Confessions of a Pop Fan

Friday, June 23, 2006

ALL LOVERS MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES

Yesterday was a spontaneous road trip. Good buddy Sarah Grace McCandless is on tour to promote this:

It's her second novel, and it's hella good, to use the phrase of a couple of years ago. For fans of her first book, Grosse Pointe Girl, I think you'll be impressed by how much stronger her prose has become. The book is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl in the early '90s whose world is starting to crumble with the onset of maturity. Sarah really captures that seasick time, where you aren't really sure how to keep your feet flat on this thing we call Earth, as childish things and adult disappointment play tug-of-war with your changing body. Her writing is evocative while also using great economy. In chronicling a family who discuss their problems by talking around them, she developed a style of expression that inspires the reader to come to his or her own conclusions by how carefully the root of those problems are withheld. To classify The Girl I Wanted to Be as some kind of simple young adult novel would be to do it a disservice. It's a far more mature work than that, shedding light on foibles and personal treacheries that have no age restrictions.

Anyway, we left at 5:00 am and drove up for her first appointment, a radio interview (haven't these people ever heard of a phone?!). We were met by her in-town escort, Tracey, and we had a day of traveling to bookstores so she could sign their stock, as well as encountering lots and lots of traffic. At the University Bookstore they had a section called "Arty Comics," which I found funny. They had a copy of I Was Someone Dead, so I gave them my scrawl, too.

The capper was her reading at Third Place Books, which was sparse but still seemed to go pretty well. I even talked to their event coordinator about maybe doing a reading there this summer.

We got home around 12:30 am or so. Sadie was pretty heavily irritated with me.

Tonight is Sarah Grace's reading at Powell's. It starts at 7:30, so if you're in the Portland area, come on down. And for any New York readers, check her event page for info on her reading next Wednesday.

Also, any Mike Allred fans? Check this post from his message board for information on the limited edition Golden Plates hardcover. Tell Mike you heard about it here when you order. He'll get a kick out of that.

Current Soundtrack: Q: Best Of 86/06 compilation of new bands covering old songs

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