It seems like there is a lot of book news being reported today. A big announcement was made that former FBI Director James Comey is cashing in again on a book deal. This time it is a two-book deal and the books are to be crime novels, “inspired by real work he has done. There is a book coming out the week after the mid-term elections in November by Michelle Obama, who is doing a short book tour to promote it. And, there is a book written by husband and wife New York Times reporter Peter Baker and New Yorker staff writer and CNN global affairs analyst Susan Glasser which is just out. As you might guess, their book is about the Trump years in the White House. Shocker, I know.

Comey and Obama prove just how short the leap is from public service and government work to being rewarded with book deals. Like Michelle Obama, Comey likes to write about himself. He wrote two autobiographies and now he is branching out to crime novels, inspired by his own work, of course. “A Higher Loyalty” was called a best-seller hit when it came out in 2018. The left anointed him St. James and there was a media blitz to promote the book. Book sales were reported to be 600,000 copies across all formats in the first week. That number was double the sales of Hillary Clinton’s post-election book. To promote his second book, “Saving Justice”, the virtual book tour didn’t go so well. He hit that sweet spot where he pissed off Trump supporters by saying Trump had to be held accountable for the January 6 riot and he pissed off The Resistance by saying Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted, just sanctioned, whatever that was supposed to mean.

So, now he’s trying his hand at fiction. According to Mysterious Press, Comey’s debut novel is titled “Central Park West.” A writer for Vulture got a little snarky about the announcement.

The synopsis for the upcoming crime mystery feels very self-referential: It’s about an assistant U.S. Attorney (I’m certain Comey sees himself in this supposedly badass prosecutor) whose mob case gets derailed after new revelations might tie the shocking murder of a local politician to the mafia. Write what you know?

It wouldn’t be the first time someone compared the workings of the FBI or an U.S. Attorney to the mafia, right? Or, is that only in my house? Either way, you get the picture. Comey will fancy himself as the hero once again. The Mysterious Press, an imprint of Penzler Publishers is the publisher. The book is scheduled to be published next spring.

“I’m excited to take readers inside fascinating worlds I’ve come to know from my time in government and the private sector,” Comey, who served an assistant U.S. Attorney from 1996-2001, said in a statement. “These stories are fiction, but, inspired by real work I’ve done, they will offer a rarely-seen view of interesting people and institutions.”

The next thing, which I think readers are really going to enjoy. https://t.co/OyWUAQx8hd

— James Comey (@Comey) September 20, 2022

Whatever.

Michelle Obama is announcing a book tour to promote her new book, “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.” The publisher is Crown. The tour only involves six cities, all Democrat-friendly places.

The tour will kick off in Washington in November on the book’s release day, before heading to stops in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

“I am so excited to share that I will be heading across the country soon to talk with you all about my new book,” Obama, 58, said in a statement.

“This book means so much to me — it’s a collection of perspectives and practices I’ve used to keep me afloat amid uncertainty. On this tour, I’ll be sharing some personal stories and lessons that have helped me along my path, and I can’t wait to tell you more,” she said.

Her own pearls of wisdom mean so much to her. She’s “looking forward to making some new connections” and, “seeing some familiar faces from the last tour.” Yeah, but will celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon appear with her this time around?

Last but not least, today I read about a new book out by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. It’s a monster of a book, according to reports. “Weighing in at more than 650 pages, the text and notes are daunting to behold.” NPR’s Ron Elving (I know) reviewed “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021.” The Poynter Report writes that the book claims FNC’s Bret Baier was ‘ready to give in’ to Trump’s pressure to rescind Fox’s election call in Arizona.

According to the book, Baier wrote an email to Jay Wallace, the president and executive editor at Fox News, that said, “The Trump campaign was really pissed. This situation is getting uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. I keep having to defend this on air.”

He accused Fox News’ Decision Desk of “holding on for pride,” according to the book. The book went on to say that Baier wrote in his email, “It’s hurting us. The sooner we pull it — even if it gives us major egg — and we put it back in his column the better we are in my opinion.”

What’s odd is Fox News never put Arizona in the win column for Trump.

Baker and Glasser called it “stunning,” adding, “The leading news anchor for Fox was pushing not just to say Arizona was too close to call but to pretend that the president had won it.”

As it turned out, Fox News’ call was correct. Biden won Arizona.

Through a Fox News spokesperson, Baier said, “The full context of the e-mail is not reported in this book. I never said the Trump campaign ‘was really pissed’ – that was from an external email that I referenced within my note. This was an email sent AFTER election night. In the immediate days following the election, the vote margins in Arizona narrowed significantly and I communicated these changes to our team along with what people on the ground were saying and predicting district by district. I wanted to analyze at what point (what vote margin) would we have to consider pulling the call for Biden. I also noted that I fully supported our decision desk’s call and would defend it on air.”

Glasser responded to Baier’s response by saying, “We stand by the reporting in our book, and would note that his statement does not deny the accuracy of the email we reported. In addition, it’s especially notable that Baier wrote in the email that it would be better for Fox News ‘to put it (Arizona) back in (Trump’s) column.’ In fact, Arizona was never in Trump’s column.”

A Fox News spokesperson said, “FOX News made an election night call of historic magnitude and was first to do so. We stood by the call in the days that followed, it was proven correct, and other news organizations eventually joined us.”

Welp. Things may get a little awkward around the water cooler at FNC, or at the next tony cocktail party in D.C. Funny how The Resistance are still trying to cash in on stories about Trump and adding FNC into the mix for good measure.