VIDEO: Andrew Sean Greer on The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells

I know, I know, enough already!  I keep going on about this book.  What can I say?  I love it.  I read it way back in January, and I've been spreading the word ever since.  I can't resist sharing good books.

Now, I'm not going to lie; I am very fond of Andrew Sean Greer.  I have written previously of our

original rom com meeting at Symphony Hall.  In the eleven years since, he's been nothing but delightful every time I see him.  And he has yet to write a disappointing book.  Plus, if you hand him a microphone, he is wildly entertaining.  This was proven to me yet again at his recent book launch party at the Booksmith.  Andy's reading, talk, and Q & A were so much fun that I was kicking myself for not filming them for you.

Fortunately, Andy's local to San Francisco.  He had several Bay Area signings scheduled.  I shot him a note asking if I could film his event at the Books, Inc. (Castro) and, as always, he was happy to accommodate.  I was seated right in front of him, and consequently got better film than usual.  This came out pretty well, actually.  And as it happened, much of Andy's family was present that evening.  I was sitting right next to his mom and young nephew--which will become apparent as you watch.  You'll also be introduced to Andy's twin brother.  It was fun to see him interacting with his family.  I filmed this event from start to big finish.  (I mean, it's not every author that closes a book signing with a couple of ukulele numbers!)

Incidentally, I ran into Andy (and a swarm of other local novelists) at another writer's event last week.  It's so awesome how the local lit community supports each other!  I wasn't expecting to see Andy again so soon and announced, "I'm not stalking you!"  Let me repeat that again here, Andy, because I think I'll be seeing you at Litquake in Palo Alto this weekend...

NOTE:  I am confident that either of the independent booksellers linked in this post will be delighted to sell you a signed, first edition of this wonderful novel.

So, you say you can't get enough Christopher Moore?

Well, then, today is your lucky day. Today, his latest novel, Sacre Bleu, goes on sale in trade paperback. Personally, I loved this book. You can read my review here. But rather than hear more from me, I can let you hear from the man himself.

I videotaped Chris at two of his book tour stops for this novel last spring, the first and the last. It was interesting to compare and contrast the polished and unpolished versions of his material and, frankly, his state of mind at the beginning and ending of a long, grueling tour. Chris had asked me to hold off posting this video until the end of the tour and... somehow it never happened. My bad.

Starting with the video at the top of this post, and then going down in order below, is the video of the first tour stop, held at the Books, Inc., Opera Plaza in San Francisco. I have to admit I like the spontaneity of that first night better. No, everything he says doesn't make sense, but egads, the man is funny. He speaks bluntly! He insulsults Kansans! He lectures on art history! He gives prizes!

As you can see, the store is hugely crowded. SRO. So, my shooting and footage isn't the best, but if you're a regular to this blog, you're used to that. Sorry about the heads in the way, but it's good enough.

Of special note is the long final video segment below. The first couple minutes are the end of the Q & A, but after that is about 14 minutes of Chris giving out prizes to the audience. There's lot's of interaction. It's totally spontaneous. He plays "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with the entire audience! It's just a lot of fun and I'm really glad I taped it.

For all the folks who have never had the pleasure of seeing Chris live, I hope you have as much fun watching as we did in the audience. And let me know in the comments if you want me to post the end of tour footage at some later date.