On November 22, Winnipeggers were treated to a visit from well-known writer David Sedaris. McNally Robinson was packed with avid readers, curious shoppers, and tired students to hear Sedaris read from his latest collection, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary.
Either McNally Robinson wasn't expecting such a large turnout or the building isn't set up for big crowds at book launches and readings and signings because there were few chairs and many people milling around the store, bumping into one another. However, once the event, hosted by CBC Manitoba Information Radio's Terry McLeod, began, the audience soon forgot their crowding discomfort and were immediately engaged in the sound of Sedaris' voice.
I had never read anything by Sedaris in the past but was looking forward to hearing from the NY Times Bestselling Author. I was pleased to find his work funny and easily understood. Since I didn't know what to expect, all I did was hope that it wouldn't be some boring author who wrote in a form of English that I didn't understand. Sedaris' work was made funnier with his (slightly) high-pitched, reedy voice. Sedaris had his audience cracking up so frequently that pauses between laughs were shortlived.
No photographs were allowed to be taken at any time during the reading but I managed to snap a couple after he had taken his seat to sign books-until probably three days later, judging by the size of the line up.
Sedaris said that when he goes on tour, as he is now, he likes to have a theme when he writes about it in his journal. The theme for this tour is jokes. He writes down all the jokes that he hears from people at his events. Among them was his joke for men at a job interview:
When at an interview and it is time for you to ask them a question, as them what the difference is between a Camaro and an erection. Then say, " I don't have a Camaro."
I was struck by his genuine-ness when it came to his fans, he made sure he heard from everyone during the question portion and answered each with detail. He also doesn't leave the store until he has signed all the books that people brought in. No matter if it keeps him signing into the night. On his way to the back of the room to start signing, he stopped to ask the person that I had gone with if he had eaten that night and where he was going to go for dinner.
Sedaris is also the author of Barrel Fever, Naked, Holiday on Ice, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim (etc). One of the questions posed to him from the audience was how he handled privacy since he tends to write about his personal life a lot. To this he responded that he felt he knew what his family would and would not approve of him writing about. However, if he includes someting about his family members, he always gives it to them to read beforehand. He also mentioned that there are some things that he thinks about writing about his late mother, but won't because he knows she would not have approved.
Sedaris is a very entertaining speaker and his book reading was a success. How do I know this? I have added his latest novel to my Christmas list.
Sedaris will be returning on May 3, 2011 at the Burton Cummings Theatre. Tickets for this event are available at ticketmaster.ca.
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