I don’t quite get the logic of your reasoning, although I think it’s to your credit to take the time to give such a thought-out response. Sanjaya wasn’t a winner or runner-up but he certainly was the most controversial, polarizing, and talked-about contestant ever in the history of the show. That has to be good for something. And love him or hate him, but there’s definitely something there that keeps his “Fanjayas” so devoted.

I can’t predict if the book will or won’t be a bestseller, but I do think there’s a definite audience for it.

There’s a lot that went into my thoughts about this (some of which I’m going to try and explain in a future post). But here’s the simple version.

As I read the book deal news every day, there are deals I don’t agree with or that aren’t my cup of tea. But in many of those cases, I understand why it makes good business sense for a publisher to order up a book.

I mean, I don’t understand the whole Jonas Brothers phenomenon, but that’s cool, as long as 42 million Disney mice don’t chew to me pieces, I’m fine with them. But I do recognize there is a massive audience for the band so it made sense when they signed a book deal for more than half-a-mill back in May.

Likewise, with let’s say the winners of American Idol, I realize there is a huge audience so Taylor Hicks and all those guys get book deals. Even a runner-up like Clay Aiken will put out a book (and his former publisher would later comment that Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was “more pleasant to deal with than Aiken”). That’s understandable.

So I understand those books, even if they’re not my thing.

But in the case of this Malakar, he wasn’t a winner, he wasn’t a runner up, and he wasn’t taken seriously. He was the butt of a ton of jokes. I don’t watch American Idol, but all the commentary in the media and online was essentially laughing at the guy.

Let’s go back to my opinions as I peruse the book deal news. As I mentioned, a lot of them might not be my taste, but I get them. However, there are times when I see some deal — like this one — regarding someone of questionable “celebrity” or renown and it just makes me spit out my morning Mt. Dew.

I’m perfectly willing to acknowledge that Malakar may turn in a fantastic book that examines his place in pop culture and his reaction to the criticism. His co-author has done some cool things before.

And I completely understand that I have a lot of guilty pleasures as well. Hell, if there were a cool book about the late Ratt guitar player Robbin Crosby, I’d be all over it while everyone else would question my judgment.

Ultimately, the whole thing just gets back to personal taste and reactions. I didn’t leave the possiblity of a good book from Malakar in my original post simply because I wanted to stick with the initial feeling of “you gotta be kidding me…”

I’ll explain more about my thoughts shortly…

I actually had an ending to this post where I said that maybe it would be good, poignant, and insightful which I ultimately removed.

But maybe you’re right. Maybe the book will be self-aware, funny, and explore the nature of his fame.