Saturday, June 27, 2009

So...What Did YOU Do On Thursday?

When I was in Chicago for my Avon Walk recently we passed the Borders on Michigan Ave. There was a sign in the window advertising a book signing by one of my mostest favorite authors: Janet Evanovich. I could NOT miss this!

So this past Thursday, after working an excruciatingly long day at work, my mother and I drove into the city. We sat in traffic for what felt like FOREVER but finally made it. When we walked into the store, I hardly saw any people at all. I thought Bonus, we're one of the first one's here! But sadly that was not to be. As we purchased the books and went up a level we saw what we later found out was 500+ people lined up to meet her. It was actually pretty organized, I was impressed.
Her latest book is called Finger Lickin' Fifteen. That explains the chicken, I hope, as I haven't actually started the book yet. I'm saving it for my upcoming stay-cation in three weeks. As we got in line an employee told us that Janet would only sign her name nothing personalized, but she would pose for pictures and chat. I figured that sounded like a fair trade off.
We waited in line for 3+ hours so we got to know the people around us pretty well. I mean, we had time to kill and all, and my mother and I are pretty chatty. It made the wait bearable and we met some fun people. So much fun, in fact, that we felt we had to pose for a picture to commemorate our time together.
Finger Lickin' Friends

We laughed, talked about books, and held each other's place in line for potty and beverage breaks. We tried to convince the other people in front of us that it wasn't worth it and they should leave. Just when we were beginning to think it was all for naught, there she was.
As we got closer in line, her daughter Alex was handing out pins. I picked an I heart Ranger one and my mother chose I heart Joe Morelli. It was awesome.
I actually felt a little sorry for Janet. She was in a wheel chair after breaking her foot the day before at another book signing. By the time we got up there she looked tired and a little like she was in pain. It didn't help that some people had brought every. single. book. she'd ever written for her to sign. Also, one lady freaked out on her and demanded a personalized autograph. WTF? We were all told the rules. I'm sorry, but I didn't know her last name was SPECIAL. I mean, don't people have any kind of manners?

Regardless, when it was our turn, Janet was gracious and awesome. It was like meeting a rock star!

So, what did YOU do on Thursday night?

4 comments:

Jen said...

How fun! I've only read one of her books (the first one in the Stephanie Plum series) but I really liked it. It is funny how quickly you bond with people when you have to wait. I had a similar experience last night.

JackeeG4glamorous said...

I'm STILL basking in the awesomeness. We have to do more of those kind of awesome things. What are you doing NEXT Thursday?

Brandi said...

That is cool Sarah!!!!

thecoconutdiaries said...

It's interesting to go to book signings. It's a weird combo of excitement and pity for the poor author who sits there all night making small talk iwth a line of people. It's like one-sided speed dating. Without the booze.