This is how good Jeannette Walls was at the book fair Tuesday night: I started reading The Glass Castle as soon as I got home. I'm not sure if it was Walls or her fans who persuaded me to pick it up. Walls was exceptionally warm and funny, but her fans are passionate, and they love this book. Several urged me to read it immediately.
Fifty pages in, I can see why people are so drawn to Walls' story. It probably goes one of two ways: You either have had a tough childhood yourself, and you think, "We have a lot in common." Or you're like me: Your jaw drops, and you can't believe kids who grew up this way would end up as smart, productive members of society. Apparently I grew up in Ozzie and Harriet land. Hardly well-off, but we didn't miss meals unless we were too damned fussy to eat what Mom made. And even then, there was peanut butter if you wanted to make your own sandwich.
And that brings us to something I've been musing about all morning. Three days into Miami Book Fair International, and I'm still buzzing over the possibilities. Could these first three "Evening With" events be the best three-night run in fair history? It's hard to remember. But all of the presentations have been terrific, from Elizabeth Alexander and Margaret Atwood through Ruth Reichl and Barbara Kingsolver to Walls. Here's hoping the nights just keep getting better.
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