If you ask me to name my favorite writers to interview Julie Klam would be high on the list. In her latest book Julie delves into our cultural obsession with celebrities. Have you ever wondered why some of us seem to be so fascinated by people who spend most of their time trying to impress us with their talent, their beauty, their conspicuous consumption, their wealth, or their celebrity? Julie peels back the layers of our attractions to these people to uncover the roots of our interest and she shows how this cult of celebrity has grown and mutated over the years.
In this interview we talked about Julie's recent thrilling experience as she was picked up by a limousine and driven to a taping of one of our leading late night talk shows. Then she describes how her ebullience was quickly diminished as on the very next day she went to a book signing event in New Jersey and the crowd gathered to see her seemed a bit thin. And that is another thing she examines in her book, how the celebrity of today can become the disgraced nobody of tomorrow. The Hollywood sex scandals that are currently exploding on the pages of every tabloid publication bears stark witness to just how fleeting fame can be.
Julie also talked about her current writing project. She is delving into some of her family history. And after hearing about it I got a familiar feeling; I cannot wait to read her next book.
The Book Nook on WYSO is made possible by five local library systems in southwest Ohio: the Greene County Public Library, Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, and Wright Memorial Public Library.
