Robert Fulghum Coming To Auntie’s
If Julia Sweeney is the biggest book-reading sensation to hit Spokane in a while, then wait until November when Robert Fulghum appears.
Sweeney, the home-grown comedic actress/author, read from her book “God Said ‘Ha!”’ Thursday at Auntie’s Bookstore (radio station KPBX will rebroadcast the reading at 12:30 p.m. Aug. 4).
Meanwhile, Fulghum, the best-selling author of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” will read from his works at Auntie’s on Nov. 20.
If you aren’t familiar with Fulghum, then you aren’t a regular reader of the best-seller lists. All of his half-dozen or so books have sold well, including the “Kindergarten” follow-up, “Uh-oh: Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door,” and “Maybe (Maybe Not): Second Thoughts from a Secret Life.”
Here are some Fulghumisms, “Kindergarten”-style:
“Share everything.
“Play fair.
“Don’t hit people.
“Put things back where you find them.
“Clean up your own mess.
“Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
“Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
“Wash your hands before you eat.
“Flush.”
Anticipating the same kinds of space problems that have affected other readings, most recently the one given by mystery writer Sue Grafton, Auntie’s reading coordinator Mitch Finley says the store tried to arrange for an alternate venue.
“We had hoped to get him on at The Met,” Finley said, “but they were booked. So we’re going to have to do with what we have here.”
The event will be a benefit for Habitat for Humanity and, as such, will cost $5 to attend.
Which, as Finley noted, “is still pretty cheap.”
Final Fulghumism
My own favorite Fulghumism comes from the “Kindergarten” book. It reflects what I learned in Army basic training.
“When you go out in the world,” it goes, “watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together.”
To which I would add, “Make sure you’ve set your Claymores facing outward.”
Speaking of Claymores
“According to some estimates,” Portland author Alexander Paul wrote in the preface to his novel “Suicide Wall” (PakDonald Publishing, 313 pages, $11.95 paperback), “over 150,000 veterans of the Vietnam War have committed suicide since returning home. The list of names on the Vietnam Memorial is frozen forever. The suicides go on.”
Paul, a Vietnam vet himself, dedicated “Suicide Wall” (ISBN 0-9642761-1-9) to several of his friends who died in Vietnam, to his friends who returned wounded and to his friends “who went there and made it.”
Portions of the book profits will go to help fund the Fallen Warriors Foundation and Point Man, non-profit groups that work with Vietnam veterans.
The reader board
Claire Rudolph Murphy, author of “Gold Rush Women,” will sign copies of her book from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Children’s Corner Book Shop, 714. W Main on the Skywalk.
Poet Tom Wayman, author of “I’ll Be Right Back,” will read from his book at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington.
Gladys Dawson, author of “Wind in My Face,” will sign copies of her book from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Book & Game Co. at Coeur d’Alene’s Silver Lake Mall.
Liz Johnson-Gebhardt, author of “Vancouver Rendezvous,” will sign copies of her book from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at B. Dalton Bookseller, 702 W. Main.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo