Reading is one of the purest, healthiest forms of escapism in existence. Opening a book can take you anywhere, on other-worldly adventures in places that don’t even exist. Given that none of us can do a whole lot of real-life exploring these days, books are even more valuable as tools to take a little vacation from reality.

Emrie, a 7-year-old from Missouri, learned to read braille at just four years old. Three years later, she’s reading at a level years ahead of many of her peers. Emrie fell in love with the Harry Potter series after reading the first few aloud with her dad. Once they reached the fourth book in the series, Emrie wanted to finish the final books on her own.

Unfortunately, the total cost of the series in braille would have been nearly $2,000, a staggering price to pay for a series that would cost a fraction of the price in regular print. Desperate to make Emrie’s Christmas wish come true, the family set up a GoFundMe. In just 24 hours, the family was floored by the generosity of strangers.

The GoFundMe page stated, “Thank you all so much! We have exceeded all goals and will be able to provide, not only Emrie will a full set, but we also raised enough to donate FIVE full Harry Potter braille series to local libraries and schools! I am speechless at the kindness we have received over the last 24 hours and I can’t thank each and everyone of you enough for contributing! Happy Holidays!”

In one of the most magical Christmas moments we’ve seen this year, Emrie’s aunt shared a video of the 7-year-old opening her gift. As soon as Emrie realizes the enormous book she’s holding is a braille Harry Potter, her excitement is tangible and her enthusiasm is contagious.

Watch the full video below, and unless you’re The Grinch himself, Emrie’s unbridled joy will warm your heart.

 

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There are a lot of classic children’s books, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve read them all to your kids. It can get pretty old, even if you enjoy Dr. Seuss’s tongue-twisters and repeatedly saying the word “llama.”

Every once in a while, a book comes along that parents can enjoy too, and we recently caught wind of a new one that spoofs the old standby “Goodnight Moon” by putting a Dunder-Mifflin twist on it.

It’s called “Goodnight Scranton” and instead of yarn and porridge, it’s got Michael Scott‘s infamous George Foreman grill, and the sentimental teapot Jim gifted to Pam during the classic Christmas episode.

We spoke to Mark Cloud, the man behind the book, and asked him what inspired him.

“We are huge fans of The Office, obviously. Our first book about The Office, called ‘Fun At The Office!’ was pretty popular, so we thought why not just one more homage to the best show ever?”

Despite the fact that it’s only been off the air for a few years now, and can be found in syndication and on Netflix (and soon Peacock), Mark thinks fans are nostalgic for the show and nostalgic for the classic book from their childhood.

“We thought it would be the perfect combination for a parody,” he told us. “We filled the book with as many (G-rated) references as possible, so it includes Michael’s George Foreman Grill, Schrute Farms, Jim’s teapot for Pam, and we even created books for the bookshelf like ‘Somehow I Manage’ by Michael Scott and a book by Creed Bratton called ‘Cartwheels R Fun!’ There’s even a little nod to Japan’s number one heart surgeon Hidetoshi Hasagawa.”

A parent himself, Mark finds new ways to relate to The Office, despite the fact that it takes place at work and not at home.

“I routinely use the following quote from the show to remind me to remain present: ‘I wish there was a way to know you’re in “the good old days” before you’ve actually left them.'”

Wait. Parenthood has ‘good old days?’ MICHAEL!

You can order Goodnight Scranton, and spice up your bedtime reading with a little Michael Scott and co. shenanigans on Amazon for $15.

Just a heads up, if you buy stuff using the provided links, The Dad may collect a small commission.

Finding ways to be there for your kids is a constantly-evolving challenge. As kids grow up, they may start communicating with you less and their friends more. Even finding time throughout the day to sit down and talk becomes more difficult as kids’ schedules fill up with extracurriculars and plans of their own, making an already challenging aspect of parenting even harder. One dad named Chris Yandle found a unique way to share life lessons, advice, and love with his daughter during a time when her brain was already primed for learning – he did it through notes, small nuggets of wisdom that he slipped into her lunch box when she went off to school every day.

Dr. Yandle wanted to support his daughter through an especially difficult year, as Addison’s transition to fourth grade meant she’d attended four different schools in five years.

“It wasn’t how we planned it, but as someone who moved around a lot as a kid, I knew this school year was going to be tough,” Dr. Yandle explained on his website. “Every morning, I wrote my daughter a note about life, school, or growing up, and I’d slip it in her bookbag or her lunch box to find later in the day.”

For over three years, Dr. Yandle has been sending his daughter to school with his “#DadLunchNotes,” a hashtag he coined when he started sharing his notes on social media. Though the notes are written for his daughter, the wisdom this loving dad shares is universal.

“These words of encouragement and life lessons are my way of connecting with my daughter and offering her the advice and anecdotes I wish I received at her age,” Dr. Chris Yandle told The Dad.

Inspiring and motivating kids to be the best versions of themselves is something all parents hope to accomplish, but finding the right method is difficult. Fortunately for Dr. Yandle, his extremely efficient method of delivering words of wisdom has become something Addison (and her teachers) look forward to every day.

“With each passing day, parenting in the digital age is getting more and more difficult,” Dr. Yandle explained. “As a dad to a pre-teen junior high girl, I thought you and other dads might be interested in a non-digital way to connect with their kids in our heavily connected world.”

The desire to share his unique method of communication led Dr. Yandle to post his Dad Lunch Notes on social media, and recently, he even compiled them into a book called Lucky Enough.

A parent friend told me: “I’d love it if you could mass produce #DadLunchNotes, as to have others (like myself in the morning – running like a chicken without a head) throw them in the lunch box every morning. Please say yes.”

I don’t know where to start. @Postit, whatcha say? pic.twitter.com/LKuwRZfO8y

— Chris Yandle, Ph.D. 😷 (@ChrisYandle) November 16, 2020

“One of the notes I wrote to Addison during her fourth-grade year was a quote from Taylor Swift: ‘If you’re lucky enough to have something that makes you different from everybody else, don’t ever change.’ When I read that quote, I knew I found the right title,” Dr. Yandle explained on his website.

For years to come, Addison will be Lucky Enough to have a stockpile of dad wisdom when she needs it most. And undoubtedly, this unique method of building a dad-daughter connection will be treasured by both forever.

I wrote this November 18, 2019.

It’s amazing how much I still feel the same even when I get small victories.

I’m still scratching and clawing to share what I do.

DEEP DOWN, if I’m able to help others then that’s more important than what’s in my bank account.#DadLunchNotes pic.twitter.com/7BuVPJakjI

— Chris Yandle, Ph.D. 😷 (@ChrisYandle) November 18, 2020

When I was a kid, I read a whole bunch of Hardy Boys books. They were easy-to-read adventures and mysteries that served as a nice bridge between the Bunnicula and Judy Blume books I read in elementary school and the Anne Rice and Stephen King books I read in high school.

They were fun and simple and I was a kid with brothers too. I also loved to pretend I was a detective and that something sinister was always afoot in my boring Connecticut suburb. It was kind of a more realistic Scooby-Doo, and I suspect a lot of guys my age read them, just as girls my age read Nancy Drew.

Well, now our kids can find out about the Hardy Boys, in a much darker and sexier way! Hulu is hopping on the teen soap strain, picking up the baton from the CW’s Riverdale and bringing the sibling detectives to the small screen.

Based on books created in 1926, the TV series follows Hardy brothers Frank, 16, and Joe, 12, as they move from NYC to Bridgeport, CT (I was right!) and quickly become suspicious that there’s a conspiracy in town – and that their parents may be involved.

Check out the trailer for the show, which hits Hulu on December 2nd:

As if Bindi Irwin wasn’t busy enough with her recent wedding, her own conservation work, and preparing to become a first-time mom, she’s taken on another important task. Over the past 5 years, Bindi has been compiling her dad’s old photos, journal entries, and archives to document the history of the Australia Zoo, the Crocodile Hunter’s legacy. It’s been a priority for the Irwin family to keep Steve Irwin‘s memory alive over the 14 years since he passed away, and this touching book is the family’s most recent tribute.

The announcement was made on November 15, which coincides with Steve Irwin Day. Steve Irwin Day is a day dedicated to honoring Steve Irwin’s memory, along with everything he accomplished in the world of conservation. Though Irwin left this world far too young, his family has made it clear that they will proudly continue where he left off.

 

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Bindi’s Book, titled Creating a Conservation Legacy, takes readers through a remarkable 50 years of history. The Australia Zoo’s website explains, “Join Bindi Irwin as she takes you on the amazing journey from humble beginnings through to where we are today – effecting change in our own backyard and around the globe. It’s a substantial story that includes hundreds of photos from the Irwin family archives – many that have never been seen before.”

Bindi shared the exciting news on Instagram, posting a picture of herself alongside her brother, mom, and husband – each holding a copy of Bindi’s touching book. The book’s cover contains a classic Irwin family photo, with Terri and Steve each holding one of their adorable kids when they were younger.

 

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A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)

The Instagram caption reads, “Almost 5 years in the making. Looking through countless archives, Dad’s old journals, Australia Zoo booklets and photographs tucked away in office corners. It’s finally here. I wrote this book to capture the very essence of our extraordinary 50 year history. Now, I’m sharing this journey with you.”

Bindi’s husband Chandler was quick to show support to his wife, thrilled to see the culmination of years of effort. “Your hard work and dedication to writing this book was amazing,” he commented. “Congratulations sweetheart.”

This has been a great year (stick with me) if you are a Cheetos fan. First, you got Cheetos officially jumping into the Mac and Cheese game, and now you have the very first Cheetos Cook Book, just in time for the holidays.

While many celebrate at home this year (grrr, 2020), at least we have some new delicious ways to do it, like with DIY Dunkaroos or an entire cookbook based on snack food. “BON-APPE-CHEETOS: A Holiday Cookbook by Chester and Friends” is in stores now and features 22 Cheetos-adjacent meals. The cookbook leans on the “friends” heavily, drawing inspiration and assistance from more than a handful of celebrity chefs.

 

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According to the press release from PepsiCo, the cookbook focuses on holiday courses with “cheesy inspiration.” It includes appetizers, side dishes, entrees, desserts, and even one-of-a-kind cocktails (I bet you never considered dumping Cheetos into your booze before). Some of the dishes they are already touting as the standouts include the ‘famous Flamin’ Hot Friendsgiving Turkey’, ‘Chester’s Kickin’ Cornbread Dressing’, ‘Chester’s Cheesy Skillet Corn’ and ‘Good, Better, Best Pumpkin Pie.’

The brand is also raising money for the World Central Kitchen ChefsForAmerica COVID-relief fund with sales of the book. If you’re on the fence, Chester also threw a few recipes from the book online for you to try free, at More Smiles With Every Bite.

The online recipe hub is their way to help the 63 percent of Americans who are cooking at home more to get through the pandemic and are looking for unique recipes to try. A spokesperson said the ‘passionate fans’ of Cheetos have been using the snack food as an ingredient for years, so they wanted to return the favor with these special holiday recipes.

One thing is for sure, this holiday season will be unlike any other, so you might as well throw a Cheetos cocktail into the mix.

Growing up, I saw my fair share of inappropriate movies. I don’t just mean stuff like Basic Instinct and 9 1/2 Weeks – it was a different time! – but also horror movies. Not only did my parents bring me to the theater to see Aliens and The Lost Boys when I was 9 and 10 years old respectively, but I also grew up sneaking horror movies on cable and at sleepovers.

I loved Poltergeist and Child’s Play and the Nightmare on Elm Street series and more. My oldest is now 10 himself, and while I’ve shown him Poltergeist, slasher movies don’t seem like a good idea.

But what about slasher children’s books?

If you think I’m joking, then you haven’t learned about the new children’s book based on Halloween. No, not the holiday we’re celebrating this weekend, but the classic John Carpenter movie that invented the slasher genre and launched multiple sequels and reboots.

David Gordon Green, the director of the last version, which was both a sequel and something of a reboot combined, has released an illustrated children’s book adaptation of the movie, called The Legend of Halloween, and it looks bloody adorable!

“Joining this iconic franchise has been one of the most fulfilling artistic endeavours of my career,” David Gordon Green told Bloody Disgusting. “With this new chapter, we hope to share our own love for Halloween with a new generation of horror fanatics.”

Apparently, they’re coming for our kids! And for adults who are obsessed with the horror classic and just want a collectible. And something to read to their kids!

“I saw the original Halloween when I was about nine years old and it scared the wits out of me. I’ve seen it about fifty times since then and it continues to be my favorite horror film. The mask, the music, the indelible characters, the monologues of pure evil – to me it’s cinematic perfection,” said Onur Tukel, who illustrated the book “Collaborating with David on a children’s book adaptation of Halloween has been demented and surreal, kind of like being simultaneously possessed by Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein and the demon Pazuza.”

Sounds like the perfect bedtime story!

The book will be released in mid-November, and you can pre-order it now at LegendofHalloween.com

They say the universe never stops expanding, and we believe that’s also the case for the Star Wars universe. From novelizations to lackluster Christmas specials to game shows to high-end furniture to BBQ grills, there will never be a shortage of ways to get your Star Wars fix.

One of the most popular expansions to the Star Wars media empire has been The Mandalorian on Disney+, which is loads of fun and jam-packed with some truly dazzling production design. The series even launched a whole subgenre of memes in the form of Baby Yoda.

Earlier this summer, the official Star Wars website announced that it would continue Mandalorian world-building with a new series of published titles. One of those titles is The Art of The Mandalorian, and the cover art by Lucasfilm illustrator Doug Chiang alone makes it a worthy addition to any fan’s coffee table.

The series is also getting its own Marvel comic, as well as a coloring and activity book, magazine, and children’s storybook. Fans of Star Wars can expect The Art of the Mandalorian to hit shelves this December, with more releases slated for winter and spring 2021. Here’s what to look forward to:

• The Art of The Mandalorian (Season One) by Phil Szostak; cover by Doug Chiang (Pre-order for 36.00 for delivery on December 1)
• The Mandalorian: Original Novel (adult novel, Del Rey) by Adam Christopher
• The Mandalorian: The Ultimate Visual Guide (DK) by Pablo Hidalgo
• The Mandalorian: Allies & Enemies – Level Two Reader (DLP) by Brooke Vitale
• The Mandalorian: 8×8 Storybook (title to be revealed later) by Brooke Vitale
• The Mandalorian: Junior Novelization by Joe Schreiber

And for no reason, here’s Baby Yoda again.

We have spoken.

Just a heads up, if you buy stuff using the provided links, The Dad may collect a small commission.

An elementary school teacher in Texas had basically accumulated a personal library for her classroom over the years. Then earlier this year COVID-19 caused her school to move to remote learning. With the closest public library inaccessible for most of the community, she wanted to help fill that void and keep kids interested in reading. And that’s why she started a community library, with more than 2,000 books, in her own garage.

Teachers are amazing people. We see reminders of this constantly, as they go above and beyond for their kids. We see it in the teacher that carried a student confined to a wheelchair on a field trip. We saw it when teachers all over the state of Alabama donated sick days to a colleague caring for his infant with cancer. And we see it in the everyday actions teachers take to help kids learn.

In this case, Jennifer Martin had witnessed reluctant and nonreaders blossom into avid readers after having a positive experience with books, so that’s why she got to work on her garage library. A friend built the shelves and Martin moved in her massive collection of books for kids of all ages.

Since opening the library, they have had more than 60 kids check out books (they can get two at a time, on the honor system). More importantly, it’s a chance for her to connect with her students, and for kids to connect with each other (with masks and social distancing rules in place).

“During this challenging time, it’s even more important to provide opportunities for connection,” she told The Dad. “And there’s really nothing like seeing a student’s excitement about getting a new book!”

Martin has run into some hurdles, such as figuring out the best way to sort the books, but she has been blown away by the support from friends, colleagues, parents, and community members. She said she’s had students she taught 10 or 20 years ago who have been donating books through Amazon or even visited the library to make a donation. Some have even come back to help volunteer at the library.

The library continues to add new titles to the mix, including more Spanish books and continues to thrive. 2020 has brought unique challenges, but it’s also seen more than a few people rise to meet the challenge and help other people.

“Reading provides an adventure for the reader, and now, more than ever, we need adventures,” Martin said.

It’s been approximately 300 years since the much-maligned final season of Game of Thrones, and since then, Benioff and Weiss, the duo behind the HBO juggernaut, have been busy taking on, and hopping off, projects.

First, they announced and then bailed on a series about an alternate history of the United States in which the South won the Civil War (dodged that bullet!), then they signed on with Disney to develop a new Star Wars movie before leaving that behind as well. Despite the way that GoT ended, and their dilly-dallying with projects, the creative duo remains in demand, especially as TV looks to replicate their previous success and find the next new blockbuster. Now they’re looking to China and Netflix.

Benioff and Weiss have signed on with Netflix to develop a new series based on a Chinese sci-fi epic.

‘The Three-Body Problem’ is a science-fiction epic from novelist Liu Cixin.

“Liu Cixin’s trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we’ve read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the universe,” Benioff and Weiss said in a news release for the announcement. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”

The three-book story is definitely ambitious, but if Benioff and Weiss proved anything with Game of Thrones, it’s that they’re know how to adapt an ambitious and sprawling series of novels. It’s when they no longer have the novels to adapt that things go awry!

According to Polygon, they’ll have some help, too, with Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy, True Blood) joining the pair to assist in adapting the book and its two sequels, The Dark Forest and Death’s End.

“It’s a privilege to be adapting one of the great masterpieces of Chinese science-fiction,” Woo said in a statement. “The Three-Body Problem trilogy combines so many things I love: rich, multi-layered characters and true existential stakes — all told as an elegant and deeply human allegory. I’m thrilled to kick off my partnership with Netflix with this accomplished creative team.”

Netflix seems excited too, with Netflix VP of Original Series, Peter Friedlander explaining what led him to the project.

“Although it may seem like a familiar premise — the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization — Chinese author Liu Cixin’s ability to interweave science with fiction made his vision of the future and extra-terrestrial contact feel more realistic than any other science fiction I’ve read. At the same time, I was also drawn in by the story of all of humanity vulnerable to the same external threat and how this both unifies and divides humans,” Friedlander said.

It sounds pretty cool, and Netflix seems like the perfect place to develop an expensive sci-fi series. Especially one that needs extra time to finish up so that fans don’t revolt and start a petition!

LeBron James is getting ready to lead the Lakers through the NBA playoffs, but he’s also making news off the court as …a children’s book author. That’s right, James is continuing the outreach and work he’s done for America’s youth by promoting his message of positivity and hard work in a new book for kids called “I Promise.”

LeBron has been a great role model for kids on the court, but he’s also got a softer side, as we’ve seen him loving the sports dad life watching his own kids play. And more than that, he’s been a strong proponent of giving back and investing in his community, as evidenced through the creation of his I, Promise school in Akron, which is paying the college tuition for its graduating students.

LeBron’s kids’ book, which was illustrated by Nina Mata, is a picture book that focuses on the types of promises the students at his school make every day.

In a promo video, James said the school was inspired by the big dreams of kids in his hometown and around the world.

“At the start of every school year, and repeated each morning, all students make a set of promises to themselves, just like those in this book,” he said. “Setting goals, working hard and holding yourself accountable are the first steps to success.”

In the original press release announcing the upcoming book, James said books have the ability to inspire and bring people together, and he wanted to bring this story to parents reading with their kids. He’s also working on a novel aimed for older kids (middle-schoolers, basically).

“Most importantly, we wanted to make sure these stories are ones that every single kid can see themselves in,” he said.

It’s a cool move from the NBA great. He doesn’t have to do this. He is making plenty of money on the court, but he’s working to have a greater impact in his community and to be a positive role model for kids everywhere.

You can grab a copy right now for $14 on Amazon.

Just a heads up, if you buy stuff using the provided links, The Dad may collect a small commission.

Talking to your kids about COVID-19 can be tough. None of us have lived through a global pandemic before, so there’s not exactly a playbook for this. Four high school students in California are trying to make it easier, as they created a COVID Coloring Book to help kids understand the basics of the coronavirus.

The four students, Lauryn Hong, Ella Matlock, Sofia Migliazza, and Erin Rogers, created a business plan for a hypothetical book as part of an economics class project. After some encouragement from their teachers, they turned it into a real thing.

 

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If you ordered a COVID Coloring Book off of the new Shopify website, your order will be getting shipped out hopefully next weekend! We are expecting a few thousand books but it’s taking a little longer than usual to get them printed because it’s such a large order 🙂

A post shared by Al E. Gator 🐊 (@bethechangecoloringco) on Jul 27, 2020 at 11:14am PDT

“We knew we wanted to do something for kids,” said Lauryn Hong said to the Washington Post. “We also knew we wanted to give back to the community. We considered doing a mask-decorating kit, but we decided on a coloring book because we wanted the kids to learn something. Covid is really confusing, even for us, and the coloring book is a way to keep them entertained and help them learn.”

 

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Thank you for all of the orders! Your books will be delivered sometime next week. 🐊💚💛 #SomeGoodNews

A post shared by Al E. Gator 🐊 (@bethechangecoloringco) on Jun 30, 2020 at 4:12pm PDT

They started ‘Be The Change Coloring Co.’ to create and sell the book. They expected to sell a couple of dozen to friends and family and planned to donate 40% of the proceeds to charities. They have since sold more than 7,000(!) books and donated more than $12,000 to charities including the CDC Coronavirus relief fund and local hospitals.

“I never thought that we would be at this stage in the business. I didn’t really think we would really have a business at all because it was supposed to be just a school project,” Rogers told a local news outlet. ”It’s really amazing to know that we’ve gotten to reach out to so many people.”

 

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We created a little video with a summary of what our business is about, please watch! 💛 + Erin’s editing with Sofia’s nonexistent feet

A post shared by Al E. Gator 🐊 (@bethechangecoloringco) on Jun 11, 2020 at 2:15pm PDT

According to their website, their main goals for the project are to educate young kids on the extreme issues of today and to give back to the community. The characters Al E. Gator, Wally the Narwhal, and Sam the Snail help kids entertained and informed about what’s going on.

You can buy a COVID Coloring Book for your kids at bethechangecoloringco.com

Game of Thrones has been off the air for over a year. Since the much-maligned final season, HBO has scrapped one potential prequel series and is making steady progress on another. Meanwhile, a pandemic hit, forcing everyone to stay inside, including the Song of Ice and Fire saga’s author, George R.R. Martin. You’d think being quarantined would force the man to finally finish his long-delayed sixth book, The Winds of Winter.

But you’d be wrong. Not even the threat of jail – a threat he put upon himself – has been motivation enough!

Last March, Martin wrote on his blog that if The Winds of Winter wasn’t out by July 29th, 2019 – TODAY – then fans had permission to imprison him. Welp, I hope you guys have your handcuffs ready because my man didn’t make his own deadline.

From his blog entry in May of last year:

But I tell you this — if I don’t have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done.

Before you go get him, he backtracked on that just last month on the aforementioned blog. Martin gave an update on his progress and some insight into what quarantine has been like. He was forced to cancel a trip to New Zealand, but even that hasn’t sped things along. Not when the book is this huge.

If nothing else, the enforced isolation has helped me write. I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress. I finished a new chapter yesterday, another one three days ago, another one the previous week. But no, this does not mean that the book will be finished tomorrow or published next week. It’s going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go. Please do not give any credence to any of the click-bait websites that like to parse every word of my posts as if they were papal encyclicals to divine hidden meanings.”

Maybe he forgot about his own deadline, or maybe he didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. Maybe no one did. But the internet doesn’t forget.

George R.R. Martin previously said that if ‘THE WINDS OF WINTER’ isn’t out by July 29, 2020, fans can imprison him…

Today is July 29, the time has come!

(Source: https://t.co/ZakeRkPXZc) pic.twitter.com/I6tPHkHVgk

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 29, 2020

My birthday gift is throwing George R.R. Martin in prison for his crimes against us all https://t.co/3dOfwlad0o

— Arielle✨✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿✨ACAB✨SMTV 2021 (@khiethy) July 29, 2020

It’s frustrating for fans everywhere, but I can’t really blame the guy. I haven’t exactly spent the quarantine lighting the world on fire. I barely turn the lights on at all! These GoT books are huge, sprawling works with tons of characters, and my man became a celebrity in the midst of writing them. Cut the guy some slack.

Besides, the more space there is between his books and the TV show, the better the books are likely to be received. The man may know what he’s doing!