Fame Facts for Free ... at Hallwalls
Queen City native Jake Halpern writes snappy prose about the glitterati ... and those obsessed with them (nearly all of us, guilty pleasure admitted or not). Tomorrow night, January 11, at Hallwalls, he reads from his book Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction.
Halpern, an NPR commentator and journalist, begins his book with the rise of rapper J-Kwon, who began as Jerrell Jones–chronicled for The New Yorker: “In the span of just a few months I witnessed J-Kwon evolve from a marginalized teenager into a bona fide celebrity.”
The book’s first few chapters also chart the polishing of Halpern, self-deprecatingly writing of his formative years in Buffalo as a moon boot-wearing, “polar parka”-enveloped kid. He deftly evolves from potential starstruck fan to potent star-centric reporter.
In Fame Junkies Halpern glowingly writes of local talent maven Susan Makai, owner of Personal Best on Harlem Road and a former Miss Buffalo, weather lady, Buffalo Jill, and rep for John Robert Powers talent agency. Makai helped launch SI swimsuit star Jessica White and continues to guide those looking for fame and fortune.
The reading, co-sponsored by Talking Leaves Books, is slated to take place in the sanctuary of Asbury Hall, aka Ani’s Church, at 7 p.m. This event is free and will end with a book signing: copies of Fame Junkies will be for sale at the venue.
We all get the basic message here: fame is sexy, that movie stars and others in positions of power exude all things luxe. But it's still supermarket tabloid Irresistible to not look, read, get sucked in.