Read to me

So, I love books. Like, far beyond my ability to read them. I have a huge library that is filled with equal parts those I've read and book intentions. I'm a slow reader that spends a great deal of my free time in social pursuits and a large range of hobbies. Finishing a novel within a month seems like a pretty good feat at this point.

But that doesn't prevent me from becoming excited when an author comes to town. It means one more book to buy, but I promise it's the next one I'll read. On the plus side I'll also get it autographed. Maybe a photo op, exchange some banter, and get some insight. The best part, though, is the reading.

There is a certain magic to reading a book, when you've sequestered yourself away from this world and enter into another. On the other hand, there is something far more special in being read to. I read most nights to William from many of my favorites: J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and H. G. Wells to name but a few. It is a great chance to bond and geek out together.

And I really like to be read to as well. As you may imagine, by naked women is one of my favorites (which we just visited one again for satire and parody. And yes, I may reference this quite often). Other times I greatly enjoy hearing these works straight from the horses mouth.

One of the greatest things about Powell's Books stores is that they constantly have visiting authors and events. Here are some of the more memorable.

Chuck chucks a moose at me.

The first time I went to a Chuck Palahniuk reading, it was for his Portland guide book, and he taught me about Santa. The third time I saw him talk about the devil and romance. But it was the second time that was the most remarkable  As usual, he read an original short story for the tour. But before this he was asking quiz questions from his novels. Up to this point, I had only read one or two, so I wasn't up on this knowledge. Joy and I had taken up seats in the upper balcony area, but she sent me down to where everyone else was getting prizes. I stood in the aisle at the back when Chuck asked a question from Lullaby, a book I had recently finished. I enthusiastically raised my hand and jumped around like I had just been called down to join the Price is Right. I was picked, gave the correct answer, and ran up to collect my prize: an inflatable "moose" head, signed by and filled with the spittle of Mr. Palahniuk. The thing used to hang on my wall, a crazy conversation piece, but these days it just hides in the closet, waiting for a man cave to hang around in once again.

There have been several readings that I've gone to where I didn't really know much about the author, I was just familiar with some of their works, or those separated by a single degree. Such was the case with Eoin Colfer. I'd heard about the Artemis Fowl series, but never read any. But he was designated by the Douglas Adams estate to write a final chapter (the 6th in the trilogy) of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I was handed a raffle ticket on arrival, which doubled as a line number for signing. Eoin turned out to be a very funny guy to listen to as he explained how he got to write this book and it made me quite excited to get to reading it. Then the raffle began. The first prize was a gift certificate to Powell's, which I didn't win. But I did get second place: the poster board of the book's cover. Way better that the first place win, as mine was unique (as far as anyone else there was concerned, no one else in my city is going to have one of these bad boys). The raffle prizes also came with a little "DON'T PANIC" hand towel and a book, the Guide to the Guide (which summarized the other books up until this release. I had Eoin sign everything but the towel).

I've also been to a fair number reading for Star Wars books. I'm not really a fan of the Expanded Universe, but the ideas still intrigue and excite. I was present for Star Wars books about zombies, planet crushers, and Ocean's 11. I was also there for the 30th anniversary, where there was a panel of authors from across the years discussing how the books have evolved in that time. Each of these events tends to draw out our local cosplay army.

Anybody else also attend such readings? Did your parents read bed time stories and give you long lasting, fond memories? Tell me about it in the comments below.

NGR goes back to school

I love to read. It really is just one of my favorite things. I switch back an forth between fiction and non-fiction when choosing my next book from my library. Going to a book store is full of so many possibilities. An actual book, with paper pages, not a computer screen, is magical.

There is a grander magic in reading to someone. I read to William every night for over a year. The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, the complete Sherlock Holmes canon by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and more. It's an amazing bonding experience, full of adventures, cliffhangers, and epiphanies. And it's fun to give voice to so many characters.

Do you know what another of my favorite things is?

Guess....

It's naked women.

No surprise there, right?

And there is an organization that caters to both: Naked Girls Reading.

That's right, women, without clothes, reading to you, the audience. Each girl comes out, sits in a comfy chair (or stands) and reads from a book for fifteen minutes.

This was my second visit to their Portland show. And they read absolutely amazing works.

The first show was geek themed, reading selections from Sci-fi and fantasy classics. We had excerpts from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Carl Sagan's Cosmos, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. It is at times enlightening, funny, and heart touching. So much so that you almost forget these women are naked.

...Almost...

These are fantastic women. Members of the local burlesque circuit mostly. They know how to be naked without being slutty. They are perfectly classy and entirely beautiful (without having that "perfect" Barbie doll look).

This time around, the theme was "Back to School". The idea being these are the books we read as kids, the type of stuff you were likely to buy at the Book Fair. I was reading Hardy Boys and Time Machine (a spin-off of the Choose Your Own Adventure) at the age seemingly favored by the selections. What we go was a rendition of The Giving Tree, a bit from a Goosebumps book, as well as a fantastic chapter from The Phantom Tollbooth.

The only bad part of the show was the venue. A place called the Blue Monk in SE on Belmont. We were in a basement that may be nicely intimate, but the horrid lighting proved an issue for our lovely readers, who often had to find a new location on the stage and angle to the lights in order to see their books.

All in all, a truly amazing experience and good time. I can't wait for their next return to PDX.