What I'm Reading Now

We have that on our e-mail at TKE--"What I'm Reading Now"--and really I'm always so impressed with fellow employees. I feel like I'm in the remedial reading group (let's call ourselves "the Bluebirds," shall we?) compared to them.

BUT! I just finished NAKED ONCE MORE by Elizabeth Peters. Peters writes a smart, sassy mystery, so that was good times. And now I'm reading a new YA novel by an actual YA. It's edgy--plenty o' sex and profanity. But I'm reading it because I'm interested in what an actual YA chooses to emphasize in terms of issues. I'd say this novel deals mostly with the desire and search for self-worth.

On the non-fiction front I'm dipping into STATUS ANXIETY by Alain de Botton. The first three pages have been very interesting.

Sarah DeFord Williams . . .

. . . another of our fine Utah authors, will be reading from and signing her new middle-grade novel PALACE BEAUTIFUL at TKE (15th and 15th in Salt Lake) this Saturday at 2:00. I'll be working. Also swooning because Sarah is so talented and also has this dynamite sassy haircut.

See you there? I hope!

I "heart" Richard Peck

Which is why I'm so happy he's appearing at TKE (15th E. 15th S., SLC) TOMORROW NIGHT (Monday, March 1). If you've never had the pleasure of hearing him speak, you should come. He's always funny, insightful and v. urbane.

See you there!

Stuff you can do at 3:00 a.m.

Sleep.

That would be the ideal thing to do at 3:00 a.m. And that's what I wish I could do right now, but somehow I can't. So I think, instead, I'll just read. Right now in my pile I have a mystery called THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE, which my son gave me for Christmas based on recommendations made by Anne and Margaret at TKE. Maybe I'll dive into that.

Any suggestions for an insomniac?

I had key lime pie for dessert last night btw.

Book Thief

Today at work, Annie and I started true confessing about books we've stolen--or wish we'd stolen (she once found a signed first edition of a classic kids book in her sister's hometown library and was sorely tempted).

I myself once took an old paperback edition of THE TWO TOWERS from the shelves of the beach house my family rents for a week each summer. Yeah and here's the worst part. The house belongs to nuns. So I am the kind of person who steals from nuns.

I have to live with that.

What madness possibly looks like

So I worked the Pioneer Woman event at the bookstore last night.

As you probably already know, Ree Drummond (aka the Pioneer Woman) is an incredibly well-known, likable blogger who has just written a lovely cookbook that is also a glimpse into her life on an Oklahoma ranch. Anyway, she's on a limited tour and TKE was lucky enough to host her here in Salt Lake City.

Well. People started lining up at 4:00 for an event that started at 7:00. AND they came from all over--some had even driven in from Oregon and LA. Everyone was friendly and funny and great, and the staff had worked hard to make sure we were organized and fair. But finally we had to cap the event because there. were. just. so. many. women.

Okay. I completely SUCK anyway at delivering news no one wants to hear. So for me to tell a crowd of fans that they couldn't get in to hear Ree AND that they might not even be able to get their books signed was daunting. Everyone was understandably disappointed. I would have been, too. And given the circumstances, they were gracious. But a few were completely enraged. They didn't just want to burn me in effigy. Dude. They wanted to burn me in person.

When Ree arrived, people screamed and clapped and pretty much threw their room keys at her. It was like watching the Beatles on the old Ed Sullivan show.

Okay. It's totally fun to be a fan. If Derek Jeter walked past me I would scream so hard I would probably slip a disk BECAUSE I'M OLD AND HAVE BACK TROUBLE. But wow. After witnessing what happened last night I wondered how it would feel to be the object of that kind of interest. Seriously, I cannot imagine it. At all.

Anyway. Ree was fabulous. And so were the customers and staff. And I hope that for the most part people walked away satisfied. It was an evening NOT to be forgotten.

Books and Christmas

I'm subbing at the bookstore today (The King's English on 15th and 15th--come see me). And I think I'll start some holiday shopping while I'm at it.

You'll recall (maybe) that I asked if you liked getting books as gifts because I'd begun wondering if they just created a sense of obligation in the giftee. But after reading what Shannon Hale had to say on her blog recently, I've had a change of heart.

Shannon issued a call to action to her many readers. BUY BOOKS AND GIVE THEM AS PRESENTS THIS YEAR! She said. Only more eloquently. She spoke of the publishing industry and how everyone is wondering (nervously) where the world of print is headed. About the only thing we as bibliophiles can do is express our commitment to books by putting our dollars there.

And of course I think it's important to shop indie.

So! Books it'll be this Christmas!

SCBWI event at TKE this afternoon

So this is cool. Several members of our local chapter of SCBWI (see earlier reference this week to my incredibly lame and not funny speech on humor) are having books come out. Way to go, writers! The bookstore (15th east and 15th south) is having a launch party for them today from 2-4. Since I plan to stop by and say hey, I completely groomed this morning for the first time since the wrist breakage. Washed hair. Shaved legs. Trimmed nails. Okay. Definitely TMI. BUT IT WAS HARD AND I WAS SHAKING BY THE TIME I FINISHED.

Had strawberries for breakfast. And a Dr. Pepper. Even though I decided last night to stop drinking Dr. Pepper for a month.

Ann Dee Ellis at The King's English tomorrow!

Okay, folks, you should know that Utah's own Ann Dee Ellis has one of THE most original voices in YA today. I'm very serious about this. And her new book EVERYTHING IS FINE is a terrific read.

Anyhoo. She'll be at the store at 7:00. I think she'll be reading. I know she'll be signing. Come by and say hey. And watch for an interview to be posted here soon.

Other people's children

Am working a shift at TKE in the kids' room all day today. I always semi-dread Saturday shifts because some parents just turn their kids loose to do whatever. All that rough handling of the merchandise starts to make me r-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-l-l-l-y nervous. We can't sell something that's been profoundly mauled. Shouldn't that be obvious? And yet it's not my place to ask parents to help their children treat the books respectfully.

So. I'm just bracing myself.

To attend or not to attend

As an on-again-off-again employee of The King's English, I've had the opportunity to attend a LOT of readings over the years. In fact, I attended one last night. Heather Armstrong, aka "Dooce," did a reading at the Framery (next to the store), and she was everything her many fans would have wished for--gorgeous, funny, sassy.

When I was telling a friend (a poet! and a fabulous one!) about the event, she told me how much she does NOT enjoy going to readings, even if she adores the author. And I do have to say that some of the readings I've been to at TKE made me want to seriously sedate myself. Literary short fiction writers tend to be the worst. They drone on in these portentous monotones with occassional (and sometimes suprising) bursts of emphases. Like I remember this one writer who read the word "broccoli" as though it was full of special significance and symbolic heft, which it wasn't. It was just the word that happened to be there when she randomly switched gears from "monotone" to "dramatic."

Anyway. Enough of that. I want to know what you think about readings--as someone in the audience, as someone who's been the reader.

Meanwhile you'll be thrilled to know I ate two cupcakes this afternoon. One of them had orange creme frosting.

Fantasia

Had a satisfying conversation with my oldest son today. Among topics covered: the art of political cartooning, the creative process, various TV shows including LIFE ON MARS, the Drudge Report, key lime pie, the separate virtues of COSTA VIDA and CAFE RIO (a conversation started by Alec and Randi), and oh yeah. Why I hate my son's ponytail.

We also talked about the genre of fantasy. His wife loves fantasy and thinks I should try my hand at it. I told my son that I wish I COULD write fantasy. Fantasy is where it's happening in kids' books. The trend started by Harry Potter shows no signs of slowing down. Whenever I work at The King's English, I am STUNNED by how much new fantasy there is to shelf.

Still. I don't think I could write it. At least not high fantasy. I'm not sure I have the patience it probably takes to create and sustain an alternate world. Me, I like to look out my front window and write about the people I see walking down the street. At least a half dozen neighbors showed up in THE LOSER'S GUIDE.