Enjoy Six Days in the Hamptons, For Only 28 Bucks

I got to do a book review for the East Hampton Star, a novel from a hot author that is set out in the Hamptons. The book is The Guest and the author is Emma Cline. It tells the story of Alex, who's an escort in NYC, has a falling out with her employer, and meets up with a wealthy guy in a bar, who invites her to stay at his Hamptons place. 

Things go wrong with the Hamptons guy, because things always go wrong for Alex, and he boots her out. She's convinced all will be right again in six days, when she shows up at his Labor Day party, and he presumably regrets tossing her out. 

And so sketchy Alex has six days to kill in the Hamptons. 

It's a fun book. 

Cline's previous novel is The Girls, loosely based on Charles Manson and his cult, about a group of teen girls staying with an aspiring musician with a bit of charm on a ranch in southern California. 

Cline ventures to the Hamptons May 25, for a reading at the East Hampton library. 

Hanging With Al Roker in His Neck of the Woods

I had the opportunity to chat with Al Roker for a profile, with the trade mag Broadcasting + Cable inducting the Today icon into its Hall of Fame. 

Roker spoke about growing up in Queens and studying at SUNY Oswego, in upstate New York, where he picked up his first TV gig, despite a professor telling him he had a face for radio. 

Roker eventually got hired at WNBC New York, and from there, landed at the Today show. Co-anchor Savanna Guthrie said of Al, “He’s the joy, he’s the spice, he’s the salt that makes the food tasty,” she said. “Al brings energy, humor and warmth. He’s our sunshine.”

The weather and feature anchor is up pretty darn early during the week, but he's not complaining. “My dad drove a bus eight to 10 hours a day,” Roker said. “This is one of the greatest jobs going.”