Tori and Candy Spelling Battle for the Bestseller List

The Spellings are spelling it like it is.

Candy Spelling, the widow of the late TV producer Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Love Boast, Beverly Hills 90210) recently penned a book, dishing on her glammy Hollywood life. This comes after her famous daughter, Tori, had a #1 bestselling book last year called “sTori Telling," in which she portrayed her mom a somewhat of a Mommie Dearest. The book did nothing to help the mother-daughter’s already strained relationship, which has been especially distant since Aaron’s death in 2006.

In fact, during her appearance on 20/20 last week, Candy Spelling revealed that she hasn’t even met Tori’s nine-month old daughter Stella yet, and revealed she doesn’t even know where Tori lives. Sad, sad story, especially since Candy is the only living grandparent for grandchildren Liam and Stella.

So what will Candy’s book be about? “Stories from Candyland," which will be in stores on March 31, will give readers a glimpse of the glamorous life of Mrs. Spelling, from her “trophy wife” life in their 56,000 square foot mansion, “The Manor,"  (which is currently on the market with an asking price of 150 million) to Candy’s own personal insecurities and problems (hint: she’s a hoarder). While Candy is carefully to say that “Stories from Candyland” is not a tell-all book, there’s sure to be mention of her troubled relationship with her daughter. After all, she wants to sell books, doesn’t she?

Meanwhile, Tori Spelling’s latest book, titled “Mommywood” is due out on April 14, just two weeks after her mother’s literary debut. After the success of her first book (which was a tell-all), Spelling is back with hilarious tales of being a famous mom in the spotlight. With a baby and a toddler in her house, Spelling is the harried working mom. “Mommywood” promises to be another bestseller for Tori Spelling.

So with an estranged mother and daughter set to release books within weeks of each other, the burning question is: Who will make it to #1 in the New York Times bestseller list first?

Classic Movie Review: You've Got Mail

Not just another sappy love story, You’ve Got Mail is a sweet movie that’s no chick flick.

The 1998 movie You’ve Got Mail is the third pairing of leading man Tom Hanks with an adorable Meg Ryan. Before You’ve Got Mail, Hanks and Ryan appeared together in the mega hit Sleepless in Seattle and then again in the forgettable Joe Verus the Volcano. In You’ve Got Mail, Hanks and Ryan show us once again why they’re a match made in heaven.

With a supporting cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Dabney Coleman, Jean Stapleton, and Dave Chappelle, You’ve Got Mail is a remake of the 1940 movie, The Shop Around the Corner. (That version starred Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan).

The updated version of the story is about two New Yorkers, Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) and Joe Fox (Hanks). Arch rivals when it comes to business, he’s a superstore millionaire who threatens to shut down her tiny children’s bookstore. What these enemies don’t realize is that they’ve been communicating with each other anonymously online for months in an internet chat room.

Their messages to each other are playful and fun, and since both of them are already in relationships with other people it's just harmless flirting. Greg Kinnear is a hoot as Kathleen Kelly’s narcissistic writer boyfriend, while Parker Posey plays the whiny, grating, younger girlfriend of Joe Fox.

But as fate (or Hollywood) will have it, both couples' relationships end and Joe proposes that he and his online pal meet. When he peeks in the window of the cafe that they have planned to meet at, he is stunned to see that his anonymous online love interest is Kathleen Kelly.

At that point he begins his plan to sweep Kathleen off of her feet, even though she hates him. In time she forgives him for forcing her book store to close down and the rest is…..well, I don’t want to completely give the ending away.

You’ve Got Mail is directed by Nora Ephron. It’s a sweet romantic comedy that I recommend for a lazy Sunday afternoon. With just you, and maybe a box of Kleenex for the ending!

'House of Hilton' Review: Everything You Didn't Want to Know About the Hiltons

The Hilton name has been associated with both wealth and scandal for generations. So it’s no wonder that a tell-all book about the famous family was in order.

Author Jerry Oppenheimer is known for his scandalous tell-all books. From his unauthorized Martha Stewart biography called “Just Desserts” to his take on a presidential marriage in “State of the Union: Inside the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton," Oppenheimer is a master at researching and finding enough disgruntled people to give up the dirt. So when it was time to release a tabloidy tell-all  about the Hilton clan, Oppenheimer gave it his all.

The most famous Hilton, by far, is Paris Hilton. But Oppenheimer’s “House of Hilton"  talks surprisingly little about the celebutante and her sister Nicky. Instead, the book focuses on the maternal and paternal family heritage, supposedly to explain why Paris and Nicky ended up being famous for no apparent reason. The book, which is divided into two parts, focuses mostly on Paris Hilton’s grandparents on each side of her family tree.

The maternal side of the book has its share of scandalous family tidbits, although the key players aren’t all that well known. Kathy Hilton (the former Kathy Avanzino Richards) is the mother of Paris. According to the story, she was conceived in the back of a Chevy, resulting in a short-lived shotgun wedding between her mother and dad, Larry Avanzino. Little Kathy married well, tying the knot with rich boy Rick Hilton in 1979. But it was no CInderella story, at least not according to this book.

As a young girl, Kathy Hilton dabbled in modeling and acting. Her mother, dubbed Big Kathy, insisted on it. Big Kathy had two more daughters, Kim and Kyle, with her second husband, Ken Richards. Both Kim and Kyle Richards were hugely successful child actors, appearing in 1970’s Disney movies and TV series like “Nanny and the Professor” (Kim) and “Little House on the Prairie” (Kyle). Poor Kathy never measured up to her kid sisters'success, so she fell back on her mama’s supposed advice: Marry rich.

Indeed, Big Kathy married four times, seeking out rich men who could provide her with the lifestyle she craved. She was also a relentless stage mother, according to Oppenheimer’s sources. Some of the scoops revealed (like how Big Kathy hired a young man to give her daughter Kathy "lessons” in a van) are pretty outrageous. The bulk of the first section of the book is about Big Kathy, her antics, and the fallout for her daughters. Since Big Kathy was the grandmother of Paris and Nicky Hilton, the information is relevant, but it’s also overkill, since most of the first half of the book focuses on her and she wasn’t even a Hilton.

Part 2 of the book isn’t much better, focusing on the paternal Hilton side, most notably Paris’ great uncle, bad boy Conrad “Nicky “Hilton Jr. Linked with such beauties as Natalie Wood and Elizabeth Taylor, Nicky Hilton lived hard and died young. His hard partying antics are detailed, as well as his struggles with alcohol abuse. The most interesting part of his story is his ill-fated marriage to Elizabeth Taylor. There are also some tidbits about hotel founder Conrad Hilton and his marriage to Zsa Zsa Gabor, the former ‘Green Acres” star.

The book includes a very short section of photographs, including a promo for Paris Hilton’s infamous bedroom tape from a few years back.

Basically, “House of Hilton” is a mindless read, maybe a good beach read when you’re not really trying to retain too much information. The writing style is fine, as Oppenheimer has it down to a formula, it’s just the material that's a little weak.

And when all is said and done, most of the Hiltons are no different from Paris. With the exception of hotel founder Conrad and the Richards child stars, the rest of the bunch are all really famous for….nothing.