September 4, 2008

Book Voyeur on the #18


What's almost as good as seeing someone read one of your own books? Seeing them reading a book by someone you know!
This morning on the bus, I was seated across from three people reading books. First, a man with a thick sheaf of pages of a braille book held against his ample stomach, fingers rapidly dancing through the bumpy white text. Naturally, I couldn't read the title. Next to him, a small white-haired woman held a well-read copy of They Call Me Mother Graham by Morrow Coffey Graham, mother of the evangelist Billy Graham. And next to her, a young, hip-looking gal with leggings, short skirt, bracelets and piercings—her colorful hair sticking out in all directions—who was glued to a book whose cover I couldn't see. Of course, that just made me more curious.
When she at last shifted the book to her other hand, I got a glimpse of the cover. To my delight, it was not only a book I'd read and liked—Iron Lake, but it was by someone I knew—my colleague from Resort to Murder William Kent Krueger.
Ironically, I'd just seen Kent the night before
at the launch for his new book Red Knife, which I'm looking forwards to reading. The young woman and I began talking. She confided that Iron Lake was the first book of Kent's she'd read, and she was really enjoying it.
"He's from around here, you know that?" I asked.
She nodded, and quickly ducked her head back down to the book, captivated.

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