Raconteur and the Hunterdon County Library

A couple of weeks ago, I read at The Raconteur, one of the coolest used bookstores in Jersey.

0807091946I have no idea who that guy is, but he’s in the next picture, too.

0807091946aI read from the chapter “Jhee Hong,” which I thought was appropriate since it takes place in a used bookstore.  It was a great event, lots of interested readers and Q&A afterwards.

0807092140And since I can’t leave a bookstore without buying some books, these are the titles I left with.

raconteurbooksThat’s Matrimony by Joshua Henkin (who was at the BooksNJ festival earlier in the year and I should’ve gotten the book then, but we were pressed for time – but no matter, I got a signed copy!), Voodoo Heart by Scott Snyder, and Richard Price‘s Freedomland.  Haven’t read any of them, but that’ll soon change.

And this past week, the Hunterdon County Library invited me for a reading.

hclA little while ago, the director who put together BooksNJ asked the participating authors if they could say something about libraries, and here’s what I wrote.

Without libraries, I never would’ve discovered books on tape.  I’m still surprised that so many people haven’t experienced the joy of listening to a book narrated by a professional — they are, without question, missing out in a big way.  What hooked me was Frank Muller‘s narration of Chris Crutcher‘s collection Athletic Shorts, and since then, I must’ve gone through the majority of Muller’s performances (The Prince of Tides, 1984, The Great Gatsby — you can’t go wrong with anything he reads).  It’s unfortunate that he’s no longer with us, but his work will live on, thanks to all the great libraries.

If you have a road trip coming up or would like a change of pace for the daily commute, go to your local library and get yourself a Muller.

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