Northwest Bookfest, Christine Deavel’s reading, and the funny thing about book sales

For those who missed my other two readings, and especially those on the East side of Seattle, here’s your chance! Tomorrow (Sunday) I’ll be reading – along with Kelli Russell Agodon, Elizabeth Austen, and Susan Rich – at Kirkland’s Northwest Bookfest at 2 PM. And after that, I’m not talking in public again for a whole seven days, when I’m doing a presentation on superheroes and poetry at Geek Girl Con…no rest for the wicked. Or the villainess.

Tonight I got a chance to attend Christine Deavel’s reading from her book Woodnote. She had an art exhibit in the background and a piano player accompanying her, and just read her poems – no inter-poem chatter, no introductions. Just another variation on how to perform poetry! And this week will also have a visit by the wonderful Dorianne Laux to Seattle for a reading Wednesday, which should be a lot of fun.

Just wanted to make a quick observation about book sales. So, at most readings, I sell a handful of books – at a really successful reading, it might be ten or fifteen. A funny thing that happens when I read – my Amazon rankings tend to go up afterward…which might mean people are going home, and later buying the book? Or is it just coincidence? And what’s really funny with the second book is, I think my first book is still outselling my second! Weird, right? Anybody else experienced this?

I just watched some scary dinosaur CGI animals try to eat some teenagers on television. That’s good background for practicing poetry, right?