David is not the biggest reader, but he finished Life of Pi, Yann Martel’s most famous book, in about a day. He was first introduced to Yann Martel in high school by his English teacher Mr. Christie. He passed the book on to me after we started dating, and I loved it, too.
So on Monday night, David and I headed downtown to Book People to meet Yann Martel and get a signed copy of his latest novel, Beatrice and Virgil. Last year Book People hosted John Grogan, the author of Marley and Me. The bookstore was overflowing with fans of all ages. They even gave away a yellow lab puppy as part of a school fundraiser. It’s always a lot of fun to meet authors on books tours. We recommend it if you ever get the chance!
Yann Martel gave a couple of readings from his newest novel and then spoke about himself and his stories. Life of Pi is being made into a movie due to be released in 2012. Ang Lee will be directing and they plan to start filming in Taiwan, India, and Canada later this year. Yann is a bit worried that the story may be diminished by the fact that the studio is pushing for a 3D movie, but he’s confident Ang Lee and the screenplay he’s read will keep the film true to the book. Being a writer, Yann really encourages reading. He sends a book to the Prime Minister of Canada (Yann’s current home) every couple of months and keeps track of all of those books through his website. Unfortunately the Prime Minister has never acknowledged Yann’s gifts….
On Tuesday, I left work a bit early and headed over to church to see Laura Bush. 7 of my girlfriends also came and we all got signed copies of Mrs. Bush’s memoir Spoken from the Heart.
Our tickets warned us to be at the event at least half an hour early to get through Secret Service security. But when we got there, they didn’t even check our bags! There was so much security at the church, though. I have never seen “American royalty” before so I didn’t know what to expect. I counted at least 10 secret service agents walking around, standing guard at the stage entrances, and sitting in the audience. There were also about a dozen local policemen patrolling the grounds. Police cars were parked outside all entrances and blocking off parts of the parking lot. An ambulance was parked on the side entrance, running and ready to go just in case. All of this for 1 person. I can’t imagine what it’s like when the current President or First Lady travels!
Mrs. Bush read a couple of passages from the book and then sat down with an editor from the local Austin newspaper for a question and answer session. Laura Bush was not only witty and down-to-earth but also very poised and confident. She told us that she is no longer afraid of giving speeches, even though President Bush told her when they first got married that she would never have to give a speech. “So much for political promises,” she quipped. However, she does sometimes get a bit nervous during press interviews. She gave us an update on her daughters and then mostly talked about Texas. She obviously lived in Austin for many years, so there were some teachers from the school she once taught at and some of her friends/colleagues from her days as the governor’s wife in the audience.
We consider ourselves very lucky to have the opportunity to meet different authors on their book tours. Reading has always been a passion of mine. I’m a member of Goodreads, an online book club that lets people track and rate their books and find friends to see what they’re reading or have read. This website always gives me great ideas on what I should read next. But I think that for now, I should be plenty busy with the books I picked up this week!
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