Reading At Big Blue Marble

Next week I'll be participating in a reading at Big Blue Marble Bookstore (Wednesday, June 9, between 7-9 pm) along with Barry Graham, Randall Brown, Curtis Smith, Scott Oliver, Drew Kalbach, Daniel Wallace, and Peter Schwartz. Barry and Peter are currently hiking/hitchhiking/roaming the east coast, and this is one of their stops. Normally I'm not one to jump at the chance to do a reading, but Barry asked me if I'd like to read and I said sure.

Now here are my thoughts on readings -- not everything a writer writes should be read aloud. I mean, a writer could read anything they wrote aloud, but some stories are best left alone on the page. I think it was T. C. Boyle who said that he doesn't do readings; he does performances. And that's the best way authors should think about readings -- not just standing up in front of people talking in a dry monotone, but actually bringing their stories and characters to life.

So I've been thinking about some good stories to read next week and have narrowed them down to a few pieces, and I'd like to get some opinions on which you think I should go with. I figure for the setting flash fiction pieces would work best. Humor is a plus, too. So far I'm thinking one or two of the following:

Of course, there are a bunch of others to choose from, so if anyone would like to suggest another story or two, please do.

Because here's the fun part ...

If all goes according to plan, my wife will be coming with me and will videotape my reading using the Qik application on my phone, so anyone can view it live on my Qik page. I'll post something on Twitter and Facebook a few minutes before it goes live. When exactly, I don't know. The reading is between 7 and 9 next Wednesday evening. And I don't expect anyone to be sitting in front of their computers waiting to see this. But if you do happen to be online around that time, and see my tweet directing you to the page, feel free to click on it. I can't imagine the video and sound quality will be stellar, but it should definitely be interesting. And fun. After all, isn't that what it's all about?