Giving a reading is the laziest form of show business. It requires no physical agility, unless standing still is considered agility.
There’s no singing, no dancing.
Not that song and dance is forbidden at book readings. I guess, if the mood should strike—knock yourself out.
But in terms of pizazz, reading from a book is one step above dragging in a tv.
It’s also a terrifying business.
What if nobody shows up? What, on earth, am I going to talk about for an hour? A whole hour! And, also, who even am I to be giving a reading? Last I checked there was not a deficiency of middle-age white mansplainers. Could the world be clamoring to hear from one more?
In spite of all this, I gave a reading at the Kenton Public Library.
The Kenton Library is my home library. So it was weird, to walk into my library and launch into addressing a crowd. I kept wanting to use my library voice.
More people showed up, than I thought would come. And the crowd was patient and forgiving. Some of them even got my jokes! (I think.)
My two new friends, Heather and Patty, even bought a copy of the book. I sure hope they like it. I hope, if we bump into each other around Kenton, that we’re still on speaking terms.
I’m very lucky for the opportunity to read at the Kenton Library. The staff was quite generous in offering their space and the valuable time of their employees. I am very grateful.
After my modest reading, and thanking everyone for coming, I was glowing. It was a lovely evening. It seemed like there was nothing that could ruin—