Books

New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor is making waves with her book The Obamas, which is being described as a tell-all of the administration and First Family that chronicles the tensions within both. Naturally, everyone is clamoring to read it.

Except The First Lady.

In an interview with CBS News, conducted by Gayle King, Mrs. Obama cleared up some of the allegations from Kantor’s book — including clarifying the status of her relationship with former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as close, although the book painted it as strained.

She readily admitted that she hasn’t read Kantor’s book, adding:  “…who can write about how I feel? Who? What third person can tell me how I feel, or anybody for that matter?”

Valid questions.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

Kelly Florio Kasouf, the daughter of Steve Florio, the deceased former CEO of Condé Nast, has written a book about growing up in the world of the publishing power house. The book isn’t what you think it is though. It’s not filled with gossip about rude publishers and moody editors — it’s a children’s book.

According to WWD, Florio Kasouf’s book, The Super Adventures of Sophie and the City: All in a Day’s Work, is a fictional account of a little girl who sneaks into her father’s publishing company and ends up in different world’s that carry a magazine theme. While that sounds like a cool idea, we loved Florio Kasouf’s tale of the first time she met Anna Wintour.

“She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up,” explained Florio Kasouf. “I said, ‘I’m going to take your job.’ Apparently she had said the same thing early on in her life, so she thought it was cute.”

That’s the kind of thing only the daughter of a high-powered exec can get away with.

In his new book, Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness?, noted journalist and author Toure says he wanted to explore “what it means to be Black now.” And, no, “post-Blackness” is not the same as “post-racial.”

“Post-racial suggests a world where race does not exist and racism does not exist, and it’s a completely ridiculous term… With post-Blackness, what I’m talking about is a conception of Blackness where the identity options are infinite. So, we’re not saying THIS is what it is to be Black,” he explained in the second installment of our Media Beat interview.

“There seems to be this conception that Blackness must stay in the hood as if Blackness is milk, and the hood is the refrigerator. And the further away you get from the refrigerator, it will spoil. And you go to Yale for four years, somehow you have lost your Blackness, as opposed to if you go to jail for 10 years, your Blackness is hardened?”

In the book, he even asks noted Black academics, celebrities, and activists the best question ever (yes, I said it) about a huge stereotype: “Would you eat watermelon in a room full of white people?”

Watch the full video to find out how ?uestlove of The Roots and Rev. Jesse Jackson answered.

You can also view this video on YouTube.

Part 1: Toure Lights Up the Twittersphere with a Debate on… Tipping?

Part 3: Toure on Pitching, Getting Assignments, and That R. Kelly Interview

Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone, has reportedly changed his mind about a biography that was being written by Rich Cohen. According to The New York Post, Cohen had Wenner’s approval and had even verbally agreed to a seven figure deal to write the book, when suddenly Wenner withdrew his interest:

Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Cohen’s agent and co-head of the William Morris Agency’s Worldwide Literary Department, said, ‘Jann had come to Rich asking him to do it. After it got snapped up, Wenner had a change of heart.’ She said she was not sure why Wenner dropped the project but she said Cohen is not pursuing it independently.

This isn’t the first time Wenner has had a change of heart about a biography. In 2004 he gave his blessing to a writer named Lewis MacAdams, then allegedly pulled his support for the project when he found out that MacAdams was talking to people who Wenner had battled with.

Obviously Wenner has commitment issues. Can you imagine being behind him at a bodega? “I would like a Twix. Here is my money – no! I want a Snickers. Yes, they ‘satisfy.’ So, here is the money and thank – no!”

And on and on.

In his new autobiography, Uppity (which could just as easily have been called Integrity for his strong moral compass), Bill White talks candidly about his many decades in baseball, including the racial intolerance he suffered early in his career. FishbowlNY spoke recently with White, a man who is liked by so many in the sport.

But this article focuses on Chapter 10, White’s magical 18-year association with the New York Yankees—and the legendary Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto.

“That’s longer than I’ve been with anybody,” White laughed.

As former players, White (refers to himself as “average” on the field) and Rizzuto (Hall of Famer) formed that famous bond. But White says there was something deeper to their chemistry—dating back to Rizzuto’s broadcasting debut with the Yankees in 1957.

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Peter Bergen was a producer for CNN in 1997 when he produced Osama bin Laden’s first television interview, which has been widely replayed ever since.

As part of the scramble to cover Bin Laden’s death, the New York Times reports that, a mere 48 hours after the death was reported, it’s been announced that Bergen will write possibly the definitive book on the Bin Laden manhunt, tentatively titled… “Manhunt”. No chance that this will be the only book on the subject — prepare yourselves for an onslaught — but it may very well be the first.

Bergen has certainly earned the right; he’s the author of three books on terrorism and is now a national security analyst for CNN.

Crown Publishers, part of Random House, described the forthcoming book as  “an immersive, definitive account of the operation that killed the world’s most wanted man.”

Jennifer Rainville didn’t have a lengthy or legendary career in TV news, but it helped lead her  into her true calling as a full-time author.

Rainville worked behind the scenes at WNBC in 2001, and got in front of the camera at Time Warner Cable’s NY1 from 2002 to 2005.

Rainville has just published her first book—a novel—Trance of Insignificance—weighted heavily on her own personal experiences.

“Much of the settings and many of my experiences served as the inspiration,” Rainville says. “But the characters are invented. It’s fiction.”

Much of Rainville’s professional (and personal) life is portrayed using the protagonist Jules Duvil.

Along with her own personal experiences, Rainville incorporated several “muses” from working in news.

Early in the fictional Duvil’s career, she gets swept up in a torrid love affair with a seasoned New York TV anchor. The duo would hook up, sometimes planned, sometimes spur of the moment, for several years. It is easy for the reader to feel the electricity between the passionate news professionals.

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Put the word “independent” in front of anything and its coolness factor doubles. Cheaply made films and music albums can pass for high art with the right amount of vision. But put the word “self-published” in front of a novel, and readers instantly think “inspirational poetry that hasn’t been proofread.”   IndieReader, based in New Jersey, is an online resource for lovers of independent books and the people who write them.  IndieReader might not be the first publication to review self-published books, but it is bold in its similarity to the “critically-acclaimed independent films” category on Netflix.

Indie Reader founder Amy Edelman created the site for “literate people who are looking for something other than the latest James Patterson novel,” she said, adding, “not that there’s anything wrong with James Patterson.”  IndieReader reviews and rates self-published books to help readers find the ones that are worth reading.  After a year and a half of Beta testing, the site was relaunched last month to include news, commentary, interviews, and IndieReader Selects, a special page for indie bookstores to find local authors.

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New York City based Lebhar-Friedman Inc, a B2B publisher, is selling off all of their properties.

A tipster tells FishbowlNY, the medical division (Dowden Health Media) is being sold to an investment team with an official announcement expected next week.

The company flagship, Nation’s Restaurant News will be sold to Penton Media in December.

With a focus on retail, foodservice and healthcare, Lebhar-Friedman has taken its 85-year history of publishing into the 21st century.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just ignored the standard office policies and played by your own rules at your job?  Did you ever think that by bypassing the “appropriate channels” you could actually increase your productivity at work?  If you haven’t considered this rebel behavior yet, don’t worry — Bill Jensen and Josh Klein have got you covered in their new book Hacking Work.

Jensen and Klein’s ideas on “breaking stupid rules for smart results” can be yours for free just by entering MJD’s Hacking Work contest.  You can participate by sharing your favorite workplace hack in the comments section of this MJD article or through Twitter (@MediaJobsDaily).  Entrants are encouraged to discuss their best time-saving tricks, computer shortcuts, and early weekend exit strategies to avoid the boss to name a few.

Act fast because you only have until tomorrow (Oct. 15) to enter.  There’s no need to enter your real name to participate as MJD understands that you would probably want to keep your personal information confidential from your boss.  The winner will be chosen randomly from all submissions and receive a free copy of Hacking Work after confirming their name and details with MJD.  Good luck and happy hacking!