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July 11th, 2005

Book Signings

Last Friday I went to a book signing and was reminded at how strange of an event a book signing can be. Perhaps it’s because the people I tend to go see have so-called “cult” followings, which often brings out some of the stranger, less socially-well-adjusted types (like, say, me). The format’s always the same: intro, author reads part of his book, Q&A, then the book signing where people stand in line for way too long and generally creep the author out with weird questions or requests (this past Friday, there was a proposal).

The Q&A’s tend to be a little strange, too, as it’s very rare that anyone asks questions about the new book. This kind of makes sense since in most cases, the book has just been released, so not too many people have read it. But, more often the questions come from the “cult” fans about past projects or future projects they’ve read about on the Interweb. This wouldn’t be a big deal, but the people asking the questions tend to have some really boring questions. Like, “What else do you have planned for the future?” or “What was it like to…” (I’ve always hated “What was it like” questions).

Despite these minor complaints, I always enjoy hearing the author read from his book and talk about the writing process. I also enjoy being able to get the book signed and sometimes a picture taken.

And, at one book signing, I got a sock signed.

Posted in Everyday Life

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