Videoranch Followup

Thanks to those who showed up at my Videoranch reading last evening. I think I can say it was an interesting experience for everyone, and, perhaps the new new thing, but who knows? When I was a child, my mother had a few things that my father, who considered himself an innovator, had purchased over the years thinking that they would someday be big--the one I remember is a wire recorder. He also went for the EP record rather than the LP. Anyway, I feel that I have now extended my streak of innovativeness to two (one was my Prius, which I bought in 2003). I was glad to note my friend Bob Armstead was there. Bob bought his Prius when they first came out. When he had had it for about a year, he was sitting at a stop light, and a large vehicle (I believe a truck) came barreling up behind him and crashed him into the car ahead of his. His Prius was totaled, but he himself was fine, which is what Priuses do for you--they save your ass. In our house, we call the Prius "the nanny car".

I enjoyed the reading myself. The section I read, from day five, is about Isabel and Stoney out by the pool, getting it on. It is told from Isabel's point of view and is one of my favorite sections, because there is explicit sex, but it is funny, and at the end of the section, Stoney and Isabel get discovered by Charlie. There were a few actual people in the studio with me, and they became very quiet during the sexy parts. Jack reported that everyone started looking straight ahead, rather than exchanging glances. Several enthusiastically had their books signed afterward, though.

As for the Avatars, they acted like avatars. Some moved more energetically than others, which Nez said shows who has gamer computers and who doesn't. My friend Alexis, whose son recently designed their new computer, jumped around all over the place, and even walked like an Eqyptian at one point. This is a hopeful sign for the future of literature as peak oil makes the booktour a thing of the past. We will be able to use our sons' computers to go to virtual booktours in which elderly writers read from their irreplaceable pieces of mature literary technology--books.

The photo above is from Videoranch--lots of advertising for the reading, and a lovely venue. Apart from the fact that I am very fond of Victoria and Nez, I do want to thank them for trying this out with me as the guinea pig. I saw in the NYT the other day that Ian MacEwan is planning to do his booktour in June partly by film--the bookstore shows a film of his reading and talking. Well, what can I say? Avatars are more fun!