Would An Insanely Cackling Woman Entice You To Buy A $25.95 Hardcover?

A New York author has figured out a viral-marketing scheme that at least worked well enough to get herself, and her “not-so-happily-ever-after” novel, into The New York Times: She’s hiring female actresses to pretend-read her book around the city, and laugh while doing so in order to draw attention to themselves — and, subsequently, the book they’re carrying. “Do you want it to be more, like, a natural, like, actual laugh, or, like, a ‘That woman is crazy.’ “ That Belle was edited to seemingly answer that all she cared about was her actresses’ ability to laugh loudly and disruptively enough to make people gape — and catch a glimpse of the unfortunately titled The Seven Year Bitch — makes me think that these women should have asked for a lot more than the eight bucks an hour offered to them. Like maybe a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses? Since “replenishable personal dignity” isn’t yet available in convenient kit form and all.