Book TV

Yes, there is such a thing.

I babysat for my sister yesterday and was able to watch some TV (don't have channels at home). When I saw Book TV I thought, boring. But when I was flipping through channels I just happened to see a book on the screen that I'd looked over at WalMart.


I wasn't sure whether this book was fiction or not when I looked at it in WalMart, but after listening to the end of the author's speech I realized it was a political book. I liked what she was saying about the government needing more ordinary people (like teachers, mothers, business owners) to be involved, so I stayed on the station.



Then an interview with an author in his home came on. Being the nosy type, I had to watch.



T R Reid might write nonfiction, but from what I can tell, a writer is a writer is a writer. He showed off where he works, his computer, a poster he had on his wall to inspire him to finish his book (been there!) and then he shared his amazing bookshelf-lined walls with the camera guy. This was like the writer's version of Cribs. Fascinating stuff.





So I was hooked last night into staying on the Book TV channel. I watched one more show, a speaking event by author Matt Gallagher. He's a soldier, my age, who started blogging about his experiences in Iraq. When he published a post that was too personal, the government shut his blog down. That got the attention of news media and before he knew it, literary agents and publishers were calling him up. (every writer's dream! lol) Anyway, I loved listening to him speak about his experiences. He was both nervous and casual, young and old.

Have you ever watched Book TV? Would you? What's the strangest station you've ever found yourself interested in?

Comments

Linda Kage said…
I have not watched this. I'm going to have to see if I have it on my Dish Network.

sounds interesting. Thanks for mentioning it.
kah said…
Very interesting. If only I had more hours in the day. Right now, I have tons of laundry and housework to catch on (still recovering from RWA). Then, it's time for some serious writing.

Sorry I missed you Wed night. :(
Jessica Nelson said…
Karen, I'm sorry I missed you too! I hope we can get together again sometime. Good luck with that housework. I have a bunch too. Bleck.

Linda, I was def. surprised by my interest. :-)
Warren Baldwin said…
I've never heard of book tv, but certainly want to see if we can get it where I live. The story about the soldier in Iraq sounds particularly intriguing. Wonder what he wrote that his blog would be shut down? Sounds like you are becoming perilously close to actually reading more ....

......
......

...... Nonfiction! :)
Danyelle L. said…
I've never heard of it, but it sounds awesome!
Jessica Nelson said…
Hahaa! Very funny, Warren. :-) I actually used to read a ton of non-fiction as a teen but somehow motherhood inspires me to lose myself in fiction. *grin*
I am thinking of getting his book somehow though. Also, apparently the post was about some crossfire his group got caught in. I think the post probably chronicled some of his shock and confusion. In his speaking, he said it wasn't the Big Brother type thing media made it out to be, so I'm not sure what he wrote.
Hope you're doing well. :-)

Danyelle, it was!
Tamika: said…
I never heard of Book TV~ how interesting! I'll have to scan the channels tonight and see if I can find it. I would definitely watch it:)
Faith said…
Aww, it's things like this that make me wish, just a little bit, that we still had cable. Sounds like a great way to lose a lazy afternoon! :)
Terri Tiffany said…
I'm going to check my channel line up--love the crib version:)
Diane said…
I get sucked into Golden Girls, whatever channel they pop up on. I don't know how I'm a 60 year old but it cracks me up. :O)
Jolene Perry said…
When I was in college and couldn't sleep or was up working late, I'd watch QVC, I never bought anything but the excitement if the salespeople over total crap was somehow fascinating. I tried it the other night when I couldn't sleep and I was irritated after ten seconds.
Dara said…
I've heard of it; sometimes I'd watch it back before I was married on my parents' cable. It's on C-SPAN and I believe they only cover non-fiction books.

Strangest channel I watch, or have watched, is EWTN, which is a Catholic channel. Sometimes they would have really cool but cheesy little Bible cartoons. And sometimes it would be interesting to watch some of the Mass services they would have in various large churches. We still have that channel; it's part of the basic cable we have.
Katie Ganshert said…
NEver heard of it before! Now I'm going to go look for it. :)
Erica Vetsch said…
The writer's version of Cribs! I LOVE it!!!
Melissa said…
WOW. I had no idea this existed! I hope I have it on my channels somewhere because it seems really interesting.
Sarah Forgrave said…
Never heard of it! Sounds like a good channel though.

My husband and I are into watching Ice Road Truckers on the History channel. It's about truck drivers in Alaska...sort of a strange concept but very interesting! :-)
Kelly Freestone said…
Hey girl!
How was your busy time? The book signing, all the things that spread people thin? lol

okay, for the record...lol, I love Laura Ingrahm.
SHe's great! (FOX News Channel)

And the rest of the books look so interesting.
Thanks for sharing!
Karen Lange said…
I haven't watched it, nor did I know it existed. Can't think of anything really strange that I like to watch, but I confess to enjoying Say Yes to the Dress when I have a spare minute or two. :)
Blessings,
Karen
Erin MacPherson said…
I've never watched book TV. I did, however, watch discovery health like five nights in a row last week when my hubby was on a business trip.
Jessica Nelson said…
Oooh, Erin, that sounds interesting! Any really cool shows?

Karen, that show sounds strange enough to me. *grin*

Kelly, she seemed like a really practical person. I liked what I heard her say. All that busy stuff went well. :-) I'll be sharing more soon!
Jessica Nelson said…
Tamika, it could probably be boring but I just happened to see three things in a row that intrigued me. :-)

Faith, LOL! Actually, I watched it like at ten at night, once the kids were asleep. I'd be afraid to have cable because I know I'd get a lot less done. :-)

Terri, it was pretty cool. I mean, i didn't get to see his kitchen or bathrooms or anything, but who cares about that? I got to see his books and desk. *grin*
Jessica Nelson said…
Diane, that's awesome! I used to love Golden Girls as a teen. :-)

Jolene, lol, I guess you watched it too much. :-)

Dara, really? Only non-fiction? That's kind of disappointing. But cool you've heard of it. I didn't even know there's a catholic channel, though I guess I should've.
Jessica Nelson said…
Katie, it's on some kind of C-Span. :-)

Erica, yeah, Cribs. Heehee.

Melissa, what I watched was interesting. I'm not sure though if it always is...

Oh Sarah, that's hilarious! My mom and stepdad used to watch some show about truckers getting their rigs made over. They loved it. :-)
kathy taylor said…
Yes, I've watched book tv, but I can't remember what books they were talking about.
Erin MacPherson said…
Hi Jessica! Thanks for coming by my site... I love connecting with established bloggers who know what they're doing... gives me ideas so I don't feel like I'm fumbling around so much! Anyway, I HATED being pregnant as well... hated it. But, the babies were worth it in the end. And, yes, my book releases in a few months... can't wait. How are your proposals going?
anita said…
Leave it to you to find a channel solely about literature, my book loving pal! ;-)

Yes, I would totally watch that channel! As you know, I don't watch much TV either, but that could hold my attention in a pinch. Heh...

Great post!
Jill Kemerer said…
Book TV? I've never heard of it, but now that I read your take on it, I want to watch. I'm fascinated by authors and writing. Very cool!
Jessica Nelson said…
Jill, it was cool! :-)

Thanks for stopping by, Anita!

Erin, lol, my proposals are fine. My poor WIP is not. It's getting a bit dusty. :-) I hope you enjoy blogging. There's a great kinship with most bloggers. Very supportive. :-)
Wow. I've never heard of Book TV! Now I'm going to have to channel surf and see if I can find it. I don't watch much TV, but I might make an exception for a book channel. :-)
Nancy J. Parra said…
Wow, thanks for sharing this. I had heard of this channel but never watched it. Now I need to go back and give it a try. But first-got to write. lol.

Cheers~
Warren Baldwin said…
Funny, I got away from fiction for years but over the past few have discovered it again. Just listened to (not read) Frankstein with my wife and hs daughter. Great book. Good fiction stirs the imagination.
Jessica Nelson said…
Warren, YES, good fiction stirs the imagination, definitely. I think great fiction stirs the heart, and even motivates us to better lives. How cool that you listened to Frankenstein!

Nancy, hope you enjoy your writing!
Shannon, at my sister's it was on C-Span 2. :-)
Jessie Oliveros said…
That's so funny. I ALWAYS skip over BookTV. I always thought it looked so boring, which makes absolutely no sense since I love books and I'm writing one. (?) Anyway, I like your new blog look!
I don't think I will get it here. Greek and Arabic TV. I will get DH to scan for it. Thanks for sharing what you saw, it sounds interesting. I had not heard about the young soldier and his blog before.

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