A Busy Week Indeed!
You know that old adage "No news is good news"?
I heard a thing through the grapevine that might contradict that a little. I heard that a person enjoyed a section of my blog last week. I didn't hear it direct from the person, so it could be an elaborate ruse to get me to write more about events and less about the types of sandwiches I am having for lunch. Time will just have to be the judge in this case, for now, I am going to run under the assumption that you all--funny how one person constitutes "you all"--enjoyed the section I wrote about how I chose to do an event surrounding Amy Bryant's first book, "Polly."
As a brief aside that will eventually turn into the whole story, our event with Amy (and Polly) went very well. I was not in attendance due to a very overbooked schedule. It was one of the first times that Amy had to get up in front of a group of strangers and talk about her own book. She was very brave and, bolstered by our own Markus Hanson, endured the heckling jibes and thrown bottles that her friends, family and fans threw her way. She, like Polly, is a very tough gir--woman and I hope her book goes on to great success. If no one minds I would like to say thanks to her. Thank you Amy for coming out and reading in our store and thank you for the signed book.
See guys? There are perks to this job. Even though they are sometimes hidden among 500 emails and 24 voice mails.
Anyone curious about why I was unable to make it to Amy's talk? No? Too bad because you are going to hear about it anyway. I will call this the "Bragging" portion of my blog and you will all be forced to read it because there will be pictures. You won't know what the pictures are for unless you read, so you will be forced to read the middle section just to understand the pictures. So, let the bragging begin. Okay, maybe not quite yet. Let me give you a little back story before I dive right in to the bragging. I could just say I met so-and-so and you might think to yourself, so what if he met so-and-so. I ran into Tim Russert at the mall the other day and he said "Excuse me". It is the same thing. It really isn't, so I will back up.
Tuesday night I got on the metro and rode out to Courthouse from my luxury apartment in Bethesda. (Event coordinators make SERIOUS cash. Feel free to pursue this line of work kids.) I got to Arlington around 6 and chatted with the staff until Ross King got in for his talk. We had a few minutes to spare, so Ross was kind enough to sign all the stock we had while we chatted about the book, living in London, pints, being sick, English cold medicine everything. We had, as the Brits might say, a proper chat. Once all the books were signed, Ross was introduced by Mr. Brian Heston (A very famous Olssonite) and proceeded to explain the history behind the art movement we all know as "Impressionism." Some of you may know that I went to art school for five years (six if you count that first stint in Seattle) and have a Bachelors in Fine Arts. I found his telling of this story more informative than any I had heard in all my years at University. Mr. King has certainly done his homework and allows you a very personal insight into the characters that make up this little history play. You begin to understand that these men and women were real people and not just names that you might see scrawled on the bottom of the print you have hanging over your chest of drawers in the bedroom.
Ross talked for almost a full hour and held the attention of all those present for the entire time. Excepting the little homeless man in the Canadian Tuxedo who came in, sat dead center in the front row and promptly fell asleep. I am not going to count him though because I doubt he cares that much about the history of art.
A truly engaging speaker, a very knowledgeable man and quite pleasant to boot. Another person that is taller than me. That counts just about everyone though.
So that was Tuesday. Wednesday was similar, but involved lunch. I and a few of my Olsson's coworkers got a chance to join Allan Folsom for lunch in the District. Allan (as you all remember from last week) has a new book out called "The Machiavelli Covenant." Allan used to work as a screenwriter in television for a number of years and all of his books read in a very cinematographic way. Each chapter will end with a camera cut and begin with a camera cut. He is very concerned about keeping the beat of the story and not getting bogged down with too many extraneous bits. Even though his stories can creep into the 800+ page level, the continual rhythm of the writing keeps you flipping pages until well into the night. His work is very well researched and will wrap you in layers of story and adventure until you choose to peek out your head to see if your alarm is about to go off.
He lives on the west coast and doesn't get out here much, so the chance to hang out with him and have lunch was very special. He then came out to Courthouse (again in Virginia) to chat with a group of hardcore fans who all brought their books from home for him to sign. I was surprised to see that each person in line had all four of his books in hardcover. I suppose when an author you enjoy comes to your town you should jump on board and bring everything you have to see if the bookstore people will let you get them signed. (Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we get to be mean and say "NO"! Man, I love that part.)
We caught Allan on the tail end of his tour as he was off to New York to meet up with his agent and publisher the next morning. He stuck around after and signed our entire stock. He has his own magic pens that he brings along. They were perfect for signing books. I guess Sue Grafton turned him on to them. Yes, Sue Grafton. Didn't you know, all writers know each other? They have a union just like the Screen Actor's Guild. they even have award shows, but because they are writers, it just comes out as another book. The latest one's isbn is 0517087251. Look it up.
When Thursday finally hit, I was so tired from working 12 hour days Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I just had to go home and get some rest. I put in a mild 10 hours at my desk trying to catch up on some book ordering for the next weeks, answering the most urgent of the emails that came through and trying to remember what my gym looks like.
Speaking of the gym, I went on Saturday and did the same thing I would have normally done, a chest workout and a three mile run. When I woke up on Sunday I was way too sore all over and thought I needed to go again to work out some of the stiffness. Sunday was the back workout and another three miles and I did feel a bit better after I got done. By the time Monday hit, I was a very unhappy little camper. I must have done something very wrong because I have been walking around holding my heart in my chest since then. I like to tell people I am having a heart attack or maybe a stroke or a minor brain hemorrhage because it sounds nicer than, I overworked at the gym and am that out of shape. Here it is Thursday (it really is Thursday this time) and I spent most of dinner sitting on my left hand because moving that arm causes massive lightning bolts to shoot though the left side of my chest and out my back only to have them bounce back from the wall and bury themselves in the back of my neck. Lightning bolts can be very aggressive.
I have been in the office trying desperately to catch up on all the bits that have slipped through. Alicia has had to take over the offsite scheduling as I am spread too thin to cover at this point. I had another dinner last night with a debut author. His book will be along shortly and is called "My Mother the Cheerleader". His name is Robert Sharenow and as much as you would like to think this is a shallow book about a Texas Pageant Mother, it is about a little girl who comes to grips with who she is and how she is going to relate with her mother. It is set in 1960's New Orleans around the harsh time of integration in the public school system. Some of you may remember the Steinbeck book, "Travels with Charley" where he mentions the Cheerleaders as they stood outside the school every day and yelled not-so-nice things at a little girl who only wanted an education. This is a Young Adult title, but I think the issue is important for everyone to read up on. I believe it is out in April, so keep your eyes peeled.
I am certain that is it for me. I am off to bed so I can hit it hard again in the morning. There are some very good events coming up that I think you might like to come out for. Courthouse is hosting Neil deGrasse Tyson as he explains how we are all going to die from a black hole. You may have seen him on Colbert (could have been Jon Stewart) just the other night, he will be around to Courthouse (What IS it with that store?) to tell us all how to prep for the end of the world as we know it. REM will not be played.
A man named Ralph has promised to come in to our Lansburgh store to talk about his new book, "The Seventeen Traditions". Ralph Nader! If you are very good he might tell you stories about the Corvair, a cute little car that would kill all the people in and around it in a matter of seconds, just like the Ford Pinto. Check the calendar for dates and times you will not want to miss this!
Lastly, my personal favorite because I am a sensitive 33-year old male who listens to Tiny Dancer and cries a little, Amy Stewart (I am starting to think I have an affinity for Amys) will be joining us in Crystal City to talk about her new book "Flower Confidential." Ever wondered where those Asiatic Lilies you buy at the grocery store come from? She is going to tell us. There will be free flowers for everyone that buys a book and I have heard Amy talk before, she is a pistol. Skip what you are doing and come on down to sunny Crystal City. It never rains in Crystal City. What happens in Crystal, stays in Crystal. (Slogans are so hard to come up with).
Editor's Notes: Everyone is not taller than the blogger, just most people. I also deleted what was eaten at all the lunches and dinners that have been attended. I swear this guy has a thing for food. If Blogger-boy keels over from his pending heart attack, I will take over and write about events in his place, you might notice a slight difference in style. Corvairs will not kill you in seconds, they take weeks to kill you properly. You should all try to keep fresh cut flowers in your home. They just make the place nicer to be in and Tiny Dancer is a GREAT song! And last. No offence to Canadians at all. A Canadian Tux is when you wear a denim jacket and denim jeans at the same time. Do everyone a favor, look down at yourself before you leave the house, if your tops match your bottoms and you are NOT wearing a suit, over the age of 80 or under the age of 8, go back in and change. No exceptions!
I heard a thing through the grapevine that might contradict that a little. I heard that a person enjoyed a section of my blog last week. I didn't hear it direct from the person, so it could be an elaborate ruse to get me to write more about events and less about the types of sandwiches I am having for lunch. Time will just have to be the judge in this case, for now, I am going to run under the assumption that you all--funny how one person constitutes "you all"--enjoyed the section I wrote about how I chose to do an event surrounding Amy Bryant's first book, "Polly."
As a brief aside that will eventually turn into the whole story, our event with Amy (and Polly) went very well. I was not in attendance due to a very overbooked schedule. It was one of the first times that Amy had to get up in front of a group of strangers and talk about her own book. She was very brave and, bolstered by our own Markus Hanson, endured the heckling jibes and thrown bottles that her friends, family and fans threw her way. She, like Polly, is a very tough gir--woman and I hope her book goes on to great success. If no one minds I would like to say thanks to her. Thank you Amy for coming out and reading in our store and thank you for the signed book.
See guys? There are perks to this job. Even though they are sometimes hidden among 500 emails and 24 voice mails.
Anyone curious about why I was unable to make it to Amy's talk? No? Too bad because you are going to hear about it anyway. I will call this the "Bragging" portion of my blog and you will all be forced to read it because there will be pictures. You won't know what the pictures are for unless you read, so you will be forced to read the middle section just to understand the pictures. So, let the bragging begin. Okay, maybe not quite yet. Let me give you a little back story before I dive right in to the bragging. I could just say I met so-and-so and you might think to yourself, so what if he met so-and-so. I ran into Tim Russert at the mall the other day and he said "Excuse me". It is the same thing. It really isn't, so I will back up.
Tuesday night I got on the metro and rode out to Courthouse from my luxury apartment in Bethesda. (Event coordinators make SERIOUS cash. Feel free to pursue this line of work kids.) I got to Arlington around 6 and chatted with the staff until Ross King got in for his talk. We had a few minutes to spare, so Ross was kind enough to sign all the stock we had while we chatted about the book, living in London, pints, being sick, English cold medicine everything. We had, as the Brits might say, a proper chat. Once all the books were signed, Ross was introduced by Mr. Brian Heston (A very famous Olssonite) and proceeded to explain the history behind the art movement we all know as "Impressionism." Some of you may know that I went to art school for five years (six if you count that first stint in Seattle) and have a Bachelors in Fine Arts. I found his telling of this story more informative than any I had heard in all my years at University. Mr. King has certainly done his homework and allows you a very personal insight into the characters that make up this little history play. You begin to understand that these men and women were real people and not just names that you might see scrawled on the bottom of the print you have hanging over your chest of drawers in the bedroom. Ross talked for almost a full hour and held the attention of all those present for the entire time. Excepting the little homeless man in the Canadian Tuxedo who came in, sat dead center in the front row and promptly fell asleep. I am not going to count him though because I doubt he cares that much about the history of art.
A truly engaging speaker, a very knowledgeable man and quite pleasant to boot. Another person that is taller than me. That counts just about everyone though.
So that was Tuesday. Wednesday was similar, but involved lunch. I and a few of my Olsson's coworkers got a chance to join Allan Folsom for lunch in the District. Allan (as you all remember from last week) has a new book out called "The Machiavelli Covenant." Allan used to work as a screenwriter in television for a number of years and all of his books read in a very cinematographic way. Each chapter will end with a camera cut and begin with a camera cut. He is very concerned about keeping the beat of the story and not getting bogged down with too many extraneous bits. Even though his stories can creep into the 800+ page level, the continual rhythm of the writing keeps you flipping pages until well into the night. His work is very well researched and will wrap you in layers of story and adventure until you choose to peek out your head to see if your alarm is about to go off.
He lives on the west coast and doesn't get out here much, so the chance to hang out with him and have lunch was very special. He then came out to Courthouse (again in Virginia) to chat with a group of hardcore fans who all brought their books from home for him to sign. I was surprised to see that each person in line had all four of his books in hardcover. I suppose when an author you enjoy comes to your town you should jump on board and bring everything you have to see if the bookstore people will let you get them signed. (Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we get to be mean and say "NO"! Man, I love that part.)We caught Allan on the tail end of his tour as he was off to New York to meet up with his agent and publisher the next morning. He stuck around after and signed our entire stock. He has his own magic pens that he brings along. They were perfect for signing books. I guess Sue Grafton turned him on to them. Yes, Sue Grafton. Didn't you know, all writers know each other? They have a union just like the Screen Actor's Guild. they even have award shows, but because they are writers, it just comes out as another book. The latest one's isbn is 0517087251. Look it up.
When Thursday finally hit, I was so tired from working 12 hour days Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I just had to go home and get some rest. I put in a mild 10 hours at my desk trying to catch up on some book ordering for the next weeks, answering the most urgent of the emails that came through and trying to remember what my gym looks like.
Speaking of the gym, I went on Saturday and did the same thing I would have normally done, a chest workout and a three mile run. When I woke up on Sunday I was way too sore all over and thought I needed to go again to work out some of the stiffness. Sunday was the back workout and another three miles and I did feel a bit better after I got done. By the time Monday hit, I was a very unhappy little camper. I must have done something very wrong because I have been walking around holding my heart in my chest since then. I like to tell people I am having a heart attack or maybe a stroke or a minor brain hemorrhage because it sounds nicer than, I overworked at the gym and am that out of shape. Here it is Thursday (it really is Thursday this time) and I spent most of dinner sitting on my left hand because moving that arm causes massive lightning bolts to shoot though the left side of my chest and out my back only to have them bounce back from the wall and bury themselves in the back of my neck. Lightning bolts can be very aggressive.
I have been in the office trying desperately to catch up on all the bits that have slipped through. Alicia has had to take over the offsite scheduling as I am spread too thin to cover at this point. I had another dinner last night with a debut author. His book will be along shortly and is called "My Mother the Cheerleader". His name is Robert Sharenow and as much as you would like to think this is a shallow book about a Texas Pageant Mother, it is about a little girl who comes to grips with who she is and how she is going to relate with her mother. It is set in 1960's New Orleans around the harsh time of integration in the public school system. Some of you may remember the Steinbeck book, "Travels with Charley" where he mentions the Cheerleaders as they stood outside the school every day and yelled not-so-nice things at a little girl who only wanted an education. This is a Young Adult title, but I think the issue is important for everyone to read up on. I believe it is out in April, so keep your eyes peeled.
I am certain that is it for me. I am off to bed so I can hit it hard again in the morning. There are some very good events coming up that I think you might like to come out for. Courthouse is hosting Neil deGrasse Tyson as he explains how we are all going to die from a black hole. You may have seen him on Colbert (could have been Jon Stewart) just the other night, he will be around to Courthouse (What IS it with that store?) to tell us all how to prep for the end of the world as we know it. REM will not be played. A man named Ralph has promised to come in to our Lansburgh store to talk about his new book, "The Seventeen Traditions". Ralph Nader! If you are very good he might tell you stories about the Corvair, a cute little car that would kill all the people in and around it in a matter of seconds, just like the Ford Pinto. Check the calendar for dates and times you will not want to miss this! Lastly, my personal favorite because I am a sensitive 33-year old male who listens to Tiny Dancer and cries a little, Amy Stewart (I am starting to think I have an affinity for Amys) will be joining us in Crystal City to talk about her new book "Flower Confidential." Ever wondered where those Asiatic Lilies you buy at the grocery store come from? She is going to tell us. There will be free flowers for everyone that buys a book and I have heard Amy talk before, she is a pistol. Skip what you are doing and come on down to sunny Crystal City. It never rains in Crystal City. What happens in Crystal, stays in Crystal. (Slogans are so hard to come up with). Editor's Notes: Everyone is not taller than the blogger, just most people. I also deleted what was eaten at all the lunches and dinners that have been attended. I swear this guy has a thing for food. If Blogger-boy keels over from his pending heart attack, I will take over and write about events in his place, you might notice a slight difference in style. Corvairs will not kill you in seconds, they take weeks to kill you properly. You should all try to keep fresh cut flowers in your home. They just make the place nicer to be in and Tiny Dancer is a GREAT song! And last. No offence to Canadians at all. A Canadian Tux is when you wear a denim jacket and denim jeans at the same time. Do everyone a favor, look down at yourself before you leave the house, if your tops match your bottoms and you are NOT wearing a suit, over the age of 80 or under the age of 8, go back in and change. No exceptions!
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