A few years ago, just after Fun Home came out, we had an event with Alison Bechdel. She’s fairly shy, but she’s an amazing public speaker. She narrated this terrific slide show she put together of her life and work. The place was so mobbed I was getting super-nervous that we would have to turn people away, but somehow people squeezed into every little crevice that was available. So we had about 300 people in a space that fits, at most, 175. It was hot, and no one had any personal space, but no one cared. The signing line was full of local artists and lesbians. It took a long time to wind down. I noticed that three young women were waiting for the signing to end so they could be the last ones to talk to Alison. They were groupies, and they were very rakish and attractive. Finally, one of them looked around real quick to make sure everyone else had left, pulled her pants down, and asked Alison to sign her boxers. I can remember heartily approving of the design of the boxers, but Alison and I just stood there kind of gaping at this turn of events. Finally, we looked at each other and decided, well, why not sign them? So she ended up signing one pair of boxers and one bra.
Remember when Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés was popular? A man came into the store and asked where we kept the book Women Who Swim With the Whales. Of course, it felt almost as ridiculous saying, “I think what you really want is Women Who Run With the Wolves.”
One year during the holidays, we had a display of expensive art books. I saw a customer put a wet drink down on top of a two-hundred-dollar book. I asked him politely if he would remove it. The guy looked at me with outrage and said, “Oh, quit your f’ing book morality.” And then he grabbed his drink and stormed out. Merry Christmas!
Jonathan Evison is not only one of my favorite people on the planet, but he’s just entirely entertaining. And he’s also one of the most warm-hearted guys. Garth Stein tells the best stories, Sherman Alexie has charisma oozing out of his ears, and Maria Semple is hilarious once you get her going. And Ivan Doig. My coworker, Brad Craft, said that he could have listened to Ivan read to him all night.
Just about everyday I put The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown into someone’s hands. No one has ever been disappointed as far as I know.
Thor Hanson’s, because who else is going to get me to read about feathers, seeds, and gorillas? I have no idea what he’s doing next, but he’s so good that I’ll have to read it. I think he’s becoming Seattle’s John McPhee.