Never Mind...Just Kidding

It seems that Jim Cooper, director of the Salt Lake County public library system, has rescinded an invitation to Mark Spragg, author of An Unfinished Life, and has dropped his book as the choice for Salt Lake County's "One County, One Book" program for 2007.

Spragg, of Cody, Wyo., said he was notified in January that his book had been chosen for Salt Lake County's "One County, One Book" program, which encourages people to read and discuss books.

Two weeks later, he received an e-mail from library employee Susan Hamada saying the invitation to speak had been rescinded.

"An Unfinished Life" is about a woman who tries to make amends with a bitter Wyoming rancher after causing a car accident that killed his son and her husband.

Spragg theorized that his book, with some rough language, was considered an affront to conservative Mormons.

"You don't ask someone to dance, then say, 'You're too unsightly,' when they stand up from the table," he told the Deseret Morning News of Salt Lake City.

...

"We felt it was a little stale. We wanted something that was different," Cooper told The Associated Press on Friday.

So the "stale" An Unfinished Life, published in August 2004 was replaced by the "fresh" Life of Pi which was first published in the U.S. in June 2002. Yeah, that explains it. Call in the spin doctor and let the cover up begin.