I like to think I'm more upper-middlebrow than lower-middle brow -- maybe that's the reason I disdain Mitch Albom. I was forced to read Tuesdays with Morrie for a book club I foolishly joined (I barely have enough opinions to sustain my freelance book reviewing -- I can't go spending them in a book club situation, and besides, the only thing I had in common with the other women in the club, all of whom were really nice and smart, was that we were all nursing newborns). That book had more pap than a visit to the gynecologist.
Maybe I'm just cynical. Ten million people can't be wrong, right? At any rate, Albom is about to be Starbucked, as his new heartwarmer For One More Day becomes the first author in the new Starbucks book program. The book, s slightly creepy novel about what would happen if you had one more day to spend with a loved one who died, treads familiar Albom territory of emotions, death, and healing.
Starbucks has done amazingly well in its music partnerships. The CDs sell like hotcakes. Not so much with its movie deal to promote Akeelah and the Bee. (People may be getting tired of the spelling bee thing, what with documentaries, broadway shows, novels, and other media flooding the market) Still, Albom doesn't really need Starbucks to push him, and the people who feel he's too populist and treacly probably are eschewing venti carmel macchiatos and strawberries and cream frappucinos in favor of espresso shots and mugs of shade grown in their locally owned cafe that features freshly roasted beans and housemade pastries.
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