At the San Jose Center for Performing Arts, David Sedaris read some selections that
1) Wouldn't be aired on NPR for use of strong language about a houseguest he had in France.
2) Would be in his next book about a neighbor in New York City.
3) Would run in the New Yorker (about his plane trips in Business Elite Class).
4) Could be found in his diary (about life in Buffalo, London and Tokyo).
Afterwards, he recommended "The Easter Parade" by Richard Yates (apparently at each reading he does, he recommends a book by another author, and encourages people to pick up the recommended book before buying one of his own).
Some questions I can remember him answering:
- How's David's brother doing?
David's brother is doing well, and adjusting to life as a father. His brother has matured some, and he misses how his brother used to hide meat in his luggage, and smear the meat across something inside. His luggage always came back with dozens of FAA warning labels.
- Is being famous everything he hoped it would be?
Absolutely. David Sedaris loves hearing his name being announced before a reading. Since he tends to do book signings before his reading, if he doesn't someone introducing him, he'll pick out a person, and hand some cash to introduce him to the crowd. In the case of one his previous shows, he picked a 16-year old girl, gave her $20 and said "Okay, go out there, introduce yourself, tell them your age, and then introduce me". There's nothing quite like being on stage and hearing applause and cheering. Sedaris adds "Can you imagine being 16 years old, and having 2900 people applaud you? I've probably just ruined her life."
- In one of his more recent book signings, another high school girl asked him for a suggestion of what line she should use to write in yearbooks. Sedaris' reply? "I'll sleep with anyone." After realizing that the older woman standing behind the girl was her mother, Sedaris changed his mind about the line and suggested to the girl instead "I'll suck on anything."
- Someone asked him what other books has he recommended in the past, and there have been a lot. He tends toward the sad stories more, and in regards to sad fiction stories, he feels they are more disposable than sad real-life stories.
Oh please, Mike--please tell what he said about Buffalo!! I was at that show and I must know!
In London, he found a history book with multiple choice test questions. It was the answers in the multiple choice section that he found amusing because of the ludicrousness of them.
In Tokyo, he went into the department store and found a whole chicken for the equivalent of 44 dollars, and then seeing a basket of strawberries for the equivalent of 41 dollars. "You could almost get a chicken for the cost of the strawberries!" he said.
Buffalo may have been the anecdote that I related to earlier in my original journal entry with the girl, the yearbook and the mother.
Oh man, I would have paid to see that yearbook interaction! Thanks for the info~
Not only was I there in San Jose that fantastic evening, my wife was the one who asked how Paul (David's brother) was doing.
Currently reading "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" while listening to the audiobook at the same time. You are probably doing the same.
Or not. Because I'm a librarian, and I am kind of lame like that.