"I think it is providential that I had had that desire throughout my life to record and memorialize things that were perhaps ordinary events at the time... so logistically speaking, practically speaking, it wasn't a real difficult exercise to write the book," Sarah Palin remarked on the The Oprah Winfrey Show. Now the former governor of Alaska and bestselling author is getting teased for her handwritten aids.

Last weekend, reporters spotted Sarah Palin reading notes off her hand at her keynote speech at the Tea Party Convention. Our blog sibling TVNewser noticed that the incident created a snarky trend:

"Yesterday, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell appeared on "Morning Joe" and "The Daily Rundown" with her own notes written on her hand. Last evening on FBN's "Happy Hour," Eric Bolling had "Sarah 2012" written across his palm for the show. Not surprisingly, it was also brought up by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert ... Now, CNN WH correspondent Ed Henry tweets this afternoon that Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is the latest to get in on it." The Gibbs video is embedded above...

This quote sums up the imaginative glee the best Lost fans apply to the show: "If I ever write a book, this is the pull quote I'm using. From a reader named (appropriately for this week) Kate, who posted the following on an EW.com message board last week: 'I usually read Jensen's articles with the wry bemusement of a parent listening to an overly smart child's justification of Santa Claus.'"

As the second episode of the final season airs tonight, GalleyCat Reviews collected literary criticism about our favorite books from Lost. In addition, we also broke the news of a New Directions novel that will play a role in the upcoming season.

We also interviewed a Lost expert last month about what may be this new season--studying the best books mentioned on the show.

Reviewed by Michael Paul Mason
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Henrietta Lacks is a woman whose cancer cells have been mass-produced with no monetary benefit to her heirs; the author, Rebecca Skloot, appears as a character who is so taken with the Lacks story that she writes a book about it. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is part biology lesson, part memoir, part sociological study, and part bioethics.

But it's also a genre-bending story that extends beyond its covers. In fact, if you haven't fanned or followed the author, Rebecca Skloot, then you're already missing out on one level of the ongoing narrative.

To date, Skloot has 1,943 Facebook friends, of which I am one (disclaimer: we have never met, but we did exchange a couple of brief emails about a year ago when she was looking for a science writer to take her place at a conference). As one of her digital friends, I've enjoyed reading Skloot's gleeful and wacky updates detailing the tiny joys that come with a first book: the arrival of the galley, the selection of the author photo, the first review. It's a story of terrific, starry-eyed success, something like a Nora Ephron plot told through tweets and status updates. As a recent example, here's a post that Skloot made following the appearance of a gushing review in the New York Times:

"Rebecca Skloot is absolutely FLOORED by this incredible review of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in today's New York Times. May actually pass out from reading it."

In May 2010, Da Capo Press will publish a Woods biography by People journalist Steve Helling. It will be edited by editor Kevin Hanover.

Publishers Weekly has the scoop on the deal: "Helling has written about Woods for a number of years at People and, per Da Capo, he will 'draw on intimate sources, many speaking out for the first time, to create a never-before-seen portrait of the golfer.'"

Woods has already stressed that he had no interest in sharing his story, despite the fact he has already written a book, "How I Play Golf." In December, his statement read: "the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family."

In 1998, Dave Eggers named "Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern" after an man who had sent letters to his mother. Timothy McSweeney was an MFA art student and onetime studio art teacher at Rutgers University. The site described his work: "The canvases he leaves behind are filled with haunting and beautiful imagery. They are also filled with a palpable desire--to be heard, to connect, to be understood better by others and himself."

McSweeney suffered from mental illness, and was hospitalized for many years. There, he wrote letters to people around the country. He sent many letters with diagrams, train schedules and "urgent" messages to Eggers' mother--despite the fact that they had never met.

Here's more about the real McSweeney, from the website: "Knowing that the journal bore the name of a real person who had endured years of struggle threw melancholy shadows over the enterprise. But the McSweeneys insisted that the use of the name was acceptable, even appropriate, given Timothy's background as an artist and search for connection and meaning through the written word. Since 2000 we've implicitly dedicated all issues to the real Timothy."

This week, Rosalind Wiseman will partner with Family Circle magazine and Dove "Go Fresh Deodorant" for her ten-stop Girl World Book Tour. The author is selling $40 pairs of tickets (for a mother and daughter) to each two-hour event. Attendees will receive a 12-month subscription to Family Circle and a Dove gift bag. They will also get copies of two books: Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World and Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials.

Family Circle publisher Carey Witmer had this statement: "We know that some of the most important conversations you have with your teens and tweens can be difficult to start. Every month, Rosalind Wiseman helps our readers gracefully navigate some of the tougher parenting moments ... Each and every one of her Girl World Book Tour events will have mothers and daughters talking, laughing and understanding each other a little bit more."

What do you think? Can this strategy help other writers?

EDITORS NOTE: An earlier version of this post misstated the books that attendees will receive.

Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was David Peace, one of the most critically acclaimed mystery novelists in the world. He is the author of The Red Riding Quartet (about the Ripper murders in England), The Damned Utd (which was recently turned into a film), and Tokyo Year Zero. He was chosen as one of Granta's 2003 Best Young British Novelists and won the French Grand Prix de Roman Noir for Best Foreign Novel.

Press play on the embedded player below to listen. The show will be archived around the mediabistro.com network all morning.

He talked about adaptations of his novels and his new American release, Occupied City--a retelling of a mass murder in Japan. He also pondered his own place in the mystery genre. "I make no bones about it. To me the greatest mystery or crime writer of the last 25 years is James Ellroy. When I started out, his LA Quartet really raised the bar--in taking the history of Los Angeles and America and found a new purpose for the crime novel," he explained.

Peace concluded: "White Jazz pushed the boundaries you could tell a story, the pace of telling stories ... I'm always trying to write a book better than Mr. Ellroy. I've yet to do it. But that's my hope."

Meet the Super Bowl commercial that launched a thousand literary blog posts. During the most watched television show ever, Bud Light unveiled the beer ad embedded above, poking fun at book clubs, male readers, female readers, and book reading in general. The ad shows a couple fun-loving beer drinkers crashing a book club, playing with all sorts of stereotypes about American readers.

Our post on the topic generated a wide range of reader responses. One reader wrote: "If ya' can't laugh at yourself... I'm a writer and reader (and book club member) and don't drink much beer, but it didn't bother me a bit. If we all took ourselves a bit less seriously, we'd save time (and have more fun!)"

Another reader took offense at the offense: "I enjoy drinking bud light because its cheap and I can drink a lot of it while I'm not being an organic chemist, which frankly requires more intelligence and betters society significantly more than being a stuck up literary snob."

Reader Deborah performed a quick literary fact-check: "They were also apparently discussing Little Women but the plot she was giving to him sounded like no version of Little Women I've ever heard before!"

Paul Oliver wrote: "The scariest part of the commercial is the hero. I have noticed a clear trend in commercials making men out as increasingly simple or buffoonish. Ever see the Dominos commercial where a woman is ringing door bells in a home improvement store to try them out? Yeah, the men come running from everywhere in the store in belief that Dominos pizza was just delivered."

The late, great novelist Nathanael West weighed in on his posthumous Twitter feed: "Undrinkable beer. Nobody in the ad would be one of my readers."

Finally, C.J. West contributed some book club intelligence: "The makers of Bud Light are trying to be funny here ... Who cares if they got the background on the book right? They're trying to be funny. I've visited many book clubs to talk about my books and NEVER has there been a man in attendance. The men of the house run when the ladies start coming in. If you are offended by this, I think you're taking yourself a little too seriously."

What do you think?

Two awards were handed out in each category, one for editors' choice and one for readers' choice. The editors' choice for Dark Genre Novel of the Year award went to Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. The readers' choice went to Drood by by Dan Simmons. Editors' choice for Best Small Press Chill went to Kelland by Paul G. Bens Jr. and the readers' choice went to As Fate Would Have It by Michael Louis Calvillo.

See all the award winners at this link. Here's more from the release: "Nominations for the Black Quills are editorial-based, with both the editors and active contributing writers submitting nominations in each of the (8) categories. Once nominations are announced, readers of DSM cast their votes for their picks in each category. For this year's outing, more than 3,300 votes were cast by the magazine's readers."

The Pennsylvania State University Press published his 291-page work, From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security. In 2006, he wrote the forward to Presidents at War: From Truman to Bush, The Gathering of Military Powers To Our Commanders in Chief.

Here's more from his official obituary: "Murtha, 77, was Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in February of 1974, Murtha dedicated his life to serving his country both in the military and in the halls of Congress. A former Marine, he became the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to the U.S. Congress. This past Saturday, February 6, 2010, Murtha became Pennsylvania's longest serving Member of Congress."

This morning Amazon.com (AMZN) made its Kindle Development Kit available for software developers, opening the door for new applications to expand the functionality of the device. Developers can apply here.

Our digitally obsessed sibling has all the details: "The KDK comes with a simulator, as well as permission to test apps on up to three Kindles before submitting to Amazon ... As far as pricing goes, Amazon promises at 70%/30% share, minus $.15/MB for download. And, Amazon also points out 'that unlike smart phones, the Kindle user does not pay a monthly wireless fee or enter into an annual wireless contract. Kindle active content must be priced to cover the costs of downloads and on going usage.'"

We've been excited to see how developers will use the new tools, and at Digital Book World, we asked developer Joshua Tallent from eBook Architects to give us some of his ideas for Kindle apps. His enthusiastic response should help developers, publishers, and readers re-think the Kindle.

Bud Light released the beer ad embedded below, mocking book clubs, male readers, female readers, and book reading in general. The ad shows a couple fun-loving beer drinkers crashing a book club, playing with all sorts of stereotypes about American readers. As this Twitter search shows, America's reaction was mixed.

Literary blogger Edward Champion has led the online backlash against the ad. He described the message: "Let women have their 'little' book clubs, which can be easily interrupted on a masculine whim and which women will never dare object to. They will set everything aside to give you head or to serve you beer. And, by the way, if you're a man, you don't even need to read to get ahead in the world. (Indeed, one of the commercial's curious philosophical positions is that one cannot both enjoy beer--at least the stuff better than the undrinkable swill that is being sold in this commercial--and books."

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and we'll round up the responses later today. UPDATE: Jezebel rounds up other trouble-making ads.

The series will match romance writers with real life couples, turning the wedding column into steamy nonfiction. In the words of the press release, it's "Life...Romanticized." Romance novelist Julie Leto will write the first book, a retelling of a real life romance in New York City. The series will launch in 2010.

Here's the juicy description of the first reality-based romance: "New York lobbyist Michael Davoli feels like he's been sucker punched when he meets Anne Miller at a concert ... Michael falls hard ... But while Mike effortlessly holds her with his gaze, he withholds the embrace she longs for ... he finally confesses that he suffers from a neurological disorder that he's learned to disguise from others but could keep him from ever holding her through the night--she makes a choice that changes the rest of her life. Anne isn't about to let anything like Tourette's Syndrome keep her from the man of her dreams ... Hard to Hold is a modern day fairy tale that proves that the best things in life--and in romance--are real."

If you want to confirm the reality of the story, check out the couple's wedding webpage. What do you think? Will real life romance sell beside the imaginary kind?

Today's Author Pick of the Day is Michael Buckley, author of the hilarious new series of books called, N.E.R.D.S. (Abrams) I had been waiting for this book to come out for months and harrassed the publicist night and day to receive a review copy of it.

Buckley is already the author of the New York Times bestselling series and Today Show Al Roker Book Club pick, The Sisters Grimm. He has also written and developed shows for Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV Animation.

It's been two full weeks since we launched GalleyCat Reviews, publishing our first reviews, building a Twitter review directory, aggregating timely criticism, and teaming up with some great outlets. This week, we'll join some of publishing's brightest minds--trying to figure out how to improve our coverage.

On Wednesday, February 10, at 7 p.m. in the Melville House Bookstore this GalleyCat editor will join a panel of journalists and reviewers to discuss "the future of book reportage." The panel includes: Laura Miller (Salon.com), Michael Miller (Time Out New York), Craig Morgan Teicher (eBookNewser), and John Mutter (Shelf Awareness). Stop by if you can make it and share your thoughts about the future. There is a $5 cover charge.

Here's more from the site: "With both the book industry and the journalism industry in historic tumult, whither literary journalism? Where will people read about books and authors and publishers in the future? Will reviews remain important? Will blogs play a more or less important role? Will reportage of industry trends and business developments improve or worsen? What kind of journalism will impact how people hear about books, and where they buy them?"

Read more about GalleyCat Reviews.

Editor's Note: The lineup for the panel has changed since the original post.