Right now, Book Expo America is going on in Chicago, where publishers display upcoming titles to booksellers, agents, publications, and the like. (That's simplifying it a bit, but you get the idea.) Lots of freebies are given away, and lots of authors are there to do signings.
Since it's local this year, much of the staff from my house attends, and I'll be there all three days. Yesterday, I scanned the list of authors I'd be interested in meeting and getting a free copy.
And one stood out: Bob Eubanks. His long-promised
It's in The Book, Bob! will be published this October by Benbella Books.
Happily, I got an advance reading copy (signed -- and got to talk with him for about 30 seconds), so I can give out a few highlights:
- Read about the music acts Bob's managed -- and the ones he passed on
- Which era of
The Newlywed Game does Bob consider the best -- and which did he consider the worst?
-
The Diamond Head Game and the incredible shrinking prize budget
- So why was
Rhyme and Reason cancelled, anyway?
- Why Chuck Barris couldn't get Bob Barker to say "belly button"
- What was the best show Bob Eubanks produced? (Hint: it wasn't a game show.)
- Apparently I'm not the only one who thought Lacey Pemberton was hot
A few caveats:
1) This book will be 408 pages long -- and maybe 30-50 of them have anything to do with game shows -- it covers a lot about the music business (remember, Bob's done a ton of promotion and management, and started as a DJ). If Peter Marshall's book was too short (224 pages), this one may be a little too long to read.
2) This is an advance reading copy, set from first typeset page proofs -- so it's full of typographical errors (virtually all of which will be fixed by the time it's a real book), and a few factual errors as well (Bob is under the impression all of the first run of
The Newlywed Game is gone, which we know isn't the case).
Still, it looks like it will be a good read.
