book reading

I don't mean reading a book, though this would certainly meet the criteria for a cheap thrill. Especially cheap if garnered from the public library. But we'll save the public library for another day. I mean attending a book reading. An event to promote the book sales of a recently published author. The author typically reads twenty minutes worth of material from his work. Book readings range from dry to thoroughly entertaining. But even the dry ones are, for the most part, free. And beyond that, almost every book reading entails a period of question and answer wherein the author makes himself completely vulnerable to the audience. This risk is tempered by the assurance that the audience is comprised almost entirely of devoted fans and people too shy to ask questions at all. I do not believe I have ever seen an author grilled by a member of the audience.

On Saturday, David Sedaris gave a book reading at Borders bookstore in Rosedale Shopping Center. This called for a bus adventure, followed by an awesome book reading experience. If you think Me Talk Pretty One Day is funny, you have to see David Sedaris field a series of inane audience inquiries. Even better, inquiries from suburban Minnesotans. Luckily, Minnesotans are good sports and tend towards self-deprecation. David Sedaris proceeded to victimize almost everyone who raised their hand, while making the audience howl with laughter. None of it malicious. It was just seriously smart and hilarious and his timing was impeccable. Watching David Sedaris in Q&A is like watching a great comedian put on a completely original show. My dad was in attendance and I can say without hesitation that he laughed more and louder than anyone else in the room. A badge of honor. You should have heard Dad throughout a piece detailing a wearable urine pouch. Dad could make a good living being paid to sit in on comic events. Whenever we watch live comedy with him, you can see the comedians thinking 'God Bless That Man.'