If we're already talking about it, it's not an October surprise, per se, but it is an "October potential disaster." It's rumored that Rev. Jeremiah Wright, oh he of excellent timing, will release a book and start a book tour the month before GODDAMN America decides whether or not to make his former congregant president. We have quite a bit of denouncing and rejecting ahead of us. [WAOD]

UPDATE: Columnist Roland Martin spoke to Rev. Wright's daughter, who said that the pastor, who is currently in Ghana, has no plans to publish a book or go on a book tour. She said her dad will issue a formal statement about the rumor, the most recent incarnation of which originated in New York Magazine, when he returns to the states.

Does John Wiley Price work at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis?

A white janitor and part-time student at the school was reading Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan, a historical non-fiction book about a riot between Notre Dame students and the KKK in the 1920s, during his lunch break when a black co-worker decided that the cover of the book, its title, and the mere fact that it was being read in his presence constituted racial harassment. Despite his explanation of the book, the situation escalated, and he was sent a letter by the school's affirmative action officer that said, "You used extremely poor judgment by insisting on openly reading the book related to a historically and racially abhorrent subject in the presence of your black co-workers." Seriously! A whole year later, IUPUI is finally apologizing to the history buff and copping to their mistake. What do you make of the influx of accusations such as these? Is it because we're so desensitized to the actual racial discrimination that goes on in this country? [MSNBC]

Alana Wyatt-Smith, a Canadian ex-stripper and "video model," knew Mos Def — the actor, "conscious" rapper, and extremely fertile father of six kids by four different women — for three days before she married him. They separated six months later, but she clearly culled enough information from her marriage to Mos Def along with her dalliances with several other famous men to fill a tell-all, self-published book called Breaking the Code of Silence. She would like Oprah to take notice, because she believes that her book about having a bunch of affairs and marrying a famous guy will help women the world over.

“Then there’s the woman out there who doesn’t know the difference between `Is he my lover? Is he my pimp?;’ I’ve been there. Or, `I’m dating this NBA player, he flies me to 13 cities straight out of 82 games, I think he’s in love with me, but does he really like me?’ No, I’ve done it. And `Oh, my gosh! I thought he really liked me, we built this huge chemistry up until he came here, then he never called me after we slept together;’ I’ve been there. I saw death; I wound up on a hospital bed for three months because of my first boyfriend.If you have a question, I can answer it,” she insists.

But Alana-Wyatt is less unique and more similar to a bunch of people who have recently written tell-alls about their famous husbands, wives, sexual conquests, and even, in one case, the sexual preferences of an entire industry. The major difference between Alana Wyatt-Smith and some of the people listed after the jump, reports the Toronto Star's Ashante Industry, is that their books don't suffer from the "errors in spelling, grammar and coherency that plague her self-published narrative."

CONTINUED »

That somebody would select James Frey’s new book Bright Shiny Morning as a must-read this summer shouldn’t be all that surprising — the reviews have been generally positive. That the somebody would be Gayle King, special friend to Oprah, is. When Good Morning America’s Diane Sawyer asked her to recommend some sunshine-y reading material, King plugged two books: Scott McClellan’s What Happened, and Frey’s Morning, adding that she even liked A Million Little Pieces.

Frey spectators would be right to question King’s motives.

CONTINUED »

UNCOMMON COMMITMENT Since is girl might be too busy with tennis for him, Common finding some very worthwhile things to do with his time when he's not in the studio or on a movie set. He has launched a national online book club for kids ages 13-18 called The Corner. The club focuses on books that "that promote messages of tolerance, compassion and nonviolent expressions of achieving social justice."

WHATEVER. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION NEVER LIES Scott McClellan, the former press secretary for George W. Bush, has included some damning information about the administration's unconventional outlook on candor and truthfulness in a new book, which Karl Rove says sounds like it was written by a "left-wing blogger" and not a former colleague. I guess that means we would like it? [CNN]

• Sean Patrick Thomas still gets press? Congrats on the baby, SPT. [People]

• It just gets worse and worse with DMX. [Bossip]

• Jennifer Hudson goes back to her singing roots. [SB]

• Ashanti says a little something (emphasis on little) about her relationship with Irv Gotti and Ja Rule. [Str8NYC]

• Kelly Rowland's writing a children's book. Is this what you do when you can't sell records? [EUR]

By now, you might have heard of Terrence Dean, a former MTV executive/outer of famous, closeted black gays, and his much-hyped new book, Hiding in Hip Hop. He promised a tome filled with salacious secrets about hip hop's down low rappers, but it sounds like it's just a collection of blind items about gay or possibly gay black entertainers. False advertising! After the jump, check out some of the excerpts, courtesy of Gawker, and see if you know who Dean is writing about. The most glaringly obvious one is based on speculation about what went on behind closed doors of a mega-star named "Lucas's" on-set trailer. So, you know. Grain of salt.

CONTINUED »

Here's Margaret Seltzer, the con-artist/liar responsible for the memoir Love and Consequences, in which she faked a past as a foster child raised by a black family of gang members in South Central L.A. Her publishing company, which pulled her book as soon as she was outed (by her big sister no less!) as a privileged young woman who hailed from a two-parent home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., surely didn't want you to see this. In the video, Seltzer, as "Margaret Jones," tells her fake story in a fake accent. Watching it, it's hard to imagine that this woman didn't think she'd be found out.

To make matters even worse, the actual book is not only offensive, it's also terrible — despite the glowing review it received in the New York Times. Click through for an excerpt.

CONTINUED »

Wherein you, the readers, talk amongst yourselves.
My favorite book is Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie under the pear tree? Are you kidding? It definitely takes first place, followed closely by Catch-22, and The Accidental Diva, written by my very talented big sister.

A new Harris Poll finds that Americans rank The Bible as their number one book, but while the book that takes second place overall is Gone With The Wind, most blacks chose Dan Brown's Angels & Demons as their second favorite. I'm dumbfounded on that one. What's your favorite book?

• Republicans are ignoring the GOP this election season? Okay, well, that means everything is status quo, then. [LW]

• A group of Maryland students are collecting interviews from several of the states oldest blacks for a project that is turning out to be the most comprehensive studies of black life in the region. [WP]

• What happens when your own past intersects with your work. [USAT]

• "What gives you cause for hope or despair when it comes to race in America?" [MSNBC]

• The South African "urine stew" video is just a tip of the iceberg. [AA]

Margaret Seltzer thought she could write a memoir claiming that her name was Margaret B. Jones, she was half-white and half-Native American, she was raised by a black foster mother, and she spent her youth in South Central LA running drugs for the Bloods. She thought she could do this and get away with it. She was wrong!

Seltzer was really raised in Sherman Oaks, Calif., by her biological family. Her older sister outed her after Seltzer (as Jones) appeared in a New York Times article to promote her critically acclaimed memoir, Love & Consequences.

“Love and Consequences” immediately hit a note with many reviewers. Writing in The Times, Michiko Kakutani praised the “humane and deeply affecting memoir,” but noted that some of the scenes “can feel self-consciously novelistic at times.” In Entertainment Weekly, Vanessa Juarez wrote that “readers may wonder if Jones embellishes the dialogue” but went on to extol the “powerful story of resilience and unconditional love.”

In the vividly told book, Ms. Seltzer wrote about her African-American foster brothers, Terrell and Taye, who joined the Bloods gang when they were 11 and 13. She chronicled her experiences making drug deliveries for gang leaders at age 13 and how she was given her first gun as a birthday present when she was 14. Ms. Seltzer told The Times last week, “One of the first things I did once I started making drug money was to buy a burial plot.”

Seltzer's editors said they were shocked to find out that the story was a lie. For her part, Seltzer claims that she wrote the book after being moved by stories she heard through her work to combat gang violence in LA. Her publisher has cancelled her book tour and recalled all copies of the book. Well, there you go. Shamelessly stealing the stories of poor black people for your own financial gain probably makes for some bad karma. She better just thank her lucky stars Oprah Winfrey didn't make this part of her book club. This chick would have hell to pay. [NYT]

UPDATE: Read the original story about the "gang member" here. Please.