Oh GREAT More books I haven't read yet.

I got an email from a friend yesterday afternoon asking me to join her at an ALOUD program at Central Library where I work, to hear one of her favorite auathors. I had never heard of Alice McDermott, but the theme was "the joy of NOT writing for the movies" and I hadn't seen my friend in a while so I stayed at work, completing a project, until it was time to go grab my car from the lot where I park and go to the program.

I am glad I was in the office, as there was yet ANOTHER plumbing emergency at one of the branches.  Honestly, these things are cyclical.  This week it's plumbing, next week it will be windows or doors.

I got to the program and saw a few actors I recognized from television; Fred Willard and Joanne Whorley  Remember her from Laugh-in?  I sure do.  She was nice and polite and waited in line with the rest of us.  There were probably a whole bunch of writers there, but I never recognize anyone anyway.  It was an interesting talk.  McDermott's current book "Someone" is set in pre WWII  Brooklyn, centered around an Irish family. I will have to read it, as MY Irish family lived in Brooklyn- pre-WWII.  Apparently most of her books are Irish-Catholic themed.  She read an excerpt and it was compelling.  The talk drifted to poets and authors she admires and she mentioned a book by Yeats in which he explores mystical themes in Celtic literature. Like most people, I love Yeats.  His work as a poet has a disarming simplicity that resonates with me. I tried to reserve the book last night, but the system was down ( at MIDNIGHT- go figure) and I need to do that this morning. If it's IN I might just go find it, although I have about five or six books I am reading right now.  I am greedy when it comes to books, or maybe that's needy.  Like any English major, I need to have several books to pick up depending on my mindset.  I really don't know if reading books like "Anna covered in Blood" is the best for my nighttime reading!

McDermott never really got around to the theme of the talk.  She touched briefly on why, for her, fiction is better.  I do get kind of tired of people slamming the movie industry.  In some cases I wonder if it's not "sour grapes"  Still I enjoyed her enough to look into her fiction and maybe try to see the film based on her novel "After this" ( I think that's the one, anyway I need to  Google it.)  She did tell a funny story about meeting director Milos Foreman.  She was genuinely charming, when the moderator said she was going to read something that McDermott had written about writing, then handed McDermott the paper, McDermott took the paper and read the passage to herself. "Did you write that?" The moderator asked "No, but it's lovely" she responded.  The moderator flushed and snatched the paper back only to realize it was a critique of McDermott's book written by someone who was in the audience who waved and laughed.

I was nice to get out for the evening and have a catch up conversation with my friend.  We need to do that more often!