"Chicken Soup for the Soul" -- the line of inspirational books launched by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen in 1993 -- has become a cottage industry of sorts. With 170 titles as diverse as "Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul" or "Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause," the books are supposed to encourage the crestfallen and bring hope to the hopeless.
It was only a matter of time before the brand found fodder in one of the culture's other great brokers of despair and dreams: "American Idol." The just-released "Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul" contains 74 stories from some of the Fox television show's famous and forgettable contestants, producers, fans and crew -- all waxing on about on how "Idol" has touched-changed-inspired their lives.
