete with helpful pictures of items to pack for each holiday experience. Apparently, Kim’s qualifications to be an expert on these destinations are that she has 1)traveled to them and 2) happens to have a picture of herself in a bikini, a winter coat and a chic white dress.
Zarin and Kardashian are just two examples of reality television participants who have not only transformed themselves into quotable experts but (in Zarin’s case), have also become authors. Here are a few others:
From Survivor:
Reaching back to old school Survivor: Borneo, there’s Richard Hatch with 101 Survival Secrets: How to Make $1,000,000, Lose 100 Pounds and Just Plain Live Happy. Kind of begs the question of what survival secrets he learned during his prison stay for tax evasion.
Tina Wesson, a contestant on Survivor The Australian Outback, turned to clever wordplay with her contribution: Out Live, Out Laugh, Out Love.
Rupert Boneham (Survivor: Pearl Islands) kept it simple with Rupert: Just Being Me.
Rudy Boesch (Survivor: Borneo) thought we might like to hear more with: The Book of Rudy: The Wit and Wisdom of Rudy Boesch.
The Bachelor gave us:
-What a Difference a Year Makes by Bob Gurney. Bachelor Bob shares his thoughts on how to endure the unexpected
and
-Nobody’s Perfect: What to Do When You’ve Fallen For a Jerk But You Want to Make it Work by The Bachelor Season 2 winner Helene Eksterowicz and fellow contestant Gwen Gioia. Hmm…What to do? Leave him? Just a guess.
Not to be outdone, other Real Housewives made their contributions with:
Danielle Staub (New Jersey): The Naked Truth.
Countess LuAnn de Lesseps (New York): Class with the Countess: How to Live with Elegance and Flair.
Nene Leakes (Atlanta): Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Lessons on Love and Life Learned the Hard Way.
Alex McCord (New York): Little Kids, Big City: Tales from a Real Housewife in New York City, With Lessons on Life and Love for Your Own Concrete Jungle.
Bethenny Frankel (New York): The Skinnygirl: Rules For Getting and Staying Naturally Thin and The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life. Her advice? “Embrace thin thoughts.”
Reading this list, you might think the publishing industry has given one too many interns a chance at sub-titling a book. More importantly, you might think the book trade has decided that reality TV stars = expert life coaches. Well, not really. The publishing industry has actually decided to give up on quality literary contributions in favor of name recognition. People will buy a book on life’s ups and downs by Bachelor Bob simply because they saw and perhaps liked him on TV. The market exists because there is demand.
So until the public stops being interested in the comments of say, a ‘real’ housewife who has nothing more insightful to tell us than an actual housewife without a Bravo contract, the publishing deals will continue. Instead of mourning the loss of thoughtful and provocative non-fiction writing, we should question why we give authoritative status to people simply because they are on TV. If we don’t, it’s only a matter of time before Jersey Shore’s Mike “The Situation’s” informative guide to getting killer abs and picking up women hits a bookstore near you.
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Great article! Another person who once again was never qualified and it shows everyday is the irritating Elizabeth Hasselback. How can an intelligent and well respected journalist like barbara Walters hire such a buffoon!!!!
Lol c xxxx