The new 48-page book follows her last offering, Sex, which had plenty of her nude pictures. The English Roses, however, is meant for young children and is the first of five illustrated books to be produced by Madonna for Callaway Editions. It centres on rivalry and friendship among schoolgirls in contemporary London.
Steve Martin, whose last film -- the Ashok Amritraj-produced Bringing Down The House -- reaped an impressive $200 million worldwide, also drew about 600 people to the signing of his second novel, Pleasure Of My Company: A Novel On Tuesday. The 144-page book, published by Hyperion, a division of Walt Disney, is one of the slimmest novels in recent years.
But there was a sharp difference in the events held at two branches of the Barnes & Nobel chain of bookstores.
At Madonna's launch, only about 250 people were allowed into a cordoned area of the bookshop through a lottery while the rest waited at the bookshop and outside in a light drizzle. Some gossiped about her sex life and her audacious French kissing of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the recently held MTV Awards. Some hoped Madonna, the mother of two, would still make a good mother.
Except a few reporters and television photographers, the press wasn't welcome at Madonna's book reading. Even The New York Times was kept out. Madonna, according to the readers, spent couple of hours inside the heavily guarded room where she read out couple of pages from the book. The copies sold were all pre-signed. According to some of the booksellers, she spent just about 12 seconds greeting each family.
Many fans got a super-quick glimpse of the entertainer as she waved at them and rushed back into the special hall. Even then, some of her die-hard fans were animated.
"Her recent movies may be crap," said a young woman who felt it was particularly sad because Madonna's husband, Guy Ritchie, directed Swept Away. "But she is still quite a big name in music. It is not easy to write her off."
An older man grinned, "Wonder what kind of yoga she does. She looks sexier each day." Madonna is about 35 while Martin is around 58.
Martin's book, Pleasure Of My Company revolves around a loner named Daniel who often passes the time in Santa Monica filling out contest applications, counting ceiling tiles and estimating the wattage of light bulbs. His slowly growing attachment to Clarissa and Teddy gives him the courage to engage the world outside, to have fun and to seek out friendship and love.
At Martin's reading, it was first-come first-serve for the 400 seats that were available. Others stood in the sidelines or rushed to the spacious coffee shop on another floor where two television sets beamed the genial actor reading for about 15 minutes. He greeted the audience by pointing to the dozens of people standing at the back of the cordoned part of the hall. "This is the longest standing ovation I have ever got," chuckled the Oscars host.
But some of the geniality began wearing off as the questions that followed the reading were rather boring. At one point Martin exasperatedly asked, "Does somebody have a really good question? I mean, these questions are good but something better...?"
One reader wanted to know what he enjoyed most, writing books or acting? Martin, who has been acting for more than 25 years in such hit films as Father Of The Bride and Parenthood and turned to writing plays and novels less than a decade ago, said "Neither or both."
"Are you happy?" asked another reader. Martin must have wondered for a second if he were attending a New Age or a Christian revival meeting. "Do I look unhappy?" he asked, sounding bored.
Martin will be seen next year in Shopgirl, directed by London-based Anand Tucker. The film is based on Martin's first novel. In December, Cheaper By The Dozen will see him as the eccentric head of a family in Cheaper.
As for Madonna, no movie offer has been inked. So look out for gossip, children's books and some hot music.
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