I just checked the Barnes & Noble Hourly Top 100 list and I see that OJ Simpson's how-to-butcher-your-wife-and-any-others-in-the-area manual has moved up to number three on the list of best sellers despite not even having been released yet. That says a lot about the world we live in today, and none of what it says is good.I think that the book might have been destined to be largely ignored by the reading public at one point. But all of that changed as soon as Oprah Winfrey decided that it would be good for her own ratings to do a show about the book. Nothing is more guaranteed to sell a few million books like a mention on that show, even one as trash filled as this one. And nothing is more likely to gain Oprah a few more ratings points (as if she really needs them) than a show highlighted by the Browns and Goldmans fighting about the man who murdered their daughter and son. Throw in all the cable "news" channels that are ready to jump on the bandwagon and it will soon be "All OJ, All the Time" when you turn on a television set. I just can't wait.
Pre-orders for the O.J. Simpson book “If I Did It” on the Barnes & Noble Web site are higher than the chain expected, but its decision not to carry the book in its stores still stands....
Due in the fall via Beaufort Books, the tome features Simpson'’s hypothetical account of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Interest in the book has been fueled by last week’s announcement that Oprah Winfrey would feature Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister; and Goldman's parents, Fred and Kim Goldman on a show scheduled to air Sept. 13.What is wrong with us?
Makes me sick!
ReplyDeleteIs it me or did they take out the "If"?
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sick as well and the attention from Oprah deepens my dislike for her.
Me too, Gentle Reader, me too.
ReplyDeleteMatt, the "If" is definitely missing and the Goldman name is on the cover. Seems a little strange and I wonder how they got away with that bit of editing. At first I wondered if someone had hacked B&N with a fake cover.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sick. So sad.
ReplyDeleteWell, now I have to boycott Oprah. I wasn't a huge fan, but now I'm just mad at her. How horrible-I thought the publisher had decided not to publish this?! What happened?
ReplyDeleteWell, I haven't lost my mind, because there's no way I even want to see the cover of this book, much less hold it in my hands.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Oprah gets a lot of negative backlash for this.
I think I will have to pass this one up. It seems in poor taste for Oprah to give it any press, too. This is the world we live in, though....
ReplyDeleteCarrie - This is one of those books that must appeal to the kind of people who gather around bad car accidents to gawk. I just can't understand it.
ReplyDeleteEva - Fred Goldman won the rights to the book as part of his civil judgment against Simpson. He's going for the cash. Oprah knows that this will sell adds and get her lots of attention. She's a businesswoman, and sees this as just another way to cash in.
Bybee - Oprah seems to be pretty bullet proof, so I doubt that this will hurt her at all. People seem to be very reluctant to criticize her, for obvious reasons.
Danielle - It's a sorry old world, for sure. I'm not touching the thing with a 10-foot pole.
Sickening indeed. But then I've noticed whenever passing an accident that almost everyone on the road slows down to gawk, which I also find sickening. I can't even begin to imagine how it is that as a society we seem to have so much fascination for this kind of crap.
ReplyDeleteAs for the change in the title, if I recall correctly the Goldmans were awarded possession of the copyright to the work, yes? That would give them the right to produce derivative works, or to alter the work, I believe.
This is crazy and sad and wrong in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteHeather, perhaps you are right and copyright law allows this kind of thing. As I look more closely at the cover of the book, it looks to me like there is a blurry little "If" inside the the "I" letter. The picture is too small for me to be sure. If so, that's a very clever way to show the title.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Stefanie. It's sad.
ReplyDeleteUgh!!! And also, bloody Oprah...
ReplyDeleteLooks like Denise Brown has told Oprah that she wants no part of the show now that the book is definitely being published by the Goldmans. Good for her. Boo on Oprah and Fred Goldman.
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