meeting up with Our Secret Brother John Green (osbJG)

It's been a busy coupla days around here and so I'm only now getting around to writing about last Thursday when I biked over to the Santa Monica Public Library to see osbJG. He was in town on his book tour promoting his most recent novel Paper Towns and I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to hear him talk in person.

I regret that the only good photo of him makes him appear as though he has agitated hands.

The library auditorium was packed (with some attendees in an overflow room. Thank goodness I got there early) with folks (mostly high school kids is my guess) dressed up for Halloween as per osbJG's suggestion. This queen of hearts' costume was too good not to photograph. And that sailor boy just warmed my heart. Look at that grin!


This gal wore my favorite costume.

Says she hand sewed it so it took her two weeks to make. See? It even flips inside out for when the ghost gets eaten by Pac-Man. Awesome!!


NB: osbJG came dressed up in costume as well. Can you guess who he's supposed to be?

Walt Whitman! Of course!!

I regret that my photography skills are so wanting. I think I was a little nervous. Nervous because I was one of maybe 5 non high school/college age kids there (the other 4 were probably parents who'd driven their kids over) and felt a little like a moron. Nervous because I was worried that when it came time for osbJG to sign my book I'd say something stupid and he'd mock me (in a funny and kind way, but mortifying if you are the one who getting mocked). Nervous because I was going to ask him to hold my sock-in-progress and he might think that I was a perverse sort of stalker indeed.

He did hold my sock in progress and graciously allowed me to photograph him doing so. I am racking up nerdy points in so many ways with this shot.

NB: I haven't finished the socks in question yet. I learned the hard way that knitting argyle successfully for me involves backwards knitting for the colorwork part.

The talk and reading was great! I like what osbJG said about why decided to write for the young adult genre, how he finds it meaningful to be given a voice, invited to sit at the table among those who might influence the opinions of our young people. It's validating to see so many young folks responding to his energy and enthusiasm.