Literary Sunday Nights

I often complain about how everyone in the world who achieves a level of fame in this country gets to write (or co-author) a book. Win the Super Bowl, get a book deal. Sleep with a politician, get a book deal. Star in a reality show, get a book deal.

The vast majority of time, that’s a one way street. They don’t let me quarterback the New York Giants just because I wrote a good book. They’re not going to let Stephen Graham Jones rock out with Aerosmith because he has a lengthy list of publications.

So I’m happy to spend Sunday evenings with literary shows on the Travel Channel.

Although he was a chef first, it was work as a writer that brought attention to Anthony Bourdain. His show “No Reservations” has been a mainstay on the Travel Channel for years.

Now, it is joined by Steven Rinella’s show “The Wild Within.” Rinella is the author of American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon and The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine. You might remember him from a Slushpile.net interview we did. Rinella presents an interesting take of hunting, arguing that hunters were the original locavores and conservationists.

I’m just happy to see writers get some screentime…