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Getting the Signed Book – Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (Video Blog ep 028)

September 22, 2012

A few years ago I attended a writing conference in Portland, Oregon called the Tin House Writer’s Workshop. During the event, I met a lot of great authors, one of which was Denis Johnson, author of, among many other books, Jesus’ Son. This newest installment of Getting the Singed Book features my heroic story of how I got my copy of Jesus’ Son signed by the author. It involves, among other awkward situations, the author nearly, almost, kinda drinking my pee. Read all about this almost happening at Dark Sky Magazine, here: http://www.cjrlit.com/DrinkingPee And don't forget: subscribe to my YouTube channel, subscribe to my YouTube channel, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe!

Getting the Signed Book – How the Hula Girl Sings by Joe Meno (Video Blog ep 025)

August 25, 2012

Hear the amazing, mostly made up story of how I got my copy of Joe Meno’s How the Hula Girl Sings signed by the author during the 2004 Association of Writers and Writing Projects conference in Chicago, IL. You’ll hear the first-hand account of how I knew Meno as a musician first and an author second, why I should be more sensitive to Hula throat issues, and why Joe Meno owes me a royalty check.

Getting the Signed Book – Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (Video Blog ep 023)

August 12, 2012

Hear the amazing, 100% true(ish) story of how I got my copy of Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom signed by the author during an author reading in Kansas City on September 22, 2010. You’ll hear the first-hand account of my bravery in the face of an elderly security guard, the strength of punches needed to take babies down, and why I’m glad Franzen is an author rather than a professional investment broker.

Author 401(k): sell your signed books for 401K

November 8, 2008

An Abebooks bookseller is trying to get a quarter of a million dollars for a collection of signed Barack Obama books. To put this into perspective, a signed copy of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s first book goes for 20K. L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought goes for $8.07 (but to be fair, this converts to 1 Bajillion Quagnars). This begs a few questions: 1) what’s the point of a signed book, 2) what makes a signed book more desirable than an unsigned book, and 3) what’s so great about this particular signature? I am a signed book nerd, and even I don’t know the answer to the first question. So, instead of waxing eloquent I’ll instead jump to question two. The short answer: an implied communion with the author. While the internet has changed this relationship considerably, there is still a sense of proximity with a signed book…