Amazon.com amps up attempt at entering publishing biz, signs self-help guru.

I guess if you're the publishing business, which isn't doing so hot, you might look for help. And help is to be had in the self-help section of your own industry. If you can't help yourself, then really, who can you help?

Remember Tony Robbins? The swarthy looking self-help guru with banana hands that did infomercials throughout the '90s?

Picture his younger, blonder, more obnoxious brother. Timothy Ferriss is his name, and he is out to change your life, preferably through 4 hour increments. He's the author of The 4-Hour Work Week and The 4-Hour Body, both New York Times bestsellers. Now he's decided we all stink at cooking, so he's teamed with Amazon to release The 4-Hour Chef. (Notice the subtle decline in what you can accomplish in 4 hours. The work week...your body...a casual task. Soon we'll be down to The 4-Hour Cat Nap.)

Mom and pop bookstores aren't too thrilled with this idea, for they fear Amazon will wipe out independent booksellers. Many are choosing to refuse any shelf space to the new book. Why help the competition that helped popularize eReaders, which is looking to crush you?

Let's just assume Ferriss's next book will be aimed at booksellers: The 4-Hour Unemployment Line.