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To read or not to read

I’ll be speaking this evening at the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in my hometown of Newington at 7:00.  Topics for the evening will likely include my first novel, SOMETHING MISSING, my upcoming book (UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO), the writing process, and publishing in general, but since I never plan ahead and am often as surprised as my audience about what comes out of my mouth, who knows!

There may also be a few some high school students present who will be sharing their work for a couple of minutes apiece.  I recently finished a workshop at the local high school and invited any of the brave souls in attendance to join me this evening in order to read a bit of their work to the audience as well.

I hate reading from my own book.  I find it tedious and boring, and I almost always feel the same way when listening to other authors read.  I’d much prefer to listen to them talk about their lives, the ways in which they write, and the like.  I tend to love question-and-answer sessions, too, since that is where the wit of a writer are often exposed.

Or not. 

There’s nothing like watching someone attempt an unprepared response to some of the most lucid and inane questions ever formulated.  I tend to adore the question-and-answer sessions of my own readings as well, because this is where I discover what people really want to hear. 

Do you feel the same way about authors reading from their work?  Do you enjoy listening to them read for fifteen or twenty minutes at a clip, which many do?  Or would you prefer to just listen to the story about how their book came into being and what it is like being a writer?

Just curious.