The power of 'Today'

I'm told that on Wednesday night, the new travel anthology-for-a-cause My California ranked in the 20,000s on Amazon. On Thursday morning, a contributor to the book, critic David Kipen, mentioned it in his summer reading guide on "The Today Show." When the spot aired in the east, the ranking climbed to 3,000, then to under 1,000 after Today aired here. Later in the day it got as high as 356, and as I write this a day later it's still at a very healthy 1,565. Next Tuesday, MediaBistro.com is throwing a party for the book at the restaurant in LACMA. The stories, editing and publishing of My California were all donated to benefit the California Arts Council.

Also in the local book world, Mark Sarvas has turned his blog, The Elegant Variation, over to Stephen Elliott for the day.