Hoot: Movie Tie-In

Richie's Pick's: HOOT

My eyes are a little bit moist after having just finished HOOT by Carl Hiaasen. As I write this, I'm perched upon the royal blue carpeting between two of the dividers that stretch the length of a football field and herd us slowly in the direction of Jean Auel. Jean is sitting on a stool behind a table just beyond the goal line. I arrived here at the Javits Convention Center around 6:15 this morning--that's 3:15 A.M. California time, my body reminds me--in order to obtain one of the relatively limited tickets that allow entrance to this line for the purpose of receiving a smile and a signed copy of the new book from Ms. Auel. David Halberstam's line will be my next stop. But at the moment I am feeling like my best literary score of the day is the additional advance copy of HOOT that my friends at Random House are graciously permitting me to take back to California. Now, I can lend out a copy (first to my faithful webmaster) and keep another to eventually put away in my collection of the really good ones. Yes, HOOT is one that you'll want for your collection, too. I was just about to say that I can't wait to get home and start reading HOOT to my kids and Shari, but that wouldn't be particularly true. Thanks to another publisher friend, I am going to see Dee Dee Ramone and the Tom Tom Club perform at a party tonight, so frankly I CAN wait a little while to get back to California. But when I DO get there, you can be sure that I'm immediately sitting everyone down to share this great tale. First, you have the owls: "Walking back toward the patrol car, the policeman stumbled and fell down. Curley grabbed him under one arm and hoisted him to his feet. 'Stupid owls,' said Curley. The policeman brushed the dirt and grass burrs off his uniform. 'You say owls?' Curley gestured at a hole in the ground. It was as big around as one of Mother Paula's famous buttermilk flapjacks. A mound of loose white sand was visible at the entrance. 'That's what you tripped over,' Curley info...