I also met Dave Eggers that night. For those who do not know, he is my favorite author. He writes the way I think, and the way I suspect he thinks, with long rants and strange comparisons, and when he talks, he blinks and shifts and grabs at his hair the same way I do on the podium trying to get a very important concept across to my students. These are not the only reasons why I like him, but they are some endearing and relatable qualities. Also, he founded the 826 stores which is just plain cool.
Mr. Eggers has a new book out.
Skylight Books was awesome and hosted a reading and a signing.
As I live within spitting distance, the question was not "do I go?" but "how early do I show up?" I showed up, bought my copy, and grabbed a signing number. Before the reading I even won an advance copy of "109 Forgotten American Heroes" put out by McSweeney's.
It was lovely to be in that independent bookstore with other 20-something hipster kids, listening to Mr. Eggers read from his work, us not caring that we were packed in like sardines and there was no air conditioning. For most of the reading I stood/sat behind a bookshelf, getting only occasional glimpses of the author. That was ok though, because I had already met him in May and was just glad to be there and listen.
After the reading, I wondered if I had time to go get a bottle of water. Turns out I could have gone home, used the bathroom, chatted with R, maybe could have even squeezed in a cup of tea, and then gone back. Most people I waited with in that long line were very nice. But there's always one. I waited in line near someone with 4 books who was chatting with his friends: "hey, wouldn't it be funny if I went up and was like 'yeah, you're not my favorite author, you're really no big deal'". No, you would not be funny. You would be an idiot, and a liar, because only a fan stands in line for over an hour to get no fewer than FOUR books signed. Nobody but a perfect jerk waits all that time to put someone important down in an attempt to make themselves feel better, stop talking you idiot. I guess even in Los Angeles there are still people who are stupid about meeting someone important or famous.
After hearing this stupidity, my visit was simple. The book was signed, the picture snapped. "Hey, I'm a big fan", "thank you, thanks for waiting so long", "It's ok I live like 2 blocks from here", "haha, you could have gone home and come back", "haha I thought about it", "it was nice to see you," "you too", handshake, smile, goodnight.Just one more "glad I moved to LA" moment.
