Yesterday I went to see Garrison Keillor at the Union Square Barnes and Noble, for his new novel Pontoon. It made me pleasantly nostalgic because the first book signing I went to after moving to New York was a Garrison Keillor book signing, for the script of A Prairie Home Companion. That was a little over a year ago.
Here’s a secret: I don’t really like book readings. Might sound strange for someone who goes to so many, but I often get a little bored if an author is just reading a piece of their work. I’d usually rather read it myself. There are exceptions. Garrison Keillor is an exception, because his voice is more soothing than butter. Chuck Palahniuk is another example, because he’s a great reader and his stories lend well to vocal performances. But most of the time, I really enjoy hearing the writer talk about the book, writing, and other things, rather than read aloud. And Garrison did just that yesterday. He entertained us with many great ideas, including how he’s decided that now, having reached age 65, it’s time for cheerfulness.
He read a small (1 or 2 pages) excerpt from the book, but mainly just talked to us and answered questions. That’s just the way I like it. It was also fun to get to talk to him for a minute while he was signing my book; after I told him I lived in Hoboken he was interested in hearing all about the Hoboken Ferry.
I’ve started to notice something about large book signings, especially the ones for authors who are quite famous. In any large group of author fans, there is one person who feels compelled to stand up during the Q&A and pronounce a fact or a personal opinion, rather than ask a question. Often times the person wants to state an opinion about the book or tell how they related to a certain part or character. Then, at the end of their own speech, they somehow work in a pointless question that loosely relates to the opinion they wanted to share. Last night, it was a man who enthusiastically stood up to ask his “question” and said that he first met Garrison Keillor at the corner of 57th and 5th and that he (the “question” asker) asked Garrison if he could yell out “Garrison Keillor!!” and point at him. He then repeated what Garrison said to him at the time, which was “It would be good if you didn’t.” Glad we all gathered there to hear that. Fortunately, we all moved on from that and all the other questions were intelligent, and Garrison’s answers were graceful and witty.
The entire event was filmed and is going to be featured on www.bn.com in October. Garrison was at his best and I highly recommend it to any other GK admirers. I wonder if they’ll cut out the part with the 57th and 5th man.
