bloodygranuaile (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bloodygranuaile) wrote2011-07-12 10:51 pm
bloodygranuaile) wrote2011-07-12 10:51 pm
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The night is dark and full of terrors
But Barnes & Noble parking lots are sunny and full of nerds!
Today, George R. R. Martin's long-awaited fifth installment of A Song of Ice and Fire was released, four years after the infamous "Meanwhile, Back At The Wall..." author's note predicted it would be, and the very FIRST stop on the signing tour--the stop for the RELEASE DATE which is TODAY--was at the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA, and I went, and I got two signed copies of A Dance with Dragons (one for me and one for Pat) and a sunburn like I'd actually been dancing with dragons, or doing whatever passes for dancing in clubs these days where you've got your back to your partner like a weirdo.
I got there at about two-thirty, and there were only about a hundred people crazy enough to already be there at that point. I sat on my rather dirty fleece blanket because the asphalt was seventy billion degrees, but alas, I did not have the sense to have other useful-for-sitting-in-the-sun-for-five-hours paraphernalia, like sunscreen or a hat or a lawn chair. Other people had brought the full going-to-the-beach kit, complete with large umbrellas. I chatted on and off with the dude in front of me and the woman behind me (and a friend of hers, once he showed up). The woman had only started reading the series recently, so she was only on the second book. She apparently also likes Harry Potter and TrueBlood and some of the other more-or-less popular nerdy things that I am particularly fond of, so she was one of the less awkward "single serving friends" I've had over the years since we actually had stuff to talk about. This was good, because we were hanging out for like six hours. B&N employees periodically came around selling rather overpriced lemonade, which I was grateful for because GROSSLY HOT OUT.
We were close enough to the front of the line that we got moved inside the store (with the air conditioning!) around 6h30, which meant we were inside to hear Mr. Martin speak. Much of what he said was stuff I'd already heard before, about the processes of writing and splitting up the novels and what took Dance so long, but he also talked about how he goes about writing POV chapters (ie, not in the order we end up reading them) and some stuff about working in TV and then having his books made into a TV show and things. Then we got shinied up for our assembly line--the jacket flaps of ADWD had to be bookmarking the title page; other bookmarks had to be removed; anything else we were likely to unexpectedly whip out and ask to get signed had to be handed over to the B&N staff; Post-It notes were dispensed to mark the title pages on books without bookjackets. Each person ended up getting about 10 seconds with Mr. Martin, which for me is the exact wrong amount of time. I couldn't think of any short questions that could be asked and answered in that time period (except "Are the words of House Targaryen deliberately adapted from the motto of the Salvation Army?" but I chickened out of asking that 'cos it's kind of a silly question) but it's too long to see one of your favorite authors and not say ANYTHING. I settled for just saying that I'd started reading and I absolutely loved the first few chapters; Mr. Martin graciously said he hoped I enjoyed the rest of them as well, and I said I was sure that I would and then I went on my way with my copies and went to the back of the line to make fun of Josh and Keen for showing up so late.
Tomorrow I have to stay late for work (to make up for taking this afternoon off) and then post blogularly about rereading the first four books, which should be interesting, and as such I really need to go to bed now.
Today, George R. R. Martin's long-awaited fifth installment of A Song of Ice and Fire was released, four years after the infamous "Meanwhile, Back At The Wall..." author's note predicted it would be, and the very FIRST stop on the signing tour--the stop for the RELEASE DATE which is TODAY--was at the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA, and I went, and I got two signed copies of A Dance with Dragons (one for me and one for Pat) and a sunburn like I'd actually been dancing with dragons, or doing whatever passes for dancing in clubs these days where you've got your back to your partner like a weirdo.
I got there at about two-thirty, and there were only about a hundred people crazy enough to already be there at that point. I sat on my rather dirty fleece blanket because the asphalt was seventy billion degrees, but alas, I did not have the sense to have other useful-for-sitting-in-the-sun-for-five-hours paraphernalia, like sunscreen or a hat or a lawn chair. Other people had brought the full going-to-the-beach kit, complete with large umbrellas. I chatted on and off with the dude in front of me and the woman behind me (and a friend of hers, once he showed up). The woman had only started reading the series recently, so she was only on the second book. She apparently also likes Harry Potter and TrueBlood and some of the other more-or-less popular nerdy things that I am particularly fond of, so she was one of the less awkward "single serving friends" I've had over the years since we actually had stuff to talk about. This was good, because we were hanging out for like six hours. B&N employees periodically came around selling rather overpriced lemonade, which I was grateful for because GROSSLY HOT OUT.
We were close enough to the front of the line that we got moved inside the store (with the air conditioning!) around 6h30, which meant we were inside to hear Mr. Martin speak. Much of what he said was stuff I'd already heard before, about the processes of writing and splitting up the novels and what took Dance so long, but he also talked about how he goes about writing POV chapters (ie, not in the order we end up reading them) and some stuff about working in TV and then having his books made into a TV show and things. Then we got shinied up for our assembly line--the jacket flaps of ADWD had to be bookmarking the title page; other bookmarks had to be removed; anything else we were likely to unexpectedly whip out and ask to get signed had to be handed over to the B&N staff; Post-It notes were dispensed to mark the title pages on books without bookjackets. Each person ended up getting about 10 seconds with Mr. Martin, which for me is the exact wrong amount of time. I couldn't think of any short questions that could be asked and answered in that time period (except "Are the words of House Targaryen deliberately adapted from the motto of the Salvation Army?" but I chickened out of asking that 'cos it's kind of a silly question) but it's too long to see one of your favorite authors and not say ANYTHING. I settled for just saying that I'd started reading and I absolutely loved the first few chapters; Mr. Martin graciously said he hoped I enjoyed the rest of them as well, and I said I was sure that I would and then I went on my way with my copies and went to the back of the line to make fun of Josh and Keen for showing up so late.
Tomorrow I have to stay late for work (to make up for taking this afternoon off) and then post blogularly about rereading the first four books, which should be interesting, and as such I really need to go to bed now.