Author event photos [Archive] - The Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club

jtb1951

10-07-2007, 04:50 PM

Did Krushchev have a take on the different responses to Sputnik, or about the Soviet view of other countries' reactions?

According to Sergei, the Soviets had a real technological inferiority complex relative to the U.S., and it was only because the head of their rocket program, Korolev (who apparently was a highly effective technocrat and organizer), pushed very hard to steal a march on the Americans and put the first small satellite into orbit, keeping in mind that both countries had the stated goal of launching satellites as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. The Soviets had already developed relatively dependable heavy-payload boosters (much more powerful than ours, because they needed to fly across the oceans, as opposed to our lighter boosters which were stationed in Europe and didn't have as far to travel) as a consequence of the nuclear payload ICBM program, so in a matter of three months they managed to throw Sputnik together, make two successful booster test launches (as required by the Premier), and on October 4, 1957 successfully launch Sputnik into orbit. After Sputnik had made one complete good revolution of the earth the Soviets announced their success, not expecting much reaction from the rest of the world. After the major newspapers across the globe made the launch a big headline, the Soviets realized that the political impact and prestige was much greater than anything they had envisioned, and as a result, decided to dedicate resources to putting men into space. (A sidebar - for those of us who went outside to watch for Sputnik in the skies, what we actually saw was the tumbling second booster stage, following in orbit closely behind the tiny, invisible satellite).

One of the audience members asked Sergei about the race to the moon, and the Soviets lack of success. He replied that his father was not in favor of a moon race because of the cost involved and never approved the funds, but after Khrushchev was deposed Leonid Brezhnev foolishly approved diverting funds towards a moon mission and drove the Soviet Union to the brink of bankruptcy. Sergei said that the Soviets actually abandoned the moon race a few years before the West ever realized it, because it became apparent that the Soviets were way outclassed by the Americans in the miniaturization of electronics and couldn't reduce the weight of a moon mission to realistic levels.

Great stuff!

John.

Strawberry Curls

10-07-2007, 08:43 PM

This is fascinating, John. I was one of those, who with my parents and the neighbors, went outside to try to see this thing that might rain destruction down on our heads. The fifties were filled with the threat of nuclear bombs and I remember the "duck and cover" exercises at school. Foolish to think now that hiding under your desk and covering the back of your neck was going to facilitate your surviving a nuclear bomb, but the powers that be felt it would quell the frightened populous, and to some extent it did. Never underestimate the power of propaganda.

I went from young child to adolescent in the 50s and my memories are not as golden as many who yearn for those "good old days." The McCarthy witch hunt, the fear of the bomb, the torturous undergarments are but a few of the things I am happy to do without. I vividly remember being told in high school I had three career choices -- teacher, nurse or wife. When I wanted to become a librarian I was told that was impossible, I needed better math skills. My librarian friend laughs at this, my math skills are far stronger than hers, but I was persuaded to drop that ambition by the fact I disliked math and the thought of even harder math classes seemed an insurmountable obstacle.

The race to the moon was an exciting time. Every launch was reason to stop everything and listen to the radio or, if you could, get to a TV. If you were around when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon you remember where you were and how you stayed up all night to see the event. I have a much fonder memory of the 60s even with all the turmoil they presented.

Carlina

10-08-2007, 07:14 AM

*takes off shoe and pounds it on the desk*

"Ve vill bury you!"

Apologies, I'm in a rare mood tonight...I could not resist when I saw the pics of K's son...and this is completely irrelevant to the space program. There are many a thing I could say about propaganda and the nuclear threats and the Missile Crisis, but I'm going to clamp my mouth shut. *Clenches teeth*

jtb1951

03-04-2008, 03:45 AM

Just returned from an appearance by Jacqueline Winspear on her tour supporting the new Maisie Dobbs book, An Incomplete Revenge. She gave a very engaging talk (in her lovely British tongue) speaking about many of the influences in her life, especially her childhood, that have informed her fiction. She spoke of her life-long interest in the times surrounding The Great War, where ordinary people did the most extraordinary things (in her words), and women as a group were thrown into the breech to perform extraordinarily of necessity, and British society was never the same again. She told us about her childhood in Kent, as the eldest child of parents who were profoundly affected by WWII (eg. her mother was buried in the debris of a building after a buzzbomb strike, and as a consequence, could not abide remaining in London after her marriage) and how she spent a lot of time in the company of several local spinsters who were prototypical examples of women who had had to learn to fend for and support themselves, and who regaled young JW with tales of the times (WWI), living history books themselves.

Jacqueline talked about how each new story is not just to present the continuing tale of Maisie et. al., but also to try to elucidate a specific lesson or idea; in the case of An Incomplete Revenge she wanted to rant against bigotry and prejudice, as evidenced by the relations among the country-folk (Kent), city-folk (London), and wandering-folk (gypsies). She plans on writing more Maisie Dobbs as long as Maisie is growing and developing and there is a meaningful tale to be told. She says she currently has three new story threads to tell. She was a charming speaker and a real delight; I would certainly return to hear her again. As usual, attached are a few photos of the evening. Enjoy!

John.

Strawberry Curls

03-04-2008, 05:17 AM

Thanks for this great report and pictures, John. I read the latest Maisie Dobbs and enjoyed it more than the last. This one has a much more upbeat feel as Maisie comes out of the dark times from her past and starts to really be shed of all the ghosts that have haunted her from the war. The character development has been very well done in the arc of the books. Several people I know do not like this series, but I have liked all the books, although the previous one was so heartbreaking and depressing it was a hard read. It was worth it to get to this book where Maisie really does come to grips with her past and starts to move forward.

jtb1951

03-04-2008, 04:59 PM

You're welcome, Alice! I think that JW has really improved and matured as a fiction writer throughout her Maisie Dobbs series. I find them to be an increasingly engaging series of novels, and look forward to what the future holds for MD and company! Thanks for the kind words!

John.

KarenB

03-04-2008, 06:01 PM

Dang - John! You're making me want to move to Chicago in spite of the snow! I live too far from NY to make it at all easy to get in for an author event, but too close for anyone except locals to come out to where we are.

Karen (whose eyes are now much greener than they used to be ;))

jtb1951

03-04-2008, 10:48 PM

Karen (whose eyes are now much greener than they used to be )

Sorry, Karen, I wasn't hoping to make anyone envious at all, but I do enjoy living convenient to several bookshops that manage to attract a nice selection of authors on tour. It's not quite the author event mecca that the San Francisco Bay area (where we lived from 1976-87, while my DW was earning her doctorate at Berkeley, and both our girls were born) was for a huge science fiction and fantasy fan such as I am, but our area does draw some terrific authors and I really enjoy seeing/hearing some of my favorites. Come for a visit anytime; the snow should be gone by this fall (oops! the thud you just heard was Jen D. fainting!:)) and I give great Chicago tours!

John.

KarenB

03-05-2008, 03:15 PM

Thanks for the invite! I may take you up on that and then we can have a mini-VBC in the Windy City!

jtb1951

04-05-2008, 04:54 PM

Attached are some photos from Karen Joy Fowler's appearance last night at the Border's Books in Oak Brook, IL. She is on tour promoting her new novel, Wit's End,set in beautiful Santa Cruz, CA and telling the tale of a novelist who's characters from her books, characters based on real-life folks that she knows, take on an additional, unexpected life of their own outside her novels. I first read Karen back in the late 80's as a science-fiction writer, and her writing career since then has purposefully been directed into all types of different writing, including her acclaimed Jane Austen Book Club. Karen gave a marvelously witty and funny presentation of her writing career, and a short reading from the beginning of Wit's End. All in all, a very enjoyable evening! Enjoy the pic's!

John.

tangential1

04-05-2008, 05:44 PM

Bachi

04-05-2008, 07:15 PM

John
Thanks for giving those of us living in rural MT the chance to see some author viewings.
Regards
w

jtb1951

04-05-2008, 07:30 PM

Apparently Ms. Fowler lives in my town. I had no idea until I was browsing through author events for our local indie bookshop and saw her name listed as a local author. She did one event here and one out in Sacramento, but I was out of town when her event was scheduled.

Well, t1, last night she told us that she and her dh were leaving their home of 30 years and are in the process of moving to the hills of Santa Cruz! She said by the time she finishes this tour their possessions (mostly lots of books) will be ensconced in their new home. I made a comment to her that riding her bicycle around will be a little more exercise in Santa Cruz than in Davis, at which she chuckled.

I started Wit's End before her talk began, and it is intriguing so far.

John.

tangential1

04-07-2008, 04:42 PM

I made a comment to her that riding her bicycle around will be a little more exercise in Santa Cruz than in Davis, at which she chuckled.

:D An understatement if ever I saw one! I've been able to make it from one end of town to the other on my not-a-street-bike in just under 30 minutes (hitting the only hill in town by necessity) ;)

Kind of sad to be losing a local author just as I realized she was local! Although I believe I will have to read her work in any case because apparently she has included references to several Davis things (I want to say landmarks, but they aren't really) in various books, which is pretty cool.

Oh! And I watched the movie version of The Jane Austen Book Club yesterday. Quite good! Will have to see how the book compares:)

jtb1951

04-09-2008, 04:59 AM

Another knock-your-socks off author event tonight at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL!!! One of my big-time faves, Mary Doria Russell, appeared this evening on tour for her latest novel, Dreamers Of The Day, and once again gave an entertaining, thought-provoking, intelligent, and really funny discourse on writing, anthropology, the History Channel, politics, high school, career changes, research for her books, movie options, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Jesuits in space, the Jewish Italian underground in WWII, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, and much, much more! I consider her first three novels all on my short list of favorite fiction, and I feel confident that any topic she puts her mind to write about is going to be exhaustively researched and lovingly crafted from beginning to end. She even introduced her dad, who was in the audience, and who many of us then recognized as the sheriff of our county (DuPage) from 1978-98. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and per usual, attached are some pics for your perusal.

John.

vicki

04-11-2008, 06:20 AM

Wow--talk about an embarrassment of riches! What a wonderful reader's spot you live in, John. I'm not a bit envious, oh, no. :p I've enjoyed the Maisie series, and the Jane Austen Book Club was fun, too. I'm not familiar with Mary Doria Russell's work (although she has a very cool name :D). What kind of stuff does she write?

Thanks so much for sharing these experience with us--you're really opening up a wider world to those of us who don't have such great events nearby. That's one of the many reasons I just love the internet!

tangential1

04-11-2008, 06:06 PM

Book events are the best!:D

I tend to treat them as I do a good concert/show. If the band/author is worth your time at home then it's defnitely worth a two hour drive to see them in person...even if it is on a weeknight and I do have to be back for work in the morning;) It's exciting! Although I seem to get the same odd looks from people for both the book events and the shows. "You're traveling all the way there for what??"

jtb1951

04-12-2008, 01:02 AM

The beat goes on!!! Last evening I met my DW after work in downtown Chicago to attend a wonderful interview/lecture at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, featuring Jan Greenburg, the senior legal correspondent for ABC News. She was interviewed/facilitated by James Warren, the Managing Editor for the Chicago Tribune. Ms. Greenburg is the author of Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story For Control of the United States Supreme Court, which drew on her unprecedented access to Supreme Court justices and their inner circles.

For over 90 minutes we were treated to the revelations of a trusted, insightful, brilliant journalist regarding the varied personalities, astounding intellects, and deeply committed professionals comprising the current and recently past Supreme Court justices, and the court cases they have decided which have affected the fabric of American life as deeply as any executive/legislative actions, but typically under the radar of the average American. It was a very powerful and eye-opening program, and DW and I were so glad that we had braved the terrible weather for the opportunity to hear her!

After the program she was gracious enough to sign copies of her book and spend a couple of minutes chatting individually with anyone interested. Very cool!! (Unfortunately, no photos; the torrential rain convinced me to leave my camera at home so as not to be hauling it back and forth from the train station along with my book and umbrella!)

John.

jtb1951

04-12-2008, 01:31 AM

I'm not familiar with Mary Doria Russell's work (although she has a very cool name ). What kind of stuff does she write?

She has written four novels (and currently at work on a fifth) and they are all excellent, imho! I just finished her newest release, Dreamers of the Day, and enjoyed it a lot; a much lighter read than the previous three.

The first two books are religious anthropological science fiction (the Jesuits in space jibe, from the earlier post here) called The Sparrow and Children of God, and I found them to be as profound and moving as any fiction that I have ever read! They are hard to describe without making them sound cheesy; you have to find out for yourself.

The third book is called A Thread of Grace, is set in northwest Italy during the waning days of WWII, describing the travails and heroism of the Jewish Italian underground as the Italian Fascist regime was toppled and the desperation of the nearly-defeated Nazis intersected the lives of the locals. A simply marvelous and deeply touching book based upon Ms. Russell's extensive interviews in Italy with survivors of the horrors.

Dreamers of the Day is an homage to her freshman English high school teacher, whose name she uses for the novel's protagonist/narrator, a former school teacher, recovering from the Great Influenza Epidemic, who found herself in Egypt on vacation in 1921 and accidentally thrown into the companionship of T. E. Lawrence, Gertrude Bell, and Winston Churchill, among others, and the resulting drastic changes in her life.

Mary Doria Russell's website, www.marydoriarussell.info , will probably answer any other questions you might have about her. As I have said before, she is one of my faves!

John.

jtb1951

04-17-2008, 12:46 AM

Last night I finally got the opportunity to meet one of the "neighborhood girls who made it good"; a lady I've had a crush on ever since she played Elaine Nardo on Taxi (I have a weakness for red-heads!:)), and someone who grew up and went to school in my neighborhood in Chicago, Marilu Henner! She appeared at Borders Books in Schaumburg, on tour promoting her newest health book, Wear Your Life Well. She attracted a nice crowd of over 100 folks, which included former classmates, and even a teacher!

She gave a very energetic and passionate talk about how the untimely deaths of her parents gave her the impetus to research and study and implement a changed lifestyle, focusing on a non-traditional holistic approach to healthy living which she has championed in the face of traditional myths and misinformation rampant and endemic in American society. She spoke in a compelling and intelligent fashion (as one might expect from a former student at the University of Chicago) regarding her health-style approach, and was as friendly and down-to-earth as one could hope for. She answered questions about all aspects of her life and career, and spoke at length with everyone who came through the book-signing line.

As usual, I have some photos to share, and she was gracious enough to let me have one taken with her! We had some high school memories to share since she attended the all-girls Catholic high school which was the sister school to my all-boys Catholic high school; since she was a year behind me it was fun to speculate that we may have crossed paths at football/basketball games, school plays, or other events our schools shared! All in all, lots of fun!!

John.

nkk1969

04-17-2008, 01:03 AM

Daaaaang, John! You are the king of the literary event. And your reports are so nice. :) Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Nikki, preparing to take off toward Michigan for the LRK event

jtb1951

04-17-2008, 01:13 AM

Thanks, Nikki, and give my best to Laurie!!

John.

nkk1969

04-17-2008, 01:19 AM

Book events are the best!:D

Although I seem to get the same odd looks from people for both the book events and the shows. "You're traveling all the way there for what??"

Amen. I don't know how many times this week I've told someone we're going to Michigan for an author event and gotten the are-you-crazy? look. We're having a blast getting ready, plotting our route, and planning where we'll go and what we'll do. Though Caitlin wants me to tell everyone that cleaning the van was definitely not a blast. [teenagers: can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em]

OTOH, if I'd told them I was driving to Florida to the Dayton 500, no one would bat an eye.

The DH thought we were staying Saturday night as well and was upset that we were doing the trip too quickly. "You're going to drive 12 hours in 2 days." I told him Caitlin had to work Saturday night so we had to come home. He said, "Why don't you go up tomorrow afternoon, drive to Columbus and get a room and make the rest of the trip Friday morning?" Since it's spring break and nothing is stopping Caitlin from doing that, we're taking off early. [doin' the happy dance]

Nikki

jtb1951

04-17-2008, 02:20 AM

"Why don't you go up tomorrow afternoon, drive to Columbus and get a room and make the rest of the trip Friday morning?"

Just a few more weeks and I would be passing you going the other direction! My in-laws live in Columbus, and I will layover there on my way to Chestertown, MD to retrieve our younger daughter (and all her belongings!) from college (Washington College - end of third year!) and retrace our steps back home, stopping in Columbus again so DD2(Brenna) can see her grandparents. After that, only 2 more round-trips to-and-fro; yippee!! I hope whatever graduate school she chooses is closer (like U of Illinois, maybe!). DD1(Meaghan) is at a much more reasonable distance (UW-Madison). Enjoy the trip, Nikki, and be safe!!

John.

Bachi

04-17-2008, 03:49 AM

... she played Elaine Nardo on Taxi ... Marilu Henner! John.

We are in you debt again John, thanks for sharing. I always liked the taxi character she portrayed. Just her being a woman taxi driver was inspirational.

vicki

04-17-2008, 06:50 AM

Those are great pictures of the Henner event--and how cool that y'all were at sibling schools at the same time! She still looks fabu--and that's a great picture of y'all together.

[teenagers: can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em]

Oh, goodness--I'll soon be getting a first-hand view of this. :rolleyes:

OTOH, if I'd told them I was driving to Florida to the Dayton 500, no one would bat an eye.

I know! Isn't that the most bizarre thing in creation? Why on earth anyone would want to travel for hours, shell out hard-earned cash and fight crowds to do nothing more than watch stinky, zillion-decibel cars ride around in circles for hours on end is utterly beyond me. I'd honestly rather someone just beat my foot with a hammer. I do not Get it.

John, thanks for the info on Mary Doria Russell. Another author for the TBR list--the more, the merrier!

jtb1951

04-17-2008, 12:53 PM

John, thanks for the info on Mary Doria Russell. Another author for the TBR list--the more, the merrier!

You're most welcome; I hope you enjoy them!

John.

KarenB

04-17-2008, 01:07 PM

Why on earth anyone would want to travel for hours, shell out hard-earned cash and fight crowds to do nothing more than watch stinky, zillion-decibel cars ride around in circles for hours on end is utterly beyond me. I'd honestly rather someone just beat my foot with a hammer. I do not Get it.

Amen, sistah! I am so with you there!

And, John, I know I've said it before, but I envy you your literary events! You do a great job of making us feel almost like we were there though!

nkk1969

04-17-2008, 01:16 PM

Oh, goodness--I'll soon be getting a first-hand view of this. :rolleyes:

Honesty compels me to admit Caitlin is a really good kid. When I think about what other kids her age do (8 girls she goes to school with and has known since kindergarten are now either pregnant or have already given birth) or things I had done by the time I was her age, well, let's just say I thank God I have her.

Her only real problem is a severe case of teenage laziness. This is only a problem when she's at home. She works very hard at school and her place of employment. [shrug]

What I'm trying to say is that it's not so bad, just frustrating. You can do this mothering thing, Vicki. May the force be with you! :D

Nikki

vicki

04-17-2008, 11:18 PM

She does seem like a good kid (as well as an excellent grammarian :D) and it's apparent that y'all have a great relationship, which can be a tricky thing to pull off during adolesence. I hope I can manage anywhere near as well in parenting DS and DD through the teen years. You done good!

May the force be with you! :D

And with you. May you also live long and prosper. (http://thenetworkgarden.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/20/spock.jpg)

jtb1951

04-18-2008, 01:14 AM

May the force be with you!

And with you. May you also live long and prosper.

Yoicks! Both Star Wars and Star Trek! I feel compelled to throw in something from Gandalf! How about this, from the end of The Return of the King: "Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

John.

noBel

04-18-2008, 11:14 PM

Strawberry Curls

04-18-2008, 11:59 PM

Nikki, I think my twin sister and I were sitting right behind you (?). Could have reached out and tapped your shoulder. That'll teach me to check in here first next time. I also missed speaking to Bill because I didn't read my messages before I left.

Pfui. Next time perhaps.NoBel, Nikki and her daughter are attending today's (Friday) event. She and Caitlin are driving up to be in Detroit today, so I don't think you saw them. They are meeting Ms. King for a meal, lucky ducks. Alice

nkk1969

04-19-2008, 01:44 AM

NoBel, Nikki and her daughter are attending today's (Friday) event. She and Caitlin are driving up to be in Detroit today, so I don't think you saw them. They are meeting Ms. King for a meal, lucky ducks. Alice

Yeah baby we are! We're logging in right now from the Royal Oak library. We're leaving now, so I'll post pics and a report tomorrow.

noBel

04-19-2008, 02:18 AM

Ah ha. The two ladies sitting drectly in front of my sister, and then one to the right were also from Central Ohio.

nkk1969

04-20-2008, 12:13 AM

Hello All,

We’re glad to be home after our trip. I have dutifully done a load of laundry, loaded the washing machine and dishwasher, gotten Caitlin out the door in time for work, exchanged fond greetings with the DH, and now feel entitled to sit my backside down to write a report of the events of the last few days.

Warning: If you have aversions to long, rambling accounts of others' travels (sans pictures for the moment, more on that later), you may want to quit reading now. OTOH, if you enjoy knowing the good, the bad, and the ugly of a wild and crazy weekend trip to see LRK, read on.

We left home on Thursday evening and drove as far as Bowling Green, OH. The DH suggested we break up the trip and stay another night so I would not be driving 13 hours in a 24 hour period. As Caitlin had to work tonight, we left a day early. This was both a blessing and a curse. It made the trip easier, but in the rush to leave we forgot a few crucial items--our passports (we planned on running over into Canada for breakfast this morning) and the digital camera. We realized what we'd done about 30 minutes from the house but did not want to go back. We ended up buying a new camera and forgoing the jaunt into The Great White North.

Friday a.m. sent us heading for Detroit via Ann Arbor. A dear online friend of almost 10 years lives there and invited us to lunch. He took us on a walking tour of the University of Michigan campus and lunch at Zanzibar (http://www.zanzibarannarbor.com/).

It was great to finally meet Kevin face to face. While we were eating he tells Caitlin about a shop in Royal Oak she might want to go see. He noticed her earrings. Her ears are gaged. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it means kids put progressively larger studs in the holes to enlarge the opening in the ear lobe. You can only buy the larger studs and earrings at certain stores. One such store is Noir Leather in Royal Oak. This is part of the reason we have no pictures. Again, more on that later.

So, we left Ann Arbor, checked into our motel, then went to scope out the downtown area near the restaurant and the library. Downtown Royal Oak is a great little place. Just across the street for the chosen restaurant, Bastone, there is a Barnes and Noble. We spent 30 minutes or so in there before moseying over to the dinner engagement.

We arrived at Bastone about 5 minutes early and were the first and only of our party there. The hostess asked if we had reservations. I told her we were waiting on a group. Panic lights up the poor girl's eyes. "Uuhh, what group? We have a reservation for a large group at 8:30." Now I feel slight panic, thinking the meeting place has changed and we didn't get the memo. But no, in walks John, the lone beacon of testosterone in our little dining world. Never fear, Laurie and two librarians showed up within the next two minutes. Panic calmed; all is once again right in the universe.

The hostess gave us a table meant for about eight people. Caitlin gave Laurie the Bee Bear (those of you who frequent L_O_M will have seen the bear, but I guess I could post a picture of that, just so I'll have a picture to post) and we all talked for a short while. As we're talking, people begin to straggle in in pairs--mostly mother/daughter pairs. The joke was if you weren't a mother/daughter pair, you had to be either a man or a librarian to get to eat with Laurie. The daughters ranged from the youngest being Caitlin at almost seventeen to a woman who looked to be in her early sixties with her mother who must have been late seventies to early eighties.

Our original round table could not handle the influx, so another (or 2?) long rectangular table was added forming, as our Ms. King noted, a keyhole arrangement. In the middle of the meal, Laurie executed what I called an Alice in Wonderland maneuver--you know the bit at the tea party, "Clean cup, move down. Clean cup, move down!" Laurie said it really wasn't that sort of thing at all because she took her cup and plate with her. ;) John got up to use the restroom and she made everyone from Caitlin over move one seat to the left and took the vacant seat between Caitlin and one of the other mother/daughter duos, Sasha and Lynne (I believe that was the mother's name, sorry if either of you are lurking here and I have the name wrong). As you can imagine, this thrilled Caitlin to no end. Laurie stayed in that seat for maybe the next 15 to 20 minutes, then moved again to schmooze with the folks at the long table.

Between the meal and the library event, we had to get batteries for the new digital camera and Caitlin still wanted to shop for earrings at the store around the corner. We went into the leather shop and Caitlin got cool electric blue studs to match the blouse she was wearing. It was getting a little late, though, so I asked the sales gal where would be the closest place to buy batteries. At this point I think you need to understand what kind of place Noir Leather (http://www.noirleather.com/store/) is. The front room is basically a Goth shop with lots of black and leather and metal--think the Hot Topic store in your local mall. We were warned not to venture into the back room because it is more of a straight out sex shop.

We did not go in the back room. However, when I asked about buying batteries the girl said, "Oh, we sell batteries. We have to keep them for the people who buy the dildoes." Despite Caitlin's view of herself as the mature, in control teen, she turned five shades of red and headed for the door.

On to the library event.

The first thing we did was head for the bathroom so as not to have to get up during Ms. King's presentation. We were waiting for a stall to open up, when lo and behold one did and out walked Laurie. At the dinner, she introduced us as her designated stalkers for this event and explained about her website and L_O_M and how we tried to have someone there at her events and this was our turn. I swear, Laurie, we were not stalking you in the bathroom. :o

************************************************** **************

I'm breaking this up into two parts because I'm not sure how long a message this forum will let one post. Be right back with more...

Nikki

nkk1969

04-20-2008, 12:53 AM

Laurie talked about her writing and rewriting process, how she does research, and a few other related topics. This was very interesting. Then she opened the floor for questions. Many to most of them were intelligent, thoughtful questions which she answered with the grace and humor we've come to expect from her. OH! Side point: Someone forgot to turn off their cell phone and it rang during Laurie's time on stage. Bottom line is we can now add dancing to the list of her talents. Other authors could and would have been upset about this, but she just started bopping to the beat. Cool moment.

Okay, back to the questions. For my part, I was sitting there trying to think of something I wanted to know and also feeling bad because I knew I have the opportunity to ask questions here when the mood hits me. I finally did remember something I wanted to know about a piece of description in GAME. Still not sure if I managed to articulate it well enough for her to understand what I was asking, but somehow she knew and told me what I wanted to know.

Some of the questions, though...WOW! There was a woman with a wonderful sense of dry sarcasm sitting on the other side of Caitlin. She made comments under her breath at some of the more idiotic ones. Caitlin covered her mouth to stifle loud snorts on more than one occasion. Someone actually stood up to ask if Ms. King thought reading was important. The woman beside Caitlin said under her breath, "No, she just writes books. She doesn't actually care if anyone reads them." There were a few more like this, but I'll have to ask Caitlin about them and have her tell you later.

After the Q & A session, Laurie signed books. Standing in line to have a book signed is always fun. The conversation tends to run toward who has read what and where to head next, in literary terms. A woman a couple of spots in line behind me had only read BEEK. She found it was part of a series and that LRK had another series and stand alones. She asked us what we thought she should read next and if she was weird or did it sound to us like there was something more than friendship between Russ and Holmes. Given that was a burning question in her mind, I suggested she read MREG next, which I just happened to have in my hand to get signed. I offered to let her read the first chapter while we were waiting, but Caitlin nearly shoved me to the floor. "No, Mother. Absolutely not! How could you even think of spoiling it like that?!" Hey, if she'd read that chapter, she'd have to go right out and buy the book, if not the rest of the series. That's just more money for Laurie the way I see it. :D

Anyway, the woman in between us in line said, no, she should read OJER next because it happened next. I replied that it really was an expanded slice of the time they spent in Jerusalem during BEEK, so it just depended on what she wanted to find out about more urgently--what happened in Jerusalem or what direction their relationship takes. The woman then asked if we would recommend reading TAOD next, or would it be better to read the Russell series before reading it. The lady in between us pipes up again to say that TAOD has nothing whatsoever to do with the Russell series and it did not matter when one read it. DID SHE READ THE BOOK? I then explained that while what the lady in between said was fundamentally true, if she reads the Russell series first and particularly LOCK, she would be more apt to 'get' the manuscript sections or at least feel like she was more a part of those in the know.

When we got up to Laurie to have her sign our book, Caitlin put on the sock puppets and stood beside her for a picture. Sorry, Alice, I cannot show you the picture for reasons having to do with what I mentioned before. The batteries we got at the leather store went out and there is also something messed up in the camera. We saw the pictures after we took them, but could not pull them back up later that night. I took out the SD card and tried loading them on the PC that way, but it says there was only one picture and that won't even display.

The moral of this story? Don't buy a camera on sale at Walmart, and it you do, don't run it on batteries meant for dildoes. :rolleyes:

Strawberry Curls

04-20-2008, 01:23 AM

The moral of this story? Don't buy a camera on sale at Walmart, and it you do, don't run it on batteries meant for dildoes.

Great reportage, Nikki. I have to admit to disappointment about the pictures, I was so hoping, but your last line put me on the floor so all is well. Sounds like the two of you had a wonderful adventure. I love that Ms. King introduced you as the designated stalker. We strive to have one at every event, well almost. Thanks for your detailed and humorous travelogue.

jtb1951

04-20-2008, 02:22 AM

Fabulous job, Nikki; sounds like you and Caitlin had a terrific time! Too bad about the camera batteries (I predict that you will become famous for that dildo comment:)) but you have some great memories to cherish! It sounds like the travelling portion of the trip went well so that's a big plus! Thanks again for sharing your experience!

John.

Bachi

04-20-2008, 02:49 AM

but your last line put me on the floor so all is well. Thanks for your detailed and humorous travelogue.

ditto

ROFLMAO (as they say)!

LaideeMarjorie

04-20-2008, 04:29 AM

Nikki & Caitlin,
I am so glad to have read about your trip, but I am very sorry that you didn't get a whole bunch of photos. In spite of that, it sounds like a great adventure that you both will remember always. Good for you for being recognized as the "designated stalkers"!
--Marjorie

nkk1969

04-20-2008, 01:32 PM

I have to admit to disappointment about the pictures, I was so hoping,

There may be hope yet. The librarians took a great many pictures both at the restaurant and at the library. I have email addresses for two of the librarians and am about the email them asking for pictures. We'll see what happens.

Strawberry Curls

04-20-2008, 05:34 PM

Ahhhh, a glimmer of hope. Hazzah!! :D

tangential1

04-20-2008, 06:05 PM

ditto

ROFLMAO (as they say)!

Ditto from me to; that was an awesome comment *smirk*

And an awesome report! Thanks muchly for sharing:D

And on the subject of having a VBCer at every event: I guess it looks like I'll be the only one for Stockton, CA next month (I think I've managed to talk my roommate into going by mentioning the fact that there will be discussion of Maltese Falcon, which she loves ;)) as no one has responded to my other thread? I'll have to make sure I take notes this time:rolleyes:

Strawberry Curls

04-20-2008, 08:11 PM

And on the subject of having a VBCer at every event: I guess it looks like I'll be the only one for Stockton, CA next month (I think I've managed to talk my roommate into going by mentioning the fact that there will be discussion of Maltese Falcon, which she loves ;)) as no one has responded to my other thread? I'll have to make sure I take notes this time:rolleyes: I'd be there only I'm flying back from a vacation that day so no can do. I hereby dub you the designated stalker. It's sort of like tag isn't it. LOL I still think Vicki should come up with a sort of Virtual Book Club credential. Sort of an all access pass and permission to appear at these events and report back. BTW TAKE A CAMERA preferably one with a battery that is working, fully charged, whatever. :D

nkk1969

04-20-2008, 09:04 PM

I still think Vicki should come up with a sort of Virtual Book Club credential. Sort of an all access pass and permission to appear at these events and report back.

I think LRK came up with a solution to the problem. Caitlin was going to give the puppets to her, but she asked if we were going to bring them to B'Con. I sent a pmail to Tangential1 to see of she wants them for the CA event. I mean really, who else will be there with a sock puppet wearing a deerstalker and another one with long yellow braids and glasses? :p

Strawberry Curls

04-20-2008, 09:48 PM

I think LRK came up with a solution to the problem. Caitlin was going to give the puppets to her, but she asked if we were going to bring them to B'Con. I sent a pmail to Tangential1 to see of she wants them for the CA event. I mean really, who else will be there with a sock puppet wearing a deerstalker and another one with long yellow braids and glasses? :pBrilliant!!

Bachi

04-20-2008, 10:29 PM

I mean really, who else will be there with a sock puppet wearing a deerstalker and another one with long yellow braids and glasses? :p

I know about your photo problems in Detroit, but did I miss an earlier opportunity to see these?

Strawberry Curls

04-20-2008, 11:20 PM

I know about your photo problems in Detroit, but did I miss an earlier opportunity to see these?Those pictures are posted on the LoM photo album. Perhaps you should post them here, Nikki. ;)

nkk1969

04-20-2008, 11:25 PM

I know about your photo problems in Detroit, but did I miss an earlier opportunity to see these?

The pictures weren't posted here, but in the gallery section at L_O_M. I didn't want to post them here just in case Laurie might have looked in this section.

Here's a picture, if you're interested.

nkk1969

04-20-2008, 11:27 PM

Alice, I know this is completely OT, but are you still planning on coming east in June? You said something about being on the road during next month's event and I wondered if the trip had been moved forward.

Bachi

04-21-2008, 12:00 AM

Here's a picture, if you're interested.

What a treat! :D

tangential1

04-21-2008, 05:34 PM

I hereby dub you the designated stalker. It's sort of like tag isn't it. LOL I still think Vicki should come up with a sort of Virtual Book Club credential. Sort of an all access pass and permission to appear at these events and report back. BTW TAKE A CAMERA preferably one with a battery that is working, fully charged, whatever. :D

I accept the appointment:D And I will happily take the sock puppets along with me!

I will make sure to bring a back-up camera just in case, Alice;)

Strawberry Curls

04-21-2008, 06:22 PM

I accept the appointment:D And I will happily take the sock puppets along with me! Have you seen the pics, they are adorable!!

I will make sure to bring a back-up camera just in case, Alice;)That would be much appreciated. :D

nkk1969

04-21-2008, 08:27 PM

I got an email from the library director. She says these photos were taken by library patron, Shar Douglas, and there are more to come from her. She will do her best to forward pictures as she gets them. I told her the pics will be posted here and I would credit the photographer.

Hmm. I'm not sure what happened to the pictures, but let me try uploading them again. [sigh]

Okay. I have to resize the pistures. This in itself is no big deal, but Caitlin has to have the computer for the evening to write a book report for her college history class. It could take a while. Be back as soon as I can.

nkk1969

04-22-2008, 12:44 AM

Resized pic by Shar Douglas:

Strawberry Curls

04-22-2008, 01:54 AM

Resized pic by Shar Douglas:Very, nice, Nikki. The resizing can be a royal pain. My spring pictures took several tries to get them small enough to be accepted by this site. It did give me plenty of practice, I had been given instructions via email by Mary Loving, a tech savvy lady, and the Mod of Letters_Of_Mary.

nkk1969

04-22-2008, 02:25 AM

The one resized just fine, but the other is the same or smaller pixel width and still will not upload. [shrug]

I forgot to mention that I am actually in this picture. If you look in the upper right corner behind the man in the black shirt and another lady, there I am, in profile in my black shirt.

LaideeMarjorie

04-22-2008, 02:50 PM

I forgot to mention that I am actually in this picture. If you look in the upper right corner behind the man in the black shirt and another lady, there I am, in profile in my black shirt.

Nikki,

Thanks for sharing that great photo. I love seeing that there are MEN there in line! (Well, you gotta admit, we seem to be a strongly weighted feminine group.) And I love seeing the woman looking at the Picador BEEK as if it were this month's Playboy with a fold out! And I love seeing you in there as well. It's always nice to put a face to a name. And Laurie, surrounded by her books, is a lovely thing, as well.

Thanks,
Marjorie

tangential1

05-06-2008, 01:43 AM

Strawberry Curls

05-06-2008, 01:51 AM

Sock puppets arrived today in the mail! Just thought I'd let you know. And they are super cute, Nikki:) Please have a picture taken with you, the puppets and Ms. King. We really needed that in the gallery. :D

nkk1969

05-06-2008, 02:57 AM

Sock puppets arrived today in the mail! Just thought I'd let you know. And they are super cute, Nikki:)

Wow, that was quick. I sent them priority because I found them in the van and was horrified that I hadn't taken them to the post office last week. Then I was hoping the LRK event wasn't last weekend...

Anyway, I'm glad they got there and you like them!

nkk1969

05-06-2008, 02:58 AM

Please have a picture taken with you, the puppets and Ms. King. We really needed that in the gallery. :D

Pretty soon the puppets will have to have their own blog. [snort]

tangential1

05-06-2008, 05:27 PM

Wow, that was quick. I sent them priority because I found them in the van and was horrified that I hadn't taken them to the post office last week. Then I was hoping the LRK event wasn't last weekend...

Anyway, I'm glad they got there and you like them!

I was wondering why the postage was so steep for a pair of socks;)

Oh no, plenty of time left; the event is next Friday.

nkk1969

05-16-2008, 03:16 AM

I was wondering why the postage was so steep for a pair of socks;)

Oh no, plenty of time left; the event is next Friday.

As in tomorrow, next Friday? Have fun and take lots of pictures, Erin! (Make sure you have a decent camera and batteries before you go, though. :rolleyes:)

tangential1

05-16-2008, 04:52 PM

Yes, yes! Today! I will definitely double check the batteries before I leave:)

nkk1969

05-20-2008, 02:18 PM

Yes, yes! Today! I will definitely double check the batteries before I leave:)

Umm, honey, where's the report? And the pictures, what about those? I gave you all weekend to get it posted. Are you sick? That would be an excuse. ;)

tangential1

05-20-2008, 05:14 PM

Sorry!! I will get them in this afternoon when I get home from work.

I had a bit of a hectic weekend. Had to drive out to the city to help out a friend with moving on Saturday and in the process threw out my shoulder. Which meant I couldn't really move it until yesterday... *sigh*

A few highlights, though:

Laurie gave an awesome overview of Dashiell Hammet and The Maltese Falcon despite some very odd, and sometimes pompous, questions from the audience ("Do you think Hemmingway was influenced by Hammett?").

When the discussion moved off to Laurie's own work, the inevitable question of the age difference between Russell and Holmes came up to which Laurie responded with an anecdote (to my pleasure; Laurie has the best anecdotes;)). She said she'd been asked that question many times, but the most memorable was when she was at a release event for one of the Russells. She couldn't see how many people there were in line because she was seated, but by the speed with which the woman running the event was passing her books to sign, she guessed there were quite a few. And partway into the signing, this older man walks up and says, "I have to ask you about this age difference," to which Laurie replied that her husband was 30 years older than her and thus she had a pretty good idea of what a sixty year old man was capable. At this point the audience I was sitting in was shocked silent and then started to gaffaw, and Laurie says, "I meant, of course, running after children and helping 'round the house." ;)

That was, I think the best story of the evening. Oh, and the fact that Laurie went off on a total tangent about fencing when I asked a question because I was wearing my UCD club shirt ("I've always wanted Mary Russell to be a fencer."), which I found cool beyond words:cool:

So yeah, that's it for now; more later. Pictures later. I only got a few because I felt entirely awkward taking pictures. Well, I felt awkward anyway as I was the youngest person in the room, besides my roommate whom I dragged along, by at least 20 years. And the entire audience gave us incredulous looks when we walked through the door (I could just see them thinking: "young people don't read, what are you doing here"). But I made sure to get sock puppet pics just for you, Nikki=)

tangential1

05-20-2008, 05:23 PM

Oh! And Laurie described Russell as being something of a super hero (or heroine, rather), which was amusing, yet oddly accurate. A possible point of discussion at least!

nkk1969

05-20-2008, 06:44 PM

Sorry!! I will get them in this afternoon when I get home from work.

I had a bit of a hectic weekend. Had to drive out to the city to help out a friend with moving on Saturday and in the process threw out my shoulder. Which meant I couldn't really move it until yesterday... *sigh*

You poor thing! I was just joking about you being sick. Are you one of those folks (like us) who get to help everyone move? Being nice just sucks sometimes.

When the discussion moved off to Laurie's own work, the inevitable question of the age difference between Russell and Holmes came up to which Laurie responded with an anecdote (to my pleasure; Laurie has the best anecdotes;)). She said she'd been asked that question many times, but the most memorable was when she was at a release event for one of the Russells. She couldn't see how many people there were in line because she was seated, but by the speed with which the woman running the event was passing her books to sign, she guessed there were quite a few. And partway into the signing, this older man walks up and says, "I have to ask you about this age difference," to which Laurie replied that her husband was 30 years older than her and thus she had a pretty good idea of what a sixty year old man was capable. At this point the audience I was sitting in was shocked silent and then started to gaffaw, and Laurie says, "I meant, of course, running after children and helping 'round the house." ;)

Hee hee. That is a good one. I wonder, though, if it won't put her in a jam later when "offspring" discussions come up. If an "ordinary" man could do it, then why not Holmes? And then there's the whole Russell as a super hero thing. ;) Personally, I don't want to see it, but there are plenty of folks out there who do.

Well, I felt awkward anyway as I was the youngest person in the room, besides my roommate whom I dragged along, by at least 20 years. And the entire audience gave us incredulous looks when we walked through the door (I could just see them thinking: "young people don't read, what are you doing here"). But I made sure to get sock puppet pics just for you, Nikki=)

It was very cool at the dinner before the library event in Royal Oak. You heard us talking about all the mother daughter duos there? Well, we had the liveliest discussion about our favorite authors. Everyone had pens and paper out to write down names to put on the TBR list. Caitlin and Sasha were still in high school and the other daughter had just graduated college (with a masters in something I can't recall just now). It did my heart good to see all those young women talking about books.

I think the main reason LRK switched seats was so she could take part in the book conversation. Then there's all that about being fair and trying to sit with everyone, but still...:D

YAY!!!! Sock puppet pictures. I can't wait to see them. And, we have to figure out if we can get them to the UK to the designated stalker before Laurie gets there.

tangential1

05-21-2008, 03:33 AM

Just a couple of pictures from this past Friday's event hosted by the Stockton library. Sadly my camera apparently went all wonky (I'm starting to wonder if the sock puppets are cursed!) so they are a tad blurred, but still visible:)

As I said above, Laurie was a wonderful speaker, as usual, with a lot of interesting tidbits about Dashiell Hammett and his work as well as a bunch of really funny stories about her own writing.

I'm not a terribly good reporter, I'm afraid, and I can't remember very many details. Perhaps when my roommate gets home I shall wring her brain for details that I can't recall...

Edit: I have no idea why, but there are no thumbnails. The pictures are still visible, though, you just have to click the links...any thoughts on why that is? Most likely user error:rolleyes:

LaideeMarjorie

05-21-2008, 03:43 PM

Coming soon to a bookstore near you: "The Curse of the Spiteful Sock Puppets"!! Thanks, tangential1 for posting about the event and for the photos. I can't believe that Laurie is actually wearing one of them! How great. I think the photo looks the way that both Russell and I see without our spectacles on! Thanks.

--Marjorie

Bachi

05-21-2008, 07:09 PM

Yes thanks Erin,
Enjoyed the pic ‘s and the brief but amusing recap.

jtb1951

07-11-2008, 03:01 PM

Last night I took advantage of the terrific opportunity to attend a talk/book signing by Sir Salman Rushdie at the Chicago Public Library, which was attended by an overflow crowd of well over 500 enthusiastic folks. Mr. Rushdie spent about 45 minutes reading selections from, and commenting on, his newest novel The Enchantress of Florence, which I am almost halfway through and enjoying immensely. I find the prose to be lucid, the story engaging, and the characters fascinating.

I will let the frontnotes synopsize the novel (much better than I could do!): "The Enchantress of Florence is the story of a woman attempting to command her own destiny in a man's world. It is the story of two cities, unknown to each other, at the height of their powers -- the hedonistic Mughal capital, in which the brilliant Akbar the Great wrestles daily with questions of belief, desire, and the treachery of his sons, and the equally sensual city of Florence during the High Renaissance, where Niccolo Machiavelli takes a starring role as he learns, the hard way, about the true brutality of power."

In answering questions from the audience, Sir Salman gave some insights into his background, influences, and writing style that were interesting to hear. His formal university education was not in literature, but rather history, which influences all of his novels, although he classified his first novel as science fiction, which he noted was a stunning literary and commercial failure, and didn't return him any royalties until 10 years after publication! He said that prior to his last two novels, Shalimar the Clown and The Enchantress of Florence, his novels required practically no research but lots of fact-checking. He commented that most people's personal lifetime memories are imperfect, and based on personal experience (by comparing his memories of youth against his parent's recollections of the same incidences) he found that our autobiographical lives are much more interesting than the actual facts would suggest!

His last two novels, on the other hand, were research intensive, not so much in the standard historical who, what, and where facts (which is easy) but in getting the details of daily routine among the common folk correct; what they ate, how they dressed, what a normal day in the life was like, but more importantly, how they thought, what they worried about, what their current cultural mores, prejudices, and backgrounds involved (which was much more difficult!)

He noted that growing up in Bombay, without television, during the '50s and '60s, he was strongly affected and influenced by the world of cinema, which he looked at as a relative golden age of film compared to today, with the likes of Fellini, Kurosawa, Bergman, etc. producing a steady stream of classic films.

Mr. Rushdie said his major literary influences were Italo Calvino (who became a friend and mentor) and Thomas Pynchon (whose works opened up Rushdie's own world of literary possibilities).

All in all, a very enjoyable evening, and per usual, attached are a few photos.

John.

Strawberry Curls

07-11-2008, 03:27 PM

As always, wonderful pictures and reportage, John. I envy your photography skills. Thank you for sharing.
--Alice

tangential1

07-11-2008, 05:26 PM

OMG! Salman Rushdie! I'm so jealous, John:) Thanks for sharing your account of the evening; Mr. Rushie sounds like such an interesting person.

jtb1951

07-11-2008, 06:55 PM

Thank you, Alice and t1. It was indeed a very interesting evening, and it was hard to pass up the opportunity to hear him in person! Thank you, Chicago Public Library!

John.

Bachi

07-11-2008, 06:59 PM

Hi John,
Thanks for the recap. I read and enjoyed The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Shalmar The Clown which was facinating. I have, but have yet read, Fury and Haroun and the Sea of Stories (the latter was written for children). I will have to see if I can get ahold of this new book it sounds interesting.

I guess he either dosen't talk about the difficulties he had, or he's sick of that topic, since you didn't mention anything being said about it.

BTW - how you doing - your always in our thoughts and prayers!
Regards
Wanda

jtb1951

07-11-2008, 08:54 PM

Hi, Wanda!

Mr. Rushdie didn't address the fatwa issue (other than in a humorous aside), and no one in the audience apparently felt the need to ask, since it has been hashed and re-hashed for many years now. I am looking forward to reading more of his books now, especially Midnight's Children, his most critically acclaimed book.

My health is fine right now and my radiation procedure is scheduled for July 31. Keep those thoughts and prayers flowing!!!

John.

Carlina

07-12-2008, 06:05 AM

now that's made of win...you got to see rushdie...awesome mate!

i love fellini and kurosawa btw...as well as hitchcock, kubrick, and lynch....

jtb1951

08-28-2008, 11:55 PM

On August 19th I had the pleasure of attending a book-signing by Naomi Novik, the author of the acclaimed Temeraire series. Ms. Novik gave a reading of a short story-in-progress, set in the era of Julius Caesar's Rome and concerning (of course!) dragons! It is due to be published in an anthology sometime next year. She is also in the midst of writing her 6th volume about Temeraire, and admitted that she knows what the ending of the series will be. She said that the series will likely conclude in 9 volumes, and Temeraire and Lauurence's adventures will take them around the world, and will most likely end in the America's (South and North)! She was a very engaging speaker, and attached are a few photos from the event.

John.

Millie

08-29-2008, 01:31 AM

I haven't heard of her before, but her books sound very interesting. Great photos, too. How are you getting on, John? We had Daffodil Day here last week, in support of cancer, and I thought of you as I bought my bunch of daffodils and my bright yellow daffodil pen.

jtb1951

08-29-2008, 04:05 AM

Hi, Millie! Glad you enjoyed the pics; the books are a series set in an alternate-historical Napoleanic era, with intelligent dragons, bonded with a human partner, serving as important military assets in the conflict between England and France (and the other countries involved). It's a clever twist on traditional dragon themes and quite engaging as a storyline.

Healthwise, I am doing pretty well, with my radiation side-effects being quite manageable so far. It will be several months yet before we know how effective the procedure was, but the prognosis is good. I can't properly thank everyone who has supported me with their prayers and good wishes, but I deeply appreciate them all, and I thank you very much!

John.

Pat Floyd

08-29-2008, 04:41 AM

John,
I've just finished viewing all the posts in the Gallery, and certainly appreciate yours: people, sculpture, and natural wonders. When we last had cicadas in Nashville, the Red Cross featured them on T-shirts for blood doors with the slogan: "Cicadas do it every 17 years. You should do it every 56 days. Give blood!" The monarch butterflies reminded of one of the pleasures of my trips to the Florida Gulf coast the first week in November. The monarchs are usually migrating then, and some days hundreds will pass, flying southeast along the coastline. A beautiful sight.
Pat

tangential1

08-29-2008, 04:24 PM

I'm always attracked by the covers of the Temeraire books athe bookstore; there's just something about all those cool dragons. I haven't picked them up, though; I'm generally not a big fan of fantasy/dragon stories, even if I do love how they look!

The event sounds like fun, John:) I'm so jealous of all the book event opportunities near you!

Bachi

08-29-2008, 05:33 PM

Hi John,
Thanks for sharing another interesting author to explore.
Well wishes
w

Strawberry Curls

08-29-2008, 05:38 PM

John,

It is wonderful, as always, to see your pictures from an author's event. This is doubly a pleasure because it shows you are up and about, and by your report, doing well. Your voice on this site has been missed. You continue in my thoughts and prayers. --Alice

jtb1951

09-02-2008, 01:04 AM

Thanks, Alice! I am alive and kickin' and looking forward to some more author events this fall!

John.

jtb1951

09-13-2008, 08:52 PM

Last night I had a wonderful time at the Chicago Public Library, listening to another Pulitzer Prize-winning author, as there was a taping for our local fine arts radio station called Writers On The Record with Victoria Lautman. Her interview guest was Junot Diaz, a native of the Dominican Republic currently living in the U.S., who wrote a terrific collection of short stories called Drown, and most recently, was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Best Novel for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. When I read the book earlier this year I was quite taken with the novel's concept of interweaving the tragi-comic story of a Dominican sci-fi nerdy male, his fantasies and dreams, and his family's ancient curse, all of which conspire to produce one of the most different, interesting novels that I have read in a long time. That said, however, this book will not interest everyone. If, like me, you have a long familiarity with science fiction genre novels, an interest in 20th Century Caribbean history, and are a certified geek, it's safe to say that you will find this novel highly entertaining. Junot was a terrific interview: irreverent, insightful, and intelligent, and it made for a great evening. And guess what; surprise, surprise, attached are some photos!

John.

Bachi

09-14-2008, 03:50 AM

...Junot Diaz,... awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Best Novel for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao...
John.

Once again John thanks for the pic and the book sounds interesting.

jtb1951

09-25-2008, 02:53 AM

Greetings, all!! Monday evening my DW and I had the pleasure of attending an appearance by the post cyberpunk pioneer Neal Stephenson, best known for his outstanding genre-bender Snow Crash. The Seminary Co-op Bookstore hosted the event at the University of Chicago's International House as part of his speaking tour for his new novel Anathem, a story of stunning intelligence, wit, and inventiveness. He is the best-selling author of the critically acclaimed novels Cryptonomicon, and the three massive volumes of The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System Of The World. He is an intellectual who is also deeply spiritual, an individual (much like myself) who has absolutely no problem reconciling natural selection with a created universe and uses his novels (in ways both abstruse and obvious) to display his distress with the general spread of intellectual regression (dumbing down) evinced in our (U.S.) culture. Once again, I jump down from my soapbox.
And, as always, attached are a few pix (;)).

John.

Pat Floyd

09-25-2008, 03:57 PM

Thank you, John. I read biographical material about Neal Stephenson and his web page with great interest. Which of his books would you recommend reading first?
Pat

jtb1951

09-25-2008, 05:31 PM

Hi, Pat!

I would definitely start with Snow Crash; if you started with one of the later, gigantic tomes you might get a little discouraged:).

John.

jtb1951

10-03-2008, 04:49 AM

This is for you, Vicki! I had the pleasure of attending an appearance by the always entertaining Neil Gaiman this evening, held at the Tivoli Theatre in downtown Downers Grove, IL, on tour for his new YA novel The Graveyard Book. He introduced the evening by telling us that he is reading a chapter of the book per appearance, and that we were lucky enough to get the 3rd chapter which is his personal favorite. His reading style, with his various spot-on accents and appropriate gesticulations, makes for entertaining fare and this evening's reading was a prime example. After the reading he shared a world-premiere sneak peak at some clips from the upcoming movie Coraline (see IMDB for details) based on his popular YA novel of the same name, and the snippets seemed to be pretty true to the book. After that he came back out and read and answered questions that the audience had submitted earlier in the evening, and in his usual droll, witty fashion made even a standard Q&A session entertaining! And, per usual, some photos.

John.

P.S. In the photos he has a splint on a finger he broke while he was doing research in China and had some sort of accident on a mountainside.

Bachi

10-03-2008, 07:22 PM

Great recap and pic's thx John

Carlina

10-12-2008, 05:04 AM

JOHN!!! JOHN!!! That is awesome! Neil Gaiman! I would have gotten him in a corner and asked him with the Doctor Who rumours were true....

Lucky! Lucky!

jtb1951

10-18-2008, 04:29 AM

Last night I had the pleasure of attending an event held in conjunction with the City of Chicago's One Book, One City program's current selection, The Right Stuff: an evening with Tom Wolfe, in the beautiful Winter Garden room at the top of the Chicago Public Library downtown. The program was taped for radio and TV broadcast later, and Mr. Wolfe was interviewed by one of Chicago's finest, investigative journalist Carol Marin (pronounced like marine, not like the county north of San Francisco). I have long enjoyed Tom Wolfe's journalistic approach to his writings, his integrity, and his wide-ranging variety of topics of interest. He is quite the charming classical southern gentleman with his Virginian drawl, and he has no compunctions with speaking his mind on any range of topics. After the hour-long interview he graciously stayed around for several hours, autographing books (including my 1st edition of The Right Stuff!) and amiably chatting with each and every person in the signing line. A very cool evening with a very cool gentleman.

John.

Bachi

10-18-2008, 05:43 AM

In addition to all your praise he appears to be quite a snappy dresser!
As always thanks for sharing John.

Pat Floyd

10-18-2008, 06:13 AM

Thank you, John, for the great photos, including a glimpse of the room.

KarenB

10-20-2008, 06:36 PM

Here are the pictures I took at B'con - I took them with the flash off so as not to blind the panelists, which is probably why they look so blurry. Southern Accents was from left to right: Vicki Lane, Cathy Pickens, J.D. Rhoades- “Dusty,” Mary Saums and moderator, Chris Roerden. We Don't Need a Hero is Declan, Charlaine Harris, LRK, Val McDermott & SJ Rozan.

jtb1951

10-25-2008, 12:22 AM

I had a very entertaining evening at the Chicago Public Library yesterday as they hosted Sarah Vowell on tour for her newest book, The Wordy Shipmates, another witty and insightful history lesson, focusing on the Puritans and their leaders who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and some of their effects on our country's development. I finished the book on the train ride into the city, and was again thoroughly pleased by her writing, as always educational and a mix of irreverent wit that tickles my fancy. She read a few representative selections from the book (with the voice of Violet Parr from The Incredibles unavoidably brought to mind:)!), answered audience questions in her droll straightforward style, then signed books for her fans. I enjoyed it immensely, and have attached a few photos.

John.

Pat Floyd

10-25-2008, 01:29 AM

John,
Thank you once more for wonderful photographs. The progression almost gives a moving picture of her speaking.
Pat

jtb1951

11-15-2008, 08:56 PM

More in my continuing series of author events! This one was a first for me; crime-fiction authors! Not normally my cup of tea, but a few weeks ago I read about this relatively new author on the Chicago crime fiction scene by the name of Sean Chercover whose second novel, Trigger City, was getting rave reviews, following on the heels of his very well received inaugural novel, Big City, Bad Blood. I also saw that he was scheduled for a local appearance on tour for the new novel, so I got a copy of his first book, and somewhat to my surprise, liked it a lot. I wrote a bit of a review of it here http://www.laurierking.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=11780#post11780, and last night I attended his event, where he was joined by Sam Reaves, a long-time local crime-fic author, who I have yet to read. Their give-and-take was very entertaining, and the small audience present had lots of good questions and were very engaged. It was fun to meet authors outside my normal range of interest, and a good time was had by all. Photos follow, per usual.

John.

Pat Floyd

11-15-2008, 11:45 PM

Thanks again, John, for the great photos. I'll have to check out Sean Chercover. One of my favorite series is Stuart Kaminsky's Abe Lieberman series set in Chicago, although I don't care for Kaminsky's other books. I also enjoy most of Andrew Greeley's books. Chicago is a great setting for fiction.
Pat

jtb1951

11-16-2008, 12:08 AM

Chicago is a great setting for fiction.

I'm way too biased to comment fairly, so I'm happy to hear you say so:)!

John.

Bachi

11-16-2008, 05:49 AM

Thanks John, It's always good to go to your author signings vicariously.
w

jtb1951

03-04-2009, 04:14 AM

Once again I took the opportunity to attend a signing event on the book tour for the newest Maisie Dobbs' novel Among The Mad by Jacqueline Winspear. As I probably commented on her last appearance here at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Jacqueline in person is a fine storyteller, and she was at the top of her game this evening relating noteworthy and memorable incidents from her adolescence and young adulthood in England and how, in retrospect, the sub-conscious collision of memories of seemingly disparate events from her past bubble up to her consciousness to form the basis for her stories. In regard to this particular novel she regaled us with details of three formative events/experiences which she thought relevant. In brief, first, as a sixth-form 16 year old, her schooling required a day a week in social service, and she fulfilled this with a year of companion work in institutions for adolescents, and later, senior citizens, with emotional trauma. Second, as a young adult working within London during a time of constant political unrest, she was walking toward a park to enjoy the afternoon when a terrorist bomb went off in the park just a few minutes before her incipient arrival. Third, her grandfather served in France during WWI and forever after was extremely sensitive to loud sounds, noises, shouting, etc., and she remembers the care that the family took not to expose him to undue noise, which would severely unsettle him. She wove a fascinating tale, but I was again more impressed by her willingness to share intimate details of her background and the effect that they have on her writing.

Photos attached!

John.

Bachi

03-04-2009, 05:06 AM

John if it wasn't for you I'd never get to attend a author signing! :D

vicki

03-04-2009, 12:25 PM

Oooh--I love to hear how little pieces of memory and experience come together to form the idea for a story. My favorite example of that is actually fictional--the long section where the Escapist is born in The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. It sounds like Winspear has a lot of insight into the sources of her inspiration--it's cool that she's so willing to talk about that with her readers.

Thanks so much for a great report and the pictures!

Pat Floyd

03-04-2009, 04:28 PM

John, thank you for these insights into Jacqueline Winspears writing.

Bachi

03-04-2009, 07:05 PM

...--the long section where the Escapist is born in The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay...

That was good wasn't it!
w

jtb1951

03-15-2009, 07:06 PM

Last Sunday I went to a signing event for a new Chicago mystery writer based on the terrific review I had read a few weeks earlier in the Tribune Books section. Bryan Gruley is the Chicago bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal and a big hockey fan (and still plays several games a week in a local league). He appeared at Centuries and Sleuths, a wonderful mystery bookstore just west of Chicago (it's where I saw Laurie and Les Klinger a couple years ago), on tour for his first novel, Starvation Lake. As Bryan related, he combined his love of telling stories, along with his equally strong loves for journalism and amateur hockey, into a novel about a small Michigan northwoods town with a dread secret, and the return home from big city journalism of a native son (once a local hockey hero, and later goat) as new editor of the local rag, whose investigative nose unearths new questions about old secrets. A wonderful mystery story ensues! As a big hockey fan myself, this book was a no-brainer to pick up, but I was pleasantly surprised that it made for a marvelous mystery, and now I can't wait for his next book (which is well in progress!) I think he may have a promising future. Some pics attached!

John.

Bachi

03-15-2009, 07:31 PM

Once again thanks so much for sharing John and btw I love the new way you posted these (or is this a new feature of this site?) so that you can click on next - so much easier to view all the pic's!

jtb1951

03-15-2009, 10:32 PM

(or is this a new feature of this site?)

It must be a relatively new picture viewer on the site; I hadn't noticed before. You're right; it is much more convenient!

John.

Pat Floyd

03-16-2009, 03:50 AM

Thank you, John. I especially like the two happy, good looking men in the first picture. I shall look this author up.

jtb1951

08-28-2009, 04:26 AM

This evening I had the pleasure of attending a book signing with Kathy Reichs, on tour for her newest Temperance Brennan book, 206 Bones, hosted by Border Books in Oak Brook, IL. Kathy opened the evening by speaking briefly about her background as a forensic anthropologist, and how she has crafted the plots of her novels around real-life cases and experiences. She is a native Chicagoan, who splits her work life between Charlotte and Montreal, as does her protagonist. She shared some of the cases which inspired a few of the books, and how she developed fictional accounts for the novels. She answered a variety of pleasantly intelligent questions from the audience (too often the audience questions at these events can be banal, or even downright silly) and went into extensive detail about her background and development as both a scientist and novelist. She exhibited a fine sense of humor, and really held the audience's attention. She finished with a book signing, and I got both my new book, as well as my 1st edition of her first novel, autographed. I managed to snap a few pics (we were requested to shoot flash-less, otherwise it might have seemed like a celebrity shoot) and have enclosed them for your viewing. I was happy to have finally met her and gotten an autograph; it was a fun evening!

John.

Millie

08-28-2009, 04:50 AM

Thanks John, they're great photos (as usual!). I haven't read any of her books, but she's on my TBR list.

Pat Floyd

08-28-2009, 05:18 AM

John, excellent shots and commentary as usual. Thank you.

Elizabeth

09-17-2009, 11:45 AM

jtb1951

09-17-2009, 12:51 PM

John, I love seeing your photos and reading your recaps. Thank you!

You mentioned that you weren't allowed to use a flash for the Kathy Reichs photos; how on earth did you get them so clear? My indoor photos of people always end up blurry.

Hi, Elizabeth, and thank you for the comments! For author events, assuming I can sit relatively close to them, I usually use my small point and shoot Olympus, which has an existing light setting in the camera's scenery menu, and I have pretty steady hands; the combination usually gives me decent shots (and, of course, you don't see the crummy ones:), I take lots of pictures!)
Thanks again!

John.

jtb1951

09-24-2009, 02:52 AM

Last night I had the pleasure of attending an event with Sara Paretsky, at the Barnes & Noble at Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie, IL, for the release party for her newest V. I. Warshawski novel, Hardball. Ms. Paretsky is a long-standing member of the Chicago area crime/murder/mystery community, and it was fun to finally have a chance to hear her speak. I have been a fan of her Warshawski (a Chicago P.I.) novels, and this new one is very good so far (I managed to read about a third of it last night). She read a couple of selections from the novel, spent quite a while answering some pretty insightful questions from the nice-sized crowd, then finished the evening signing books and handing out promotional t-shirts for the book. I found very interesting her answer to a question about her writing voice, since most of her novel's action takes place in the streets of modern Chicagoland; she said that she tries to avoid contemporary slang and street lingo as much as possible, relating conversations in relatively understandable English while keeping the flavor and emotion intact and relevant. Her fear is that she doesn't want the conversations to age badly over time, and she used as an example the works of the contemporaneous crime writers Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. She noted (surprise! where have we heard this before!) that Hammett's writings were the most realistic but aged badly, while Chandler's were written in a more generic voice that has aged considerably better. I had to smile;)! All in all, a fun evening, and per usual, some attached photos. Enjoy!

John.

Pat Floyd

09-24-2009, 03:53 AM

Again, thank you, John. Its strange how I have preconceived ideas about how people are going to look without realizing I hold such ideas. Sara Paretsky is the only writer you've photographed who looks nothing like I had imagined her, but she is indeed a distinctive and elegant lady.

jtb1951

09-24-2009, 12:50 PM

Thank you, Pat! I often have preconceived ideas about how a writer looks, and I'm usually wrong:)! Since Ms. Paretsky is a Chicago writer I have seen her picture in the paper, or on her website, many times before, so meeting her in person wasn't a surprise. She is a classy dame (there goes Hammett again!)

John.

Donna

09-25-2009, 02:35 AM

Hey, that's really neat John. I've read Sara since she first published - agonizing over the times there were long silences. It's great to see her vibrant and well - and to know V. I. is going strong.

Ever see the film? There were flaws and it's not a great film but Kathleen Turner did get a great deal of the character in her portrayal.

I'm so glad you post all the pictures you do. I'm about to suggest (to whom, I've no idea) that you be designated "VBC and LRKer Official Photographer" and sent to most, if not every event possible in the LRK and the Mystery and the extraordinary world... hehehe. Need a second job?
:)

nkk1969

09-25-2009, 11:39 AM

Speaking of author events...

Pat, did you go see Diana Gabaldon last night in Nashville? Vicki said the two of you were planning to meet up there, but she didn't get to make it.

Pat Floyd

09-25-2009, 12:25 PM

No, we didn't go--at least I didn't--got overwhelmed by many things. I didn't hear from Vicki, so I assume she didn't go either.

nkk1969

09-25-2009, 12:34 PM

Caitlin and I are going to Lexington tonight to see her. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.

jtb1951

09-25-2009, 12:49 PM

I'm so glad you post all the pictures you do. I'm about to suggest (to whom, I've no idea) that you be designated "VBC and LRKer Official Photographer" and sent to most, if not every event possible in the LRK and the Mystery and the extraordinary world... hehehe. Need a second job?

You flatter me, Donna:)! That would be a fun second job, though, eh!!! I'm hoping to get some decent pics at Bouchercon; countin' down the days!

John.

nkk1969

09-28-2009, 12:56 PM

Here are a few pictures from Friday's signing. I'll have videos up on Diana's YouTube account in a few days.

edited to add: The last picture is Caitlin standing next to the self-proclaimed Old Jamie. He's really a nice man named Bill who dresses up in a kilt every time Diana is at the particular bookstore.

Pat Floyd

09-28-2009, 04:32 PM

Thanks. My favorite is the picture of Caitlin.

Strawberry Curls

09-28-2009, 06:02 PM

I'm a bit tardy at looking at this thread (so many threads, so little time) but did want to add my acknowledgment of your expertise in capturing these authors, John. My mental picture of Ms. Paretsky was way off. Now I know what she looks like thanks to you.

Nikki - Lovely picture of Caitlin and "Jamie" but...man in kilt and you didn't show us his legs???? Really, a man in a kilt and we don't get to see the kilt. Harrumph!

jtb1951

09-30-2009, 03:49 AM

And the hits just keep on comin'! This evening was the release event for Audrey's new novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, and was held, appropriately enough, at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The Newberry was a featured location in her acclaimed first novel, The Time-Traveler's Wife, as Henry's employer, and where he meets (but not for the first time!) his future wife Clare. I managed to read about 140 pages of the new novel before the event started, and it has certainly engaged my interest.

Audrey started the evening with a reading from the novel, then settled into an extensive Q&A session with the audience of a few hundred people. The insecurity of her artistic nature (she is primarily a visual artist) showed through as she admitted her ongoing fear that she will arrive at a book event and no one else will show. She certainly didn't need to fear that in her home town! After everyone's questions had been answered (she was very gracious in that regard) she set to the formidable task of autographing books for the appreciative crowd. I think a good time was had by all (especially her parents and one of her two sisters, who were in attendance) and I have attached a few photos from the evening.

John.

P.S. Vicki - Someone asked her if she had read The Graveyard Book, since Her Fearful Symmetry takes place in and around a famous London cemetery, and she informed us that she is very good friends w/ Neal Gaiman, and that he once made a trip to London just to attend one of Audrey's directed tours through the graveyard.

Pat Floyd

09-30-2009, 05:00 AM

Thank you, John. If these pictures are displayed in the order you took them, I think they show an increasing comfort and relaxation on her part. She has a lovely smile.

jtb1951

09-30-2009, 12:40 PM

If these pictures are displayed in the order you took them, I think they show an increasing comfort and relaxation on her part.

They are, and she was! Thanks, Pat!

John.

nkk1969

09-30-2009, 06:57 PM

Hey John,

I don't know if you or your wife read Diana Gabaldon or not, but I just found out she'll be near you tonight. Not as though you need another literary image notch in you belt ;), but if you're a fan, here's where she'll be:

7:00 PM - Anderson’s Bookshop at North Central College
North Carolina College
Pfeiffer Hall
310 East Benton Ave.
Naperville, IL 60540
Contact: Candy Purdom, 630-355-2665
* This will be a reading/signing.

nkk1969

09-30-2009, 06:58 PM

Nikki - Lovely picture of Caitlin and "Jamie" but...man in kilt and you didn't show us his legs???? Really, a man in a kilt and we don't get to see the kilt. Harrumph!

There's a reason the nice man calls himself Old Jamie. You don't want to see his knees, believe me. :D

nkk1969

09-30-2009, 07:01 PM

P.S. Diana has a couple of Cali dates (Mountain View and Santa Rosa, I think), it anyone is interested...

Strawberry Curls

09-30-2009, 07:50 PM

There's a reason the nice man calls himself Old Jamie. You don't want to see his knees, believe me. :DOhhhhh, never mind!

jtb1951

09-30-2009, 10:11 PM

Hey John,

I don't know if you or your wife read Diana Gabaldon or not, but I just found out she'll be near you tonight. Not as though you need another literary image notch in you belt , but if you're a fan, here's where she'll be:

7:00 PM - Anderson’s Bookshop at North Central College
North Carolina College
Pfeiffer Hall
310 East Benton Ave.
Naperville, IL 60540

Thanks for being so observant, Nikki! I work in Naperville and Anderson's is one of my favorite bookstores so I stay on top of their events; I had already planned on attending so I will be heading over right after work. Pfeiffer Hall is pretty large, and Anderson's tries to schedule events there that are likely to be too large for their store (which is where many of the events that I attend are held), so I will try to be early enough to get a seat within photo op range:)! We will see how it goes! Thanks again!

John.

nkk1969

09-30-2009, 10:56 PM

If you get the chance, give her a hug for me!

tangential1

10-01-2009, 04:23 PM

P.S. Diana has a couple of Cali dates (Mountain View and Santa Rosa, I think), it anyone is interested...

I saw that! And I was thinking it would be fun. But it looks rather unlikely at this point (me being sans car and no one I know wanting to drive over an hour each way on a weeknight) :(

I did, however, notice she's going to be just a few miles from my parents house! So I'm going to suggest to my mother that she might enjoy the event :D

jtb1951

10-02-2009, 12:18 AM

After trekking into the city Tuesday night for Audrey Niffenegger it was a veritable hop, skip, and jump after work over to Pfeiffer Hall at North Central College in Naperville to experience the phenomenon that is Diana Gabaldon. Wow, what a whirlwind! From the moment she took the mic she was energy unleashed! She paced the stage in front of the crowd of about 400, launching into a 30 minute, non-stop rendition of her transformation from academic scientist to scientific computing developer to Compuserve writing forum junkie to (spectacular leap!) best-selling historical fiction writer! I was exhausted just from listening to her:p! Her expertise at storytelling evidenced in her novels was brought to life on stage as she exhibited her gift of gab before our (my) enthralled and slightly overwhelmed eyes. What a treat! I had not seen her in person before, and I would certainly recommend to any of her fans to go out of your way to see her if she is appearing anywhere close. After a short reading, and a very interesting Q&A session, she graciously stayed to autograph any and all of her novels, even posing for innumerable photos w/ the fans. It was a long line that stayed for the book-signing, and she was quite the trouper, chatting w/ a smile for everyone! Quite an impressive lady, and I enjoyed the evening thoroughly. Photos attached, per usual.

John.

nkk1969

10-02-2009, 11:32 AM

I'm so glad you enjoyed the event, John. Caitlin loves the Cocks with Socks bit and is going to send her anatomy professor a link to one of the videos on YouTube that shows Diana saying it. :D

Great pictures, as usual!

Pat Floyd

10-02-2009, 03:28 PM

John, what absolutely superb photographs and reporting. I was especially glad to see the photo of the photographer. Her manner of dress looks as dramatic as her verbal presentation.

Elizabeth

10-02-2009, 08:34 PM

Thanks so much for sharing these, John! I've never seen DG in person, but from the YouTube videos and audio interviews I've seen and heard, you are absolutely right: she is an amazing speaker. I was listening to a very long interview the other day when I realised that she doesn't have any verbal tics: no ums, uhs or you knows. Everything flows out well-formed and at quite a pace! I suppose that explains the lengths of her books. :)

And thanks for including a photo of you! It's very nice to put a face to the name.

tangential1

10-06-2009, 12:21 AM

Man...I really wish I could get out to see her speak! Why oh why did they have to send her out this way on a Tuesday night?!

Millie

10-08-2009, 02:19 AM

Thanks for whetting my appetite, Nikki and John! Diana is coming to Brisbane soon (yay) so I'll post photos if I a)find my usb cord, or b)work out how to use the allegedly simple plug and play thingo I got instead, or c) work out how to post onto this site :D

jtb1951

10-08-2009, 04:56 PM

I think you will enjoy her immensely, Millie; hope you can get some good pics. BTW, thanks for sharing about your NZ visit; it sounded terrific. DW and I are seriously hoping to visit within the next 5 years (fingers crossed!).
The Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite read of all time; try to take the opportunity to read it before seeing the movies so you have a foundation for enjoying Peter Jackson's masterpiece. I think he did as marvelous a job as anyone possibly could in transferring the story to the big screen, especially since I always felt that LOTR was probably unfilmable. I love the films, but I love Tolkien's work much more! Hope all is well w/ you and the family!

John.

KarenB

10-08-2009, 05:11 PM

LOTR - I must have read it about 20 times or so by now. While my DS was laid out on the sofa for a week with Lyme disease we watched the extended version of the film twice and I think twice more since then. Now we've been watching the appendixes which are mostly a documentary on making the films - fascinating stuff. The amount of detail and the collaborative effort on the films is astonishing. And it has just totally reinforced my desire to go to NZ some day. My kids actually read the books after seeing the movies which is unusual - I usually make them read the books first, but tend to relax my standards when confronted with a sick kid. But seeing the movies prompted them to read the books in this case.

tangential1

10-08-2009, 07:03 PM

LOTR - Now we've been watching the appendixes which are mostly a documentary on making the films - fascinating stuff.

We did this too! Watched all three extended editions, including appendices, a few months ago. It took weeks (like 4 or so, I think? We watched maybe an hour a night) to get through everything, but totally awesome documentary.:cool:

tangential1

10-08-2009, 07:06 PM

Haha! Found out Ms. Gabaldon was going to be just a couple of miles from my mom's house and called her up to tell her she should go check out the event. And asked her to see if she could take my sister's mp3 recorder along and get me a signed copy of Outlander while she was at it;) So with luck I will get to hear the whole event soon!

jtb1951

10-08-2009, 07:13 PM

The extras on the DVD sets, both original and extended, are terrific; roughly once a year now we will set aside an entire Saturday to watch all three extended versions. We now have a flat screen LCD TV, and with winter almost upon us, I feel another marathon experience coming up!!! Fortunately for me, I have a DW (and 2 properly indoctrinated DD's, who are off at graduate school) who share and foster my passion for PJ's epics, if not my overall Tolkien obsession:p!

John.

KarenB

10-08-2009, 07:14 PM

Dang! If I lived near you, John, I'd be showing up with the popcorn!

Millie

10-08-2009, 10:47 PM

BTW, thanks for sharing about your NZ visit; it sounded terrific. DW and I are seriously hoping to visit within the next 5 years (fingers crossed!).

John.

Don't forget we're only a 3 hour flight from NZ, John! I'd be devastated if any vbc-ers came to the Antipodes and didn't come here!!!!!! LOL

jtb1951

10-08-2009, 11:46 PM

Don't forget we're only a 3 hour flight from NZ, John! I'd be devastated if any vbc-ers came to the Antipodes and didn't come here!!!!!! LOL

It would be a shame to get to New Zealand and not be able to visit Queensland, Millie; don't go moving to Perth in the meantime:)! Seeing you mention the Antipodes takes me back to grade-school geography class, and how exotic the term Antipodes sounded. The influence of the British Empire was everywhere; even though antipodes strictly means the exact opposite side of the earth from any particular place, The Antipodes became that place directly opposite from Great Britain, the islands south of New Zealand. The antipodes of Chicago, for example, (as he consults a globe) would be out in the south Indian Ocean, somewhat southwest of Australia!

John.

Donna

10-10-2009, 11:47 AM

John, you make me giggle. Remember as kids we all wanted to dig a very deep hole right through and to the other side of the earth? Most of us would have drowned, not ended up in China.

Thanks for your pics and reports - your flare for that is really good.

Millie, I've always wanted to head your way, checking out all that your fine Antipodes have to offer, stop off in Ancartica and then zip up from the Falklands, the South American continent... Someday... I hope... I would like to tour Australia with an Arthur Upfield map and visit all the places he sends "Boney" - his detective. And there have been some really good films made about your fine land, places that I'd love to see in person: Whale Rider, Rabbit-Proof Fence, the "horse" films such as The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild Brumbies or Phar Lap or The Man From Snowy River series, even Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson again), and MI2... Must also attend something at the Sydney Opera House... One of my all time favorite sopranos is Kiri Te Kanawa and one of my all time favorite mystery authors is Ngaio Marsh. And how can anyone overlook Russell Crowe or Cate Blanchett? Australia has added so much to our lives.

The LOTR books (and the Hobbit) really are the best but do have to say Peter Jackson will always be my favorite director because of his LOTR work. I am so glad he did so much "behind the scenes" filming - truly an extraordinary Master's Class on filmmaking.

I have both the "movie" and "extended film" versions with all the extras on each and watch all of them periodically (not all at once though sometimes wish that were possible due to time constraints) so if anyone wants to extend a Bouchercon by a day or two either side one of these years we could have a LOTR film festival... :) I'd bring the popcorn!
:D

jtb1951

10-10-2009, 12:59 PM

I have both the "movie" and "extended film" versions with all the extras on each and watch all of them periodically (not all at once though sometimes wish that were possible due to time constraints) so if anyone wants to extend a Bouchercon by a day or two either side one of these years we could have a LOTR film festival... I'd bring the popcorn!

Count me in!!!

John.

Millie

10-10-2009, 10:11 PM

[QUOTE=Donna;19756] Whale Rider, Phar Lap o [I]Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson again), andKiri Te Kanawa and one of my all time favorite mystery authors is Ngaio Marsh. And how can anyone overlook Russell Crowe ? Australia has added so much to our lives.

The LOTR books (and the Hobbit) really are the best but do have to say Peter Jackson will always be my favorite director because of his LOTR work. I

:D[/QUOTE

:D Donna, I hereby appoint you an honorary Australian for your fine work in claiming New Zealand icons as Australian :D:D:D We all do it and it drives the Kiwis INSANE! (Yes, Phar Lap and Russell Crowe are Kiwis - were, in Phar Lap's case:))

Personally, I'd move to NZ in a heartbeat, but I do love home as well.

nkk1969

11-10-2009, 01:49 AM

Hi Millie,

I asked Diana about the events in Brisbane. I'm afraid you're not going to like the news, but here it is...

Dear Nikki--

I'll _be_ in Brisbane on the 20th, but not performing--that's the day I _leave_ to go home (! O, frabjous day!).

On the 19th, the event is a literary dinner at the Grand View Hotel, sponsored by the bookseller Books n Art Cleveland (don't ask me; that's what the schedule says). It's $40 including a 2-course meal and wine, and will start at 6:30-7:00 (i.e., guests arrive and get seated; the program starts at 7). It says here that they've sold 200 tickets so far, but doesn't say sold out--so your friend might want to call the bookseller, if she's interested.
--Diana

Millie

11-10-2009, 03:32 AM

Thanks, Nikki, even though I'm sobbing onto my keyboard as I type. I'll have another look at my life that week and see if I can possibly manage it. Maybe my in-laws can come down...the lengths we go to, LOL. I am definitely interested, and at least I've had the thrill of being mentioned in Diana's email :D

nkk1969

11-20-2009, 01:06 AM

Millie,

Did you make it out to see Diana or not? Just curious...

Millie

11-23-2009, 05:39 AM

Nooooo :( :( :(

It just wasn't going to be feasible at any stage, and then dh's uncle was in town and we had to have (I sound like a cow - it was actually very nice) dinner with him.

I had thoughts of going out to the airport like a deranged stalker, but thought better of it. Mainly because I had no idea when her flight was.

jtb1951

01-16-2010, 12:19 AM

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the release event and party for a new historical fiction called Alice I Have Been, by Melanie Benjamin, a local writer. The book is the story of Alice Pleasance Liddell Hargreaves, the real Alice upon whom Lewis Carroll (Rev. Charles Dodgson) based his Alice.

Melanie told her story of visiting an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago of the photography of Lewis Carroll, and being struck by one photograph in particular, that of a young Alice Liddell in gypsy rags. Melanie acknowledged that she was familiar with Alice in Wonderland but didn't know that Carroll's Alice character was based upon a real-life Alice. A few years later she was relating this story to her best friend visiting from Australia, and talked about how she wondered what had ever happened to the adult Alice Liddell. Her friend convinced her that there was a story to be written, and she should write it.

And so she did; her research showed that there were just a few major events in the adult Alice's life that had been documented, which left her as a novelist an opportunity for some historical fiction. Alice I Have Been is the result.

I have read about 100 pages so far and finding the story intriguing. I have long been a fan of the Alice books, especially the annotated editions by Martin Gardner, and I am curious to see what Melanie does with some of the uncertain events in the life of Alice Liddell Hargreaves.

When I looked at the author appreciations on the back cover of the volume I was pleasantly surprised to find one by a certain Laurie R. King: "What does a woman do who has been a fiction all of her life? Alice I Have Been explores the moving struggle of an eternal girl to forge her identity as a woman in a time and place where even ordinary women must fight for their identity."

It was an enjoyable evening! (Photos attached!)

John.

Pat Floyd

01-16-2010, 04:56 AM

Thank you, John. This sounds like a book I want to read. Excellent photos as always.

jtb1951

01-27-2010, 05:35 AM

Another fun evening at Anderson's Bookshop in downtown Naperville, IL! The author guest this evening was Robert Crais, creator of Elvis Cole & Joe Pike, Lucy Chenier and Carol Starkey, and a large supporting cast, on tour for his newest Pike/Cole novel, The First Rule. I have gotten quite hooked on his novels (including his standalones) over the last couple of months, and am steadily working my way through his back list.

Tonight Mr. Crais started out by sharing a selection of interesting (odd! bizarre! hilarious!) actual e-mails that he has received from his fans, lumping them into the categories of 1) complaints about his grammatical abuse of bring vs. take, 2) strange notes from folks who have named their pets Crais, and 3) even stranger notes which included photos of said pets named Crais posed w/ celebrities (hey, Olivia Newton-John, would you please pose with my dog Crais? oy!). His interpretive show & tell of these e-mails was veeery entertaining!

After the comedic segment, Robert read a couple of segments from the new novel, putting them into the perspective of a continued unfolding of Joe Pike's past. That was followed with a lively Q & A, as the audience exhibited some major fannish insight. One of the questions was whether we would ever be shown the first meeting between Elvis & Joe. Robert said he actually wrote that scene while writing L.A Requiem but has not been able to appropriately fit it in to any of the novels yet. The idea he is playing with is to do a novel flashing back and forth between Cole and Pike, and what they were actually involved in, during the time period leading up to their first meeting. Sounds promising. After the Q & A he graciously sat to autograph books (and pass out promo red arrow tat decals for photo ops), and as usual, photos attached. A delightful evening!!

John.

Strawberry Curls

01-27-2010, 06:40 AM

Great photos and reportage, John. Thanks for sharing. Mr. Crais sounds like a great performer, and certainly is darn good looking. I will BOLO for his latest and then have to wait till DH reads it first. Looking forward to visiting Elvis and Pike...soon.

jtb1951

01-27-2010, 01:50 PM

Great photos and reportage, John. Thanks for sharing. Mr. Crais sounds like a great performer, and certainly is darn good looking.

Thanks, Alice! He was certainly very engaging, and I think many of the women were actually drooling:p; the bookshop women running the event were certainly quite aflutter!

John.

Millie

01-29-2010, 09:44 AM

Great photos, John! Alice, I was thinking the same thing LOL.

Pat Floyd

01-29-2010, 02:51 PM

I wrote a response Wednesday for which I must have failed to click "post." John, your photos do a marvelous job of capturing this handsome man's expressions. On second viewing I clicked through quickly and almost got the effect of animation.

jtb1951

01-30-2010, 08:00 PM

A month ago I read a very flattering review of this gentleman's first novel (after two published non-fiction books) and bought a copy of Cutting For Stone as a result. This past Wednesday he made an appearance at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL (the evening after Robert Crais) so I took the opportunity to attend and I was very glad that I did. He struck me as a person with a fascinating background (see http://www.abrahamverghese.com/biography.asp for bio) and a spellbinding story to tell. I am still in the midst of reading the book and quite impressed with it so far. He spent the evening talking about his background growing up in Ethiopia, the son of India natives, and being a precocious reader, entranced by Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage at an early age, and thinking how he would love to be able to write like that. He eventually trained as a physician, with a deep belief in an empathetic bedside manner, which was developed during his time spent treating early AIDS patients in rural Tennessee. But he never gave up his love of writing and has managed (not without personal cost) to embrace and work in both his chosen professions. Quite an impressive person. He was a wonderful speaker, and I have attached some photos.

John.

Pat Floyd

01-30-2010, 08:42 PM

I had the privilege of hearing Verghese at the Southern Festival of Books after he had written My Own Country. I asked how he as a physician had learned to write so beautifully, and he told me about his love of reading. His nonfiction books read like novels. I highly recommend them as well as Cutting for Stone. Actually, they are less challenging reading, just straight story telling.

jtb1951

02-07-2010, 07:53 PM

DW and I spent a pleasant Friday evening at the Barnes & Noble Old Orchard, Skokie, IL, listening to Elizabeth Kostova (The Historian) on tour for her second novel, The Swan Thieves. Ms. Kostova read some selections from the new novel and graciously (and informatively) answered an extensive array of perceptive questions from the apparently well-read crowd.
She spoke at length about her interests (history and art in particular) and how they had lead her to write her first two novels. When the inevitable question about her next book was asked, she paused briefly, then told us that indeed she was working on a new novel, and that its genesis was totally unlike the first two, and was actually, um, strange!
Last fall she had a very vivid dream sequence about a new story, comprising some spotty starting points, a rather well-developed mid-story, and a fairly detailed ending! She awoke from the dream early morning, rushed to her desk and made a detailed outline while everything was still fresh. However, what the end of the dream showed her was even more unexpected; she found herself with a copy of the finished book, lying on its side on her desk, and she could read the title!!
The audience had the good grace to refrain from asking the title, and now I can't wait for her next appearance, with new novel, some years down the road. A very nice evening, with that unusual turn!

Photos attached!

John.

Millie

02-08-2010, 05:50 AM

I'm glad you posted this, John - I saw one of her books this morning and thought it looked interesting. And what a great story for no.3! Wasn't Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde the result of a dream?

Pat Floyd

02-08-2010, 08:00 PM

Thanks, John. The Snow Thieves sounds like on interesting book.

jtb1951

02-26-2010, 01:38 AM

For the past several years the city of Naperville, in conjunction with Anderson's Bookshop, has sponsored a program called Naperville Reads, inviting an author or authors to spend a couple of days in town speaking to elementary, secondary, and college students about reading and writing and sharing their works with them. They usually also spend two evenings: one adult night, one family night, meeting with the public.

This year's guest speaker was Neil Gaiman, and I was fortunate enough to get tickets for the adult night on Tuesday. The crowd filled the auditorium at one of the local high schools (Waubonsie Valley) and were extremely enthusiastic in welcoming and appreciating the evening with Neil. He gave us two extended readings, one from Stardust and another from Anansi Boys, which were received with rapt attention. Then he graciously answered (often at great length) quite a few intelligent questions from the audience. He finished the evening with a reading of some poetry of his which is to be published, with artwork, in late April.

This was my DW's first opportunity to see Neil in person, and she was as impressed as I have always been with Neil Gaiman's wit and humor and charm, as well as his most excellent readings. Another wonderful evening courtesy of our friends at Anderson's Bookshop (and they sold a lot of books, before and after, to boot!) A few photos follow!

John.

jtb1951

03-15-2010, 02:31 AM

Saturday afternoon DD#2 and I attended a tour event for a most extraordinary book,The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. Ms. Skloot is a science journalist who spent the last 10 years sleuthing and researching the facts behind one of the most mysterious and misunderstood topics in the biological/medical sciences: Who was Henrietta Lacks and what is the story behind the HeLa cell culture line, one of the most important (if not the most important) medical breakthrough of the 20th century.

Most medical/bioscience researchers are aware of, if not intimately involved with, the HeLa cell culture line, but most probably know very little of the true story (and the author has encountered some that don't want to know the truth!) Many others have directly benefited (or know someone close who has benefited) from the medical wonders that have resulted from research using this immortal (to date) cancer cell culture line.

For my money, this is an incredibly important book, telling the story for the first time of medical practices and ethics, past and present; of the shameless exploitation of the poor and ignorant; but most importantly, the story of several generations of a family whose story screams to be told.

Rebecca Skloot is an individual whose pursuit of the answers to questions which came to mind during her high school biology class, and consumed her as a professional journalist, serve as a benchmark of social journalism, imho! I give this book the highest recommendation, and hope that some of you will seek it out. Photos attached, per usual.

John.

LaideeMarjorie

03-15-2010, 02:41 AM

John,

I saw a piece about this book on CBS Sunday Morning this morning and I found it fascinating. I was also appalled to find out that one of Ms. Lacks' sons has no health insurance and is in debt for over $100,000 for a heart bypass operation. Something is horribly wrong here and I only hope that the book brings some justice to the family considering the millions that have been made from the cells.

Thanks for sharing,
Marjorie

jtb1951

04-17-2010, 04:53 AM

I had the pleasure this evening of attending another wonderful book event for the charming Jacqueline Winspear at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville. Ms. Winspear is on tour for her new Maisie Dobbs novel, The Mapping of Love and Death. She spent a considerable amount of time explaining the genesis of her ideas for the story, from her visits at WWI battlefield memorial graves in France several years ago, to a chance encounter with a Southern California newspaper article about an individual engaged in trying to identify newly recovered remains of WWI casualties, to a conversation with her husband about oil surveying in early 20th century California. There was also time for her to address questions from the appreciative audience, and then she graciously autographed books. As always she was a very interesting speaker, and I even managed a few photos.

John.

Pat Floyd

04-17-2010, 12:37 PM

Thank you, John. As always you have very expressive photos.

jtb1951

05-12-2010, 04:08 AM

DW and I spent an interesting evening at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville listening to Chicago lawyer and author Scott Turow talk about his newest novel, Innocent. As a sequel (21 years in real time and story time later!) to his first hit novel, Presumed Inoocent, this was a book that he swore he would never write (for a multitude of reasons which he enumerated). Sometimes, though, the Muse will have her way; he was in a reflective mood a few years ago after his youngest had gone off to college, and a single scene popped into his head, germinated for awhile, then resolved into characters (from Presumed Innocent) whom he thought he was done with. His self-described "chaotic" method of writing worked to his advantage once again as bits and pieces of a story came together, and a surprising character stole to the forefront. At that point he gave into the writing of the novel he was never going to write, and a couple years later was pleased with the result, this book. After his talk he graciously answered several very interesting questions, explaining his role as a prosecuting D.A. in the famous "Operation Greylord" judicial corruption scandal in Chicago, and talking about his recruitment into the author's band Rockbottom Remainders, joining the likes of Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Stephen King, Mitch Albom, Ridley Pearson, and Roy Blount Jr. It was a totally enjoyable evening, and a few photos resulted.

John.

Pat Floyd

05-12-2010, 04:55 AM

John, again, thank you for an excellent report and photos. You inspire in me an interest in reading these books.

jtb1951

05-14-2010, 12:02 AM

Well, it was back-to-back author events for me this week at Anderson's Bookshop. After seeing Scott Turow Tuesday evening I enjoyed the event which the store held for Cory Doctorow last night! Cory has always fascinated me with his opinions and insights into the complexities and vagaries of the Internet and electronic freedoms/rights, and with his idiosyncratic science fiction (oxymoron?) writings. He is a native Canadian author, technology activist, journalist, blogger, and self-proclaimed nerd; he co-edits BoingBoing.net and has his own site craphound.com. He appeared last night on tour for his new YA novel For The Win, following on the heels of the best-seller Little Brother. He did a reading of a tantalizing chapter from the new book, and then answered a wide-ranging multitude of questions from an audience with an apparent high quotient of social awareness and tech savvy! After exhausting the questions Cory kindly signed everything the fans brought to him, a yeoman's job considering he is suffering from chronic sciatica. A very entertaining and informative evening, and pictures follow.

John.

jtb1951

06-09-2010, 12:23 AM

A little belated, but better late than never (I hope)! Last week I had the opportunity to see Lee Child on tour for his newest Jack Reacher novel, 61 Hours; the event was held at the Skokie School auditorium in Winnetka, IL, and hosted by the fine folks at The Bookstall at Chestnut Court! Lee was in fine form, putting his dry English humor forth to hilarious effect. He told the appreciative audience of a couple hundred the stories of the three individuals who won roles (via charitable auctions) in the new book. The third of the winning individuals was a gentleman (?) who asked Lee to put his wife in as a character, and could he please work the story so her character could have sex with Reacher!! The look on his face as he related the story was priceless! After answering a ton of questions (what does that old saying really mean? what is the average weight of a question, after all? Oops, sorry for the derailment!) Lee very graciously signed books for a very long line of fans, and posed for photos with many of them. I think a great time was had by all, and photos follow!

John.

P.S. I finished the book earlier in the week, and wow, what an ending!

Pat Floyd

06-12-2010, 09:28 AM

John, thank you so much for the photos and the anecdotes.

jtb1951

07-16-2010, 03:57 AM

I had the pleasure this evening of hearing and meeting another of the Outfit Collective (a group of local mystery/crime novelists), Jamie Freveletti, on tour for her second novel, Running Dark, reprising her main character, Emma Caldridge, from her first novel, Running From The Devil. Jamie is a lawyer in Chicago, and confessed that the success of her first book is quite changing her life. She spoke about the development of her protagonist, Emma, who is a cosmetic chemist and ultra-marathon runner, as the result of trying to combine a strong female lead with some attributes that she (Jamie) would love to have. She was a very charming speaker, and after answering a slew of questions she graciously signed books and had pictures taken with many of the audience (including yours truly, who got snapped while directing the store staff person taking the picture:p). Some other photos included.

John.

Donna

07-16-2010, 04:08 AM

John, Thank you so much. Great photo report and fine "whetting of interest". (Not to mention the great advertising job!) ***grin***

Pat Floyd

07-16-2010, 04:18 AM

Thanks, John. I'll have to look up her novels. Like that T-shirt.

Strawberry Curls

07-16-2010, 04:47 AM

They are great pics, John, and I love that you were wearing the colors, so to speak, even with another author. :D

jtb1951

07-16-2010, 04:47 AM

When Jamie saw my shirt she said, "Laurie King! I love her books!"

John.

jtb1951

07-17-2010, 03:52 PM

Two evenings of political intrigue in a row! Last night I attended an event at the Oak Brook Barnes & Noble for Brad Thor, on tour for his latest political thriller, Foreign Influence. This is his ninth novel in a series featuring security operative Scott Harvath, a former Secret Service agent, co-opted and further trained in black ops directed against foreign terrorists, both in-country and out. I have been a fan since his first novel, The Lions of Lucerne, and the new book (based on my hour of reading while waiting for the start of the talk) is every bit as engaging.

Scot is a terrific speaker, with a great sense of humor, and doesn't take himself too seriously at all. He readily admitted that his books are thrillers (beach-reads, as he put it) not meant to be high-brow foreign policy treatises. Interestingly enough though, a young man, who I got the impression was a bodyguard, and who was never acknowledged, spent the evening not more than 6-8 feet from the author, constantly scanning the crowd. If he was a gimmick, he was very convincing, but I think he was the real deal; this same young man appeared to quietly check out the event setting (seating arrangements, podium, microphone, speakers, tables, etc) an hour before the event, when there were only a couple attendees present. More than a little eerie.

Scot talked a little about how he got into writing, and about the inspiration for his first book (it all happened on his honeymoon in Europe, when his wife asked him what he would most regret if he never did it, and he blurted out without thinking, to write a novel and have it published. Later in the trip, in Lucerne, he read a newspaper article which gave him the plot for his debut novel!)

He finished with a tale about from where the idea for his new novel came, then answered some great questions before sitting down to autograph books. He noticed that there were some audience members with young children, so he invited them (as the parent himself of young children) to the head of the line so the kids wouldn't have to be waiting around impatiently, which I felt was thoughtful.

As usual, photos attached (including one w/ the creepy guy in it!)

John.

Millie

07-24-2010, 03:26 AM

Great photos, John (who *is* that guy who jumps in all your shots? :D). Brad sounds like a great guy - as the mum of two young kids, I'm always happy with someone who makes life just a bit easier! I've not heard of him before - yet another to add to the TBR list.

I've just picked up the programme for the Brisbane Writers Festival, and I'm very excited because Val McDermid is going to be there! Of course, it's a weekend that we're going to be away, but there's a (free, even better!) interview on the Thursday that I will be at if I have to kill someone to get there! I can do it; it's at 11am and in the city, so only 10 minutes from me. I just need to remember to book DS into kindy for an extra day. It's in early September - after the Diana Gabaldon debacle, I am determined!

Pat Floyd

07-24-2010, 05:22 AM

Millie, book that kindy day, and tell us all about Val.

Strawberry Curls

07-24-2010, 06:27 AM

Go for it, Millie. You really need to get to an event, they are fun and something just for you. Parents need some time doing things they like every now and again. It revitalizes you.

jtb1951

07-31-2010, 06:13 PM

Thursday evening past I enjoyed a wonderful discussion, hosted by Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill A Mockingbird, with local guest authors Luis Alberto Urrea (see bio: http://www.luisurrea.com/aboutluis.php) and Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been) moderating.

A very enthusiastic crowd of approx. 75 folks listened to some opening remarks and reflections on the book from the moderators then the floor was opened to any and all for remarks about the book. The discussion was very lively, with viewpoints expressed by those of us who are native midwesterners, as well as folks who were living in the deep south when the book was published, and a scattering of individuals from elsewhere in the U.S. To a person (at least among those who voiced an opinion) the novel was considered the closest thing to The Great American Novel extant, and touched everyone considerably.

Ms. Benjamin, who writes historical fiction, and has studied the life of Harper Lee extensively, engaged the audience with anecdotes of the complex friendship between Harper Lee and Truman Capote, and their effects on each other. Mr. Urrea, who had just returned, the night previous, from a month in England, talked about the interesting 50th anniversary buzz among the literati across the pond.

All in all, a very interesting, informative, and enjoyable evening of discussion, and attached are a few photos.

John.

Pat Floyd

08-01-2010, 04:27 AM

John, your commentary and these wonderful photos of people it would be good to know makes me sorry that I missed this occasion.

jtb1951

08-01-2010, 04:56 AM

Pat, as always, you are too kind. Thank you!

John.

pontalba

08-02-2010, 05:50 AM

Wonderful pictures! Hadda be lots of fun. :D

Strawberry Curls

08-02-2010, 04:48 PM

What a great event, John. I've always loved that book and it was one my (formerly non-reading) son enjoyed in middle school. His teacher had the kids dress up as a character from the book and then she interview them and they were to answer in character. DS dressed in overalls, a flannel shirt and didn't respond to questions. He was Boo Radley. She gave him an A for originality.

Wow, I hadn't thought of that in decades. Thanks for your marvelous reportage, and, as always, wonderful pictures, John.

jtb1951

08-02-2010, 05:35 PM

DS dressed in overalls, a flannel shirt and didn't respond to questions. He was Boo Radley.

That would have been just about my speed back then, Alice, except my non-responsiveness would have been due to shyness and shear fear:)

John.

Strawberry Curls

08-02-2010, 07:49 PM

My DS never lacked for audacity, or self-confidence, and he was never shy. More like his father in that regard.

jtb1951

08-25-2010, 09:32 PM

I saw a piece about this book on CBS Sunday Morning this morning and I found it fascinating. I was also appalled to find out that one of Ms. Lacks' sons has no health insurance and is in debt for over $100,000 for a heart bypass operation. Something is horribly wrong here and I only hope that the book brings some justice to the family considering the millions that have been made from the cells.

Relevant to your comment, Marjorie, I just found this info on Rebecca Skloot's website:

August 11, 2010
First Henrietta Lacks Foundation Grants Awarded

Today, the Henrietta Lacks Foundation awarded its first ever grants thanks to donations from Rebecca Skloot, and many readers. The first awards cover full tuition and books for five descendants of Henrietta Lacks starting fall semester 2010, as well as an emergency grant for one of Henrietta Lacks’s sons. More information about the inaugural Henrietta Lacks Foundation grants coming soon.

John.

jtb1951

08-26-2010, 01:35 AM

Last night I was able to attend a book launch by one of the Chicago area's own, Kevin Guilfoile. The launch event was hosted at the Border's Books in LaGrange, IL, Kevin's hometown, and was celebrating the release of his second mystery novel, The Thousand. I have followed Kevin on the Outfit Collective blog, and enjoyed his first novel, Cast of Shadows. With the event being held local to the author there was a terrific crowd, understandably.

Kevin opened by talking about the background to writing this novel, and why it had taken so long after the publication of his first book (the acceptance and publication of which was much faster than he ever dreamed!) He talked extensively about his preferences and habits, both as a reader and a writer, and indicated that he hopes to finish his third novel by the end of the year. He did a wonderful job answering lots of questions then sat down to the task of autographing books for an impressive line of fans (which I managed to be at the head of:))

It was a thoroughly entertaining evening and I told Kevin that I would have to look him up at BoucherCon. I managed a few photos, which are attached.

John.

Millie

08-28-2010, 02:58 AM

He looks like a very animated, interesting speaker, John. Again, an author I'd not heard of, so thanks!

jtb1951

09-21-2010, 03:58 AM

This past Saturday DW and I enjoyed listening to one of my favorite authors, William Gibson, on tour for his new book Zero History, hosted by the Barnes & Noble in Oak Brook, IL. Zero History is set in the speculative present, roughly co-temporal with his previous two novels, Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. William Gibson is not the most prolific writer in the world of fiction, but his spare prose and taut plot lines coupled with his mastery of language and elegant, creative ideas make him stand out, imho. His name will forever be associated with the cyberpunk literary movement which, in answer to a question, he asserted was not a genre but more properly a "tag" descriptive of a loosely aggregated cohort of writing, art, clothing, architecture, technology, etc. With a droll sense of humor and laconic demeanor he entertained us with a chapter reading from the new book, and an extensive question-and-answer session, which very much engaged the serious fan-crowd. He then sat for autographs and photos, and a few pics are attached. Good times!

John.

Strawberry Curls

09-21-2010, 12:51 PM

John, as always, your photos and reportage are excellent...oh, and way to fly the colors! Love your "Hive" shirt. :D

Pat Floyd

09-22-2010, 03:07 AM

John, I love the expressions you caught. Clearly, this is a man I would love to hear talk, and his books sound intriguing

jtb1951

09-30-2010, 12:51 AM

Last week Tuesday I braved the elements (major stormage) to attend a wonderful book(s) event for a couple members of The Outfit (Chicago Crime Writers) blog group, Laura Caldwell & Bryan Gruley, on tour for their most recent books. Laura spoke about the interesting genesis and production of her fascinating non-fiction book, Long Way Home, sub-titled A Young Man Lost In The System and The Two Women Who Found Him. Prior to her career as a crime fiction writer Laura was a lawyer specializing in civil litigations for the likes of corporations, musicians, and professionals. This book is her telling of the story of Jovan Mosley, a young man from the South Side of Chicago who was jailed for his wrongfully alleged involvement in a random fatal beating, and who spent six years in a holding cell without ever being brought to trial due to an almost unbelievable series of events, and of how Laura was brought into his case as an assistant to a lawyer who took up Jovan's case as her first pro-bono effort. It was a compelling read and stranger than fiction.

Bryan spoke to us about his second mystery novel, The Hanging Tree, set in the locale of his debut novel, Starvation Lake, and I liked his new effort even more than I enjoyed Starvation Lake. I was glad to hear that he is contracted for one more Starvation Lake novel and I eagerly await it.

Because of the awful weather the crowd was held down to about ten people, of which I think four were fans and the other half-dozen were local friends, so it was more like an open conversation than a formal book event. A third member of The Outfit blog group, Libby Fischer Hellman, was also in attendance and I managed a photo of the mini-Outfit for posterity. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and we managed (for the most part) to ignore the periodic nasty weather noises from outside. Photos attached.

John.