Wow.
This has been a busy week for me. I have been out working events every day and every night. So I am sorry if this is late.

Let’s see, what is coming up this week that is fun and exciting . . .

Next Wednesday we are hosting Laura Flynn at Dupont. You might remember Laura from the Oscars a few years back when she was a little too skinny and wore that crazy dress? I used to love watching her on Twin Peaks. I grew up watching that show and as a hormonal teen nothing was better than Laura Flynn Boyle on my TV every week. I am really looking forward to asking her about working with Johnny Knoxville and her relationship with Jack—What? You mean the Laura Flynn that is coming is not that Laura Flynn? There are two Laura Flynns? Really? Well that is even better isn’t it . . .

This Laura Flynn is a San Francisco native who is now living in the frozen north of Minnesota. This is her first book and is based on her own life story. Sometimes we call those memoirs, but that makes me think of someone at the end of days whom has nothing left to do. Not the case in this book. This book is the story of Laura Flynn growing up with a mother that suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.


Some of us can understand the struggles of growing up with crazy parents (my mom reads my blog, so I am not going to say anything out loud, but listen for the wink) but in this case, Laura’s mother was actually crazy. Given the situation, you might think she would be severely damaged as an adult, wear a Rolling Stones T-shirt and jeans to an award ceremony, stop eating and then start dating Jack Nicholson. But not THIS Laura Flynn!

This one decided to work through her childhood issue by putting pen to paper. She must be doing okay, because she teaches writing at the University of Minnesota, has a family, a house, snow boots and a heavy parka. (I am guessing on those last things because she lives in Snow Country)

I have been reading sections of the book online and have been struck by how beautifully the images are conjured up. How quick the dialog is and how gut-wrenching the whole story is. I heard the other night from a fiction writer that dialog in a story should always reveal something about the character that is speaking. I liked that but I wondered how that worked in real life. It must, because the discussions between Laura and her mother are sweet and telling.

By now, you might all know how I feel about author’s first books. I love them. I like a bands first CD too, there is just something strong, raw and powerful about a first work. Some authors work for years to get that first story published. It is normally something that has been stewing in their guts as far back as they can remember. They had to shop it around to 20 different agents and those agents had to push to sell it to 10 different publishers. Then they get signed to a three-book deal and they are obligated to churn out another Masterpiece in a year and a half. And you thought your job was hard.

All that being said, I wanted to thank Alan Drew for coming out to read from his First book, Gardens of Water. To all of you that didn’t come out to support him and hear his talk about the reasons of how this book came about and about living in Istanbul during and after the 1999 earthquake, shame on you. You missed a lovely talk with a very lovely man. And I am not just saying that because he signed my book.

So! Get off your duffs on Wednesday night, March 5th and come hear Laura Flynn (Not Boyle) at Dupont. I promise you wont regret it. It will make your mother seem less crazy.

With only a few hours of delay, I am headed back home from the trip to the ‘Ho.---This was typed on Monday evening while sitting in the Detroit Airport. For Four hours--- I thought the trip there was bad, hours of time smashed up against the window while the mom and dad combo next to me handed snacks and other goodies to the trio of kiddies across the aisle. I had the aisle seat originally but after seeing what I was getting into, I offered to take the window and let them sit in a long row.

The weekend itself was good. Almost the whole clan was there to greet me. After the hugs and the small talk, some of us made a bee-line to the Bar for a drink. One drink turned into three or four and then it was after midnight and time for a little nap.

The surprise party was a good time. I took pictures of all the kids and some of their parents. The party was sponsored by 7up as evident by all the cups strew about on the table. I think it was a good time in all. I spent a good amount of time with all of my sibs for the first time in about 6 years and drank a bit (okay, a lot) more than I normally would have on a holiday weekend. I even watched the Daytona 500. I fell asleep with 50 laps to go and missed the end, but I watched most of it.

I got a chance to read a few books on my trip. Nothing pads your reading numbers like sitting on a plane. I finished the new (you will see it in April I think) Chuck Palahnuik, the new Mike Sager (another spring title) and a little book we are having an event for on the 27th. The event on the 27th is for Alan Drew and his new book, "Gardens of Water". I must be getting old and slightly soft because stories of familial love and all the strife that comes with it, I find very interesting. Because I am not a conservative Kurd living in Turkey after a horrific earthquake, I thought I might have trouble coming to grips with this story but I gave it a shot and enjoyed it.

If you are looking for something to do on the 27th of February and are in the Dupont area, you should come out and see Alan. Listen to what this debut-fiction-author has to say and then see for yourself. If my two cents were not enough, keep in mind that Random House has backed this kid enough to publish him, send him on tour to the East Coast all the way from Ohio and sponsor a bookseller lunch so those of us in the industry can gain a bit more insight. They hope that we will pass on what we learn at the lunch to you, the reader. As a dutiful bookseller, I am doing that right now. I have yet to figure out what side of the equation Alan is on. The book deals with a conservative trying to live in the modern world. I am going to have to talk to the author and get a bit more from him before I make any judgments.

You should come to Dupont and listen, then make your own judgments. This goes for all of you that are curious about the book club, Melisa from Austin and anyone else I have ran into at events in the last month.

See you there!

Oh, I still have not given anything to my Pops yet. I did take Louise’s advice to heart and spent a lot of time with him. We watched NASCAR and talked about all sorts of good junk. I still think I need to get him a little something. Maybe a life sized wall decal of the Number 3 Car for his office wall...

Well, it had to happen. The writers have reconciled with "The Man". Life as we know it, we return to normal in the coming weeks. Once again we will not be forced to find our own enjoyment in life, as it will be spoon-fed to us from the comfort of our living rooms.

If you happen to be one of the few that have forsaken the Television Gods for the face-to-face entertainment that happens at Book readings, I have good news for you. Next week is going to be jam packed with something for everyone. First thing, we have a nice little band touring our fair country from South Africa. They are called Civil Twilight and will be playing an afternoon set at Dupont. They are pretty good and you will only be able to pick up their stuff from us during their performance. If you are mildly interested, spend a few minutes of your lunch hour at Dupont checking out this band.

On Tuesday the 19th, again at Dupont, please join me and a host of Rowdy Aussies as they celebrate one of their own. Steve Toltz will be reading a section of his new book "A Fraction of the Whole". If you remember last year's "Arsonist's Guide", this is kind of the same, but much more epic. I got an advance of this book at the end of the summer and burned through it. I compare it to "Arsonist's Guide" not because it deals with burning down houses (Although there is a whole town that burns down) but because of the spirit of the book. It is the tale of a young man discovering who he is through the stories of his father. Sounds kind of touchy-feely but if you add in that the father covers all the mirrors in the house, yanks the kid out of school every few months, and cuts his hair haphazardly, it gets slightly creepy and kind of surreal. I may not be selling it as well as I should, but it is a great story and I believe it will sound even better with an Australian Accent.

That covers the hip crowd. If you were born after the War (I am talking to you Baby Boomers out there) Heather Taylor is hosting another discussion in our Lansburgh store on the 21st. You may remember Heather from her Radio program geared toward boomers titled "The Heather Taylor Show". She will be holding a discussion with Poet, E. Ethelbert Miller. Her events are normally a good time and should be fun to witness. Not to mention, there will be treats!

There are loads of other things for you to do out there next week if you have weaned yourself off the television. I have only mentioned two and there are five in the stores along with the book club discussion at Crystal City on the 20th and Storytime in Old Town. That makes 7 different events for you to take in.

In other news, I am headed to Idaho this weekend. Just in case anyone was angry with me and wanted to come 'kneecap me', I will be in sunny* Idaho. It is my father's 65th birthday and I am going to surprise him. Don't tell him though. It is supposed to be a surprise. I think he might catch on when I show up at his house and ask to sleep in his basement. I am still trying to come up with a gift for him. What do you buy for your father on his 65th birthday? He isn't retiring, so a watch is out. A tie seems silly as he doesn't wear them, I thought about getting him something NASCAR-ish, but I have yet to find anything cool enough. Huh. I have tapped all the normal places I can think of if anyone has thoughts, I am willing to listen.

*Idaho is not sunny right now. In fact, the roof of my favorite greasy spoon in my home town recently caved in from the amount of snow. If they don't fix it, I may never go to Idaho again. I wish you a speedy recovery, North Hiway Cafe. Get well soon.

Mardi Gras has come and gone. Now what are we supposed to do with ourselves?

Well, Television still sucks but at least movies are picking up. I went to see "The Savages" recently. Wow. If you have seen it, I will say, 'wasn't that messed up?'

If you have not, then you should. You should see it for Philip Seymour Hoffman at the very least. He has been bumped to "Greatest Character Actor Ever" in my eyes. Given the work he has done recently on this film, Charlie Wilson's War, Happiness, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and Capote, it is obvious to me that he deserves more than the single Oscar he has gotten. Any actor that can deliver the phrase, 'I sharted' (Along Came Polly) with the same conviction as he pitches the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan (Charlie Wilson's War) gets my vote every time.

While I was watching previews for the film--and not having popcorn, which is huge for me. I love popcorn-- I saw a preview for another messed up film. This one is called "Reservation Road" and is about a hit and run. It looks pretty intense and something I will be checking out when it hits theatres. Before it was a movie, it was a book. the book was written by John Burnham Schwartz.

In an odd twist of fate, John will be at our Dupont store on Tuesday February 12th. You could come out and hear him read from his latest book, "The Commoner" and ask him the question on everyone's mind. "Where in the hell do you come up with this crazy junk?" Of course, you would have to play nice and listen to what he has to say about this new book before you start hitting him over the head about an older one.

He looks like such a nice man. Why do the nice ones write about the most messed up books? This should be a clue to Dads everywhere, the freaky, tattooed guy your daughter brings home? He is probably okay. It is the clean-cut guy in the shirt and sweater that you need to worry about. He is the one dreaming up strange scenarios with kids getting run over by cars.

So that is the event for this week. Just in case you were wondering about the status of my book club, I have had a handful of people throw their hats at the computer screen (good one Raj) I am on the verge of getting it sorted out. I have gone so far as to set up a separate folder in my Outlook for the book club members. I will get with you all this week and we will figure out a day to meet up. I have not forgotten you, it has just been one of those weeks.