Wisconsin Book Festival
Call us a bunch of nerds or bookworms, but many of us Madisonians have been waiting a long time for the annual Wisconsin Book Festival, when hordes of authors descend upon the town to read from their works and discuss a wide range of topics. I’m pleased as punch to be part of it this year (Saturday at Room of One’s Own at 2 p.m.!!!) but overwhelmed with trying to find time to see everyone I want to see. Last night it was the always-amusing Michael Perry who packed the house (and the neighborhood’s surrounding parking lots) at Borders West. Have you ever heard a cow praised for its beauty like Helen of Troy? A certain passage of Perry’s Truck: A Love Story will get you laughing out loud (as will much of the rest of the book).
If you have never heard him speak, you need to. Check out where he is going next on his website Sneezing Cow. (The book that really started his reputation as a great Wisconsin humorist/essayist was Population 485)
Next week I am off to Turks & Caicos for the International Film Festival and a stay at the amazing Ocean Club Resorts on Grace Bay, touted as the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean (and some say arguably in the world – I’ll gladly be the judge of that!). If you are in Fort Lauderdale on October 20, I will be in Weston’s Public Library reading from The Yogurt Man Cometh.
I thoroughly enjoyed Population: 485…I’ll have to check out the library to see if they’ve gotten any more of his stuff in since then.