Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Jenny Lawson is Awesome!


Last night, I went to go see Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess) do a reading from her book Let's Pretend This Never Happened.  If you are unfamiliar with the masterpiece of a blog that is The Bloggess, please head on over there immediately.  She is quirky.  She drops f-bombs.  You will laugh.  Then come back here and read this.

The event was held at a local bookstore, Rakestraw Books, which completely sold out of tickets.  Jenny was a total class act, and went outside to greet the people that were not able to get inside to hear her speak.  She then read a chapter from her book, told a few funny stories about things that have happened on her tour, and answered audience questions.

Jenny gave some great advice during the q&a session.  She was telling a story about how she had a hard time doing the reading for the audio version of her book.  She asked a friend for help and he told her to, "Pretend you're good at it."  This advice worked for her and she was able to successfully record her book.  I think there are a few aspects of life that we can all apply this wisdom to as well.  Fake it til you make it.

Her second piece of advice came when she was discussing how hard it was to write her book.  She was trying to get the paragraphs and humor just right.  She had to "tighten up her writing" which meant being short and to the point.  Saying more with fewer words.  It is definitely more of an art than a science, but something I want to apply to the blog (and ok, to other aspects of my life such as well.  Nobody wants to read a super long work email.).  



The first thing Jenny did was pull Copernicus, her taxidermied monkey, from her purse. You should definitely click on the link to read the backstory on that one.


This is where he remained for the duration of the event.


I was lucky enough to sit in the front row, and I got some great shots of Jenny.  She read the chapter "The Psychopath on the Other Side of the Bathroom Door" and then answered questions from the audience.

Jenny spoke in depth about some of her struggles with her mental health.  She was delightfully honest and frank about the topic.  She is writing a second book that talks in greater depth about her experience in living with and managing these issues. 


At then end, Jenny was nice enough to sign copies of her book.


I also got my picture taken with her.  It is kind of a rough picture of me, but Jenny looks great (and that is what is important, but I wish I could go back in time and fix my hair).


If you ever get a chance to see her in person, I highly recommend it.  She is as gracious and humble as she is funny.  I can't wait for her second book to come out!

5 comments:

decor8 said...

What a lucky girl you are! I love Jenny and her book and follow her on FB! I love a woman of few very witty words!!

Unknown said...

That sounded so nice! p.s. would you like to follow each other? x

Unknown said...

That sounded so nice! p.s. would you like to follow each other? x

rooth said...

She looks pretty wonderful and her book is on my Amazon list ... and now rocketing to the top of it

Lorena said...

I learned about her through a previous post of yours - and how amazing that you got to see her.

I'm Erin

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Hi, I'm Erin. I am living back on the east coast after 15 years out west. Currently readjusting to humidity and mosquitos. I love to take pictures and read fashion magazines.... and to talk about nothing in particular (ok, and my dogs).

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