Spotted!

Hello all you Upper East Siders... and Lower West Siders... and people in the Beach areas... and Mountain people (Mountain people? GREAT. Now I'll have "One Tin Soldier" in my head FOREVER.) It's time for me to tell you about another awesome book.

And... once again, in the nature of full disclosure, I have to say that it's written by one of my favourite people in the universe. But again, that doesn't mean it's not AWESOME. Because it is.

Gossip Girl is one of the most addictive shows on television. Some people call it a "guilty pleasure," but it's not. It's just a pleasure, period. I LOVE it, and I don't care who knows it. I don't feel like my TV cred goes downhill if I say that. My husband does, but that's because he's never bothered to watch it (this from a guy who never missed an ep of the original 90210... go figure). It boasts wickedly funny writing, crisp dialogue, great acting, and such a rollercoaster of emotions it puts most soap operas to shame. Sure, sometimes it's over the top (Serena KILLED someone? Really? No, not really) but that's all part of the fun.

Crissy Calhoun is a friend of mine who shares that unabashed love of Gossip Girl... so much so that when she emailed me last summer to say, "So... do you think there might actually be room for a Gossip Girl book?" I knew there would be no better person to write it. Gossip Girl is that show that critics love, but no one really thinks of it as deep or intellectual. After you've read Crissy's new book, Spotted: Your One and Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl, you'll think twice about that.

Written in the same fun, brassy, sassy style of the show, Spotted is not only an episode guide that follows the development of each character (particularly Jenny in season 1 and Blair in season 2), but it looks at the series of YA novels, the genesis of the show from book series to TV show, and has a lot of funny sidebars that kept me giggling while I was working on it. Calhoun has done her research, showing us that there's a LOT more to Gossip Girl than just being a show about teen angst. (Remember all those people who thought Buffy was a kid's show? Yeah... right.)

With amazing photos (the two colour sections will knock your socks off), fun and witty writing, and exhibiting a true love of the show, Spotted is a book for every Gossip Girl fan. While I already have an early copy (friendsies!), copies will be available in stores very shortly.

I also want to mention that if you're in the Toronto area, or plan to be on September 14 (the night of the show's S3 premiere), ECW Press will be hosting a book launch for the title, and I will be there. Not only can you buy a copy of the book and get it signed by the author, BUT the premiere will be screened at the event, so you can ooh, ahh, laugh, and groan out loud with fellow GGers. The event will be held on Monday, September 14, 2009, at the Queen and Beaver House at 36 Elm Street. The event starts at 8, and beginning at 9pm you can watch the season 3 premiere!!

I hope to see some of you there! And if you can't make it, follow the link above and get a copy. You won't regret it. In the meantime, check out Ms. Calhoun's amazing blog, where she'll be posting about the show all season, the same way I do Lost.