September 22, 2012

David Levithan


Last September 7, my friends Estelle (Rather Be Reading) and Rachel (Hello, Chelly) and I made our way to Barnes & Noble Union Square for the David Levithan event. I had just read my first solo work from him earlier this year (The Lover's Dictionary, which was incredible), and so I was incredibly excited to be attending the event and getting a copy of his new book Every Day.

I loved how this event was definitely different than anything I'd ever gone to before. It was a reading, but he managed to make it extra special (since it was his birthday as well!) by reading pieces he'd written at 10, 20, 30 and 40. The range of his writing, and seeing how it's concretely grown and matured over the years was pretty awesome.

For the age of 10, he read a haiku he'd written, a story from his days at camp (featuring Zapperface, Lamp Chops + The Black Death - which obviously means it was epic) and an essay he wrote about classics.

For the age of 20, he read a story he'd written that worked in a few lyrics from some very famous 80s songs - and I absolutely loved it. I thought the references were hilarious, and that the story itself was pretty interesting.

For the age of 30, he read from Boy Meets Boy. I have yet to read this novel from him, but judging from the excerpt he chose to share with us, I may just have to get my hands on this book very soon!

For the age of 40, he read from Every Day. Since I had purchased the book, I was reading along with him. It sounds like it's a wonderful novel, and I can't wait to get started on it.

He also read a bit from The Realm of Possibility, and I must say, this is definitely my favorite thing he read all night. Not only is David an incredible reader (seriously, he can read his work to me anytime!), he certainly has a way with the written word... and it shows. I seriously teared up while he read this piece because I knew exactly how his characters felt. Obviously, I need to get my hands on this NOW.

Getting the incredible opportunity to see David speak and to meet him was so much fun! It certainly put in an orange mood, and I'm so happy that I was able to go. It was also a treat to spend time with some of my favorite people Estelle and Rachel (including the forty minutes we spent wandering around the aisles... oops!), and I can't wait to do it again!

3 Comments:

  1. This sounds like such a FUN event! Can I move to where you are? You seem to have all the best authors come by!

    i still need to get a copy of Every Day ... it looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, it sounds like you had an amazing time! I've recently read a couple of his novels but never managed to really click with them...until Every Day. I'm glad I decided to give him another go because Every Day was magnificent. A favourite 2012 definitely! Glad to hear you had a great time and after falling in love with Every Day, I think it's time I gave the rest of his books a whirl. I hope you enjoy discovering his other books and end up loving Every Day as much as I do. Awesome recap!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well you might as well color me green with jealousy! I am so glad you were able to go to this reading. I have not read anything by David but judging from this post, he sounds like he is a wonderful author!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment! I love seeing what you have to say, and will try to reply (here or on Twitter) as soon as I can :)