BEA scoops up Shatner books

William Shatner is a multifaceted cultural icon. He's not just "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk, or the Priceline spokesman, or a recording artist (whose 2004 CD was titled "Has Been"), or that guy on "Boston Legal," or the guy who in a 1963 episode of "The Twilight Zone" spotted a monster on the wing of a plane. He's also an author -- credited on more than 20 books -- with a new autobiography, "Up Till Now."

Shatner was at the BookExpo America convention in Los Angeles on Saturday to sign the hardcover editions; fans queued up early on the convention floor. The publisher had brought along 260 copies, which were handed out to those waiting in line. It took the company's publicists 26 minutes to pass them all out, but there weren't enough books to go around.

That's quite a rate: 10 books per minute, or one Shatner autobiography every six seconds.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo credit: Carolyn Kellogg