The other day as I lay at home doing the seasonal thing of snuffling and sneezing I saw my first Richard and Judy Book Club episode in I don’t know how many years. They were discussing Orion’s The Rose of Sebastopol with Samuel West and Charity Wakefield. Considering the ho-ha that Richard and Judy generates in publishing and bookselling I was mildly surprised at how short the segment really was. A filmed portion with the author Katherine McMahon; a pithy summing up of the general plot and character progression and some anecdotal ‘I loved this bit’ etc. I’ve only read one of R&J’s choices so far, Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip, and can’t help but think that the format will not do it anything like the justice it deserves. I’m not knocking Richard & Judy as such, but I know I’ve enjoyed The Book Show with Mariella Frostrop far, far more. I particularly love the section they do where authors discuss the books that they wished they had written – a real booky treat.
And lo, just the other day there was the news in The Bookseller that there will be an apprentice-style-celebrity-crime-novel programme coming to the BBC soon called ‘Murder Most Famous’. Should be interesting how Minette Walters is going to put the likes of gardener Diarmuid Gavin through a crime boot-camp… Ah well, it's all for charity.
And lo, just the other day there was the news in The Bookseller that there will be an apprentice-style-celebrity-crime-novel programme coming to the BBC soon called ‘Murder Most Famous’. Should be interesting how Minette Walters is going to put the likes of gardener Diarmuid Gavin through a crime boot-camp… Ah well, it's all for charity.
2 comments:
I think that "Murder Most Famous" will be a laugh at the very least. From what I've seen/experienced of most crime writers, and MW in particular: a wicked sense of humour lurks behind the serious crime writing.
Many have criticised this venture, but it's celebs that sell and not unknowns when it comes to charity causes. So let us all just chill and enjoy the "lite" touch that brings a focus to crime fiction (long overdue).
If one of next year's Quick Reads comes from a ballroom dancer or an ex-editor of a tabloid or an ex-soap actress, jaws will drop. There's nothing like that to incite curiosity and hopefully sales - for charity, with many laughs along the way. I just hope they air at the right time. One report said "afternoon" which would not help (death knell in fact). Early evening 19:30 or later would be great for those of us who work for a living. If the programme is good enough, it might even hold up dinner preparation...
A reality TV show about crime-fiction writers? I love it when I get to work the word “juxtaposition” in to the conversation. It’s such a fun word.
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