Weekend Extravaganza Part I: Cedar Rapids, Friday Night

If you know me, you probably know I like adventures. Really, any sort of trip where I get to move about, see things, talk to people, and maybe even learn a fact or two.

This past weekend ended up being the perfect three days to see all parts of Cedar Rapids. I went to bed on Sunday completely exhausted, but so darn happy from all the fun I had. Since I had so many adventures, I've broken it up. In this installment you get Friday night and you'll have to check back for Saturday and Sunday.

From Lamb's website

So let's begin...Friday night. I attended the second Out Loud! Author Series event of the summer. This time around it was author Wally Lamb. Now, I didn't know much about Lamb; I went to hear a little of his writing and also just to hear an author.

When I arrived, the place was packed. Most people seemed to be Lamb fans and it was hard to find someone without at least two of his (large) books. These were dedicated fans and as seven drew nearer, I got more excited to hear him talk.

As Lamb got up on stage, he seemed comfortable and relaxed. He wore jeans with a t-shirt, and a sports jacket on top, just to spice up his outfit a bit. The final piece of Lamb's outfit was his baseball cap, which he took off about half-way through his reading.

The reading was fantastic and Lamb's novels are moving to the top of my summer reading list (once they get returned to the library, I think every copy is currently checked out). Lamb read from his most recent novel, We Are Water. I think this novel was even more significant to many of the audience members because it is about a flood, something very relatable to Cedar Rapidians. It's a novel that takes place in Connecticut, where Lamb grew up. It's a story told in eight voices and Lamb read a section about the flood from one character's point of view.

Of course, before we could hear the excerpt (which was quite moving and left the audience silent), we got some humor from Lamb. He started off with a hilarious tale at a Costco on one of his book tours and then some more background on how he came up with the plot for We Are Water. Then, after the reading, Lamb took some questions from the audience.

While a long line formed as Lamb signed books after the talk, I slipped out. I didn't have a book for him to sign and decided to just check out some of his books in the nearish future. I was very happy I went to the talk; I always love to hear authors talk about writing. It fires me up about writing and provides always helpful and needed inspiration.

The final Out Loud! author is Elizabeth Berg and she comes to town this upcoming Friday. I hope to make it (then I'd be three for three). I think it's great Cedar Rapids can bring such great authors to town and it's so great to see so many community members at these readings.