Backward Book Signings!

What's better than reading a book? How about having the author read you the book?

I believe the caucussing results could very well have been affected by the event tonight. Ishmael Beah spoke to a full house, a good 2000+. I was pretty impressed, especially after such poor showings for other worthy events just last week.

The event was quite a unique one to me, and I am not a novice to book readings/signings. What was unique was that I'd already read the book. Just what kind of a promotion was this? I wasn't sure, but I liked this "Backward Book Signing" already.

I would describe it as showing up to your favorite class, for which you have done the reading so you are fully ready to receive the lecture versus the standard format, which always feels (at least to me) like you're that kid the back of the room going, "what was the reading about?", "I wonder if I should have read it?", "should I even be here?". Clearly, there's no question about whether or not you're going to buy the book. Not only have you already bought it, but you must have even enjoyed it since you're devoting more time to it by just coming to the event.

The book of tonight's Backward Book Signing is a non-fiction memoir by a former boy soldier from Sierra Leone. I actually picked up the book about 6 months ago. It just happened to catch my eye sitting there all pretty and new, just as a new hardback will oft do, so I picked it up and proceeded to read it in about a night, okay, probably two.

It definitely leaves a lasting impression. Hope and compassion rise to the top amidst the well-detailed horrific events. The language is very straight-forward, but with a descriptive eloquence, which Ishmael attributes to his native languages being inherently poetic. But you don't have to take just my word for it - TIME magazine rated it #3 on their Top 10 Nonfiction Books last year. It was also on the NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2007.

To more Backward Book Signings! ... and even the standard style, as I'm sure those will be much more abundant.