Sideshow: A best seller but no writer

"Reading is my favorite hobby," Fox News'

Glenn Beck

tells USA Today. But, he adds, "I don't write. I speak. I get bogged down in writing." That's a weird statement from the conservative talk-show host, who is author of the best seller,

Glenn Beck's Common Sense

. Beck, 46, whose first novel,

The Overton Window

, is due Tuesday, says he hired a team of writers to listen to him speak and turn his words into prose.

Overton

tells of a federal conspiracy that erodes our individual rights on its bloodthirsty quest to bring about a new world order. Beck calls the book "faction" (fiction inspired by fact) and says he's not scared of book critics: "They always say my nonfiction books are fiction. This one, they'll say is fact." Beck, who runs a $32 million-a-year media empire, shares the secret of his success: He sells big by packaging his beliefs in "consumable formats in order to try to get as many people outside the box and consider opinions they never considered before."

Authorities in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus, which became an independent nation 18 years ago, are nervous about Sir

Elton John

's planned June 26 concert in the capital, Minsk.

News outlet Queerty.com reports that the nation's Public Council for Morality has asked Sir Elton's reps to send videos of the "Tiny Dancer" warbler's previous performances.

The council, which nixed a show by Rammstein on grounds the band would promote immorality, plans to review the footage before it signs off on the show. So, is it looking for immoral dance moves? Queerty.com notes that Belarus does not have a good reputation for gay rights.

The openly gay Sir Elton's world tour has sparked controversy and anger in a number of conservative nations, including Morocco.

Speaking of Sir Elton, Fulton County, Ga., Superior Court Judge

Kimberly Esmond Adams

on Monday dismissed the case of

Neal Horsley

, 65, a Georgia man who had been accused of threatening the singer. Horsley, who picketed outside Sir Elton's Atlanta condo with a sign that read, "Why Elton John Must Die," was angry that the singer claimed Jesus was gay.

Also on Monday, a Los Angeles court sentenced convicted stalker Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr. to the maximum sentence, two years in prison for stalking American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. Uzomah, 26, was arrested in October outside the E! Entertainment Television studios. He was carrying a knife.

People has dispelled rumors that the nation's most beloved divorcee and bachelorette,

Jennifer Aniston

, 41, will appear topless in her next flick,

Horrible Bosses

. The reports have driven dozens of bloggers round the bend.

The film, which costars Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, features Jen as a kinky, nymphomaniac-ish dentist.

"The part is provocative and sexual, but also hysterically funny," Jen's rep tells People. "There are no plans for her to go fully nude or topless, but the role does require an aggressive sexuality that many folks have not seen from Jennifer on screen before."

Mea culpa du jour

Catherine Zeta-Jones, 40, has apologized for making an indirect, PG-rated reference to the sex act during her acceptance speech Sunday at the Tony Awards. Zeta-Jones, who won best actress in a musical for A Little Night Music, pointed to her husband, Michael Douglas, at the do and said, "See that man there? He's a movie star, and I get to sleep with him every night." (Whoa, they don't sleep in separate beds like June and Ward Cleaver?)

Backstage, Zeta-Jones said, "I can't believe I said something like that."

A note to

Jerry Bruckheimer

,

Sarah Palin

, and

Tina Fey

: Remember, power corrupts! The three appear on TV Guide's 2010 Power List, a roster of "the twenty-five most influential individuals in the television industry."

Palin, who has risen from that degraded profession, politics, to TV greatness, says she's not sure if she'll become a full-time TV face.

"Don't know. But I'll seize the opportunities to get truth out to Americans so good decisions may be made on behalf of our families."

Lost creator J.J. Abrams, who's on the list, says he follows his gut when it comes to creating shows: "I think you have to do what moves you."

The list also features Simon Cowell, Family Guy dude Seth MacFarlane, fake journalist Jon Stewart and talk show queen Oprah.

British thesp

Eddie Redmayne

, 28, who on Sunday won a Tony Award for

Red

, will costar with

Ian McShane

,

Rufus Sewell

, and

Donald Sutherland

in cabler Starz's historical mini-series

The Pillars of the Earth

, debuting July 23. . . . In an unprecedented, extraordinary move that has brought every metropolis around the globe to a halt, actor

Brad Pitt

heavily trimmed his beard on Sunday, say gossipers X17Online and Gawker.com. . . .

TMZ has posted a clip of the first music release by

Jersey Shore

meathead-sex symbol,

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

. Titled "The Situation," the single has Mr. The Situation rapping, "Whoa, whoa, Situation." It's sad. . . . CBS

Early Show

cohost

Maggie Rodriguez

and hubby

Michael

on Sunday welcomed a baby boy,

Michael Tobin Rodriguez Jr.

He joins sis

Daniella

, 5. . . . AMC has renewed

Bryan Cranston

's drug drama,

Breaking Bad

, for a fourth season. . . .

John Travolta

and

Kelly Preston

on Saturday visited the Johannesburg, South Africa, headquarters of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. When they left, they were $10,000 lighter and a lot more fulfilled.

Comic strip hero

Annie

, her father figure

Daddy Warbucks

, and her dog

Sandy

are about to undergo a "transformational media realignment," to quote National Public Radio.

Tribune Media Services has announced it is killing the print version of the Annie strip after 86 glorious years. Tribune promises that Annie will continue to live on the Web and in many other media, including graphic novels, film, TV, and games.

Robin D. Stone

will sign copies of her late husband

Gerald Boyd

's book,

My Times in Black and White

, Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Warmdaddy's, 1400 Columbus Blvd. Boyd, the first African American managing editor of the New York Times, died in 2006 at age 56 after battling lung cancer. Info: 215-854-4224 or

» READ MORE: pabj@pabj.org

.

Music director

Jeffrey R. Smith

will bring along 45 members of the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale, including 13 father-son duos, for a chat and a song Friday on the

Good News Is . . .

segment on NBC10. (The segment runs from 5:30 to 6 p.m.) Info:

» READ MORE: www.phillyboyschoir.org

.