I ♥ Chuck Palahniuk

So, Chuck Palahniuk was in Wichita last week to debut his new book, Doomed. Look, here's Roo's old Devil Dolly with my autographed copy!

It's the sequel to Damned, which was being released nationwide the next day. Go Wichita! It was nice to see how many people showed up in pajamas, per Chuck's request for what he is calling an "adult bedtime story" tour. I wore a nightgown and matching shorty robe, the latter of which I have never actually worn. Go me!  Bob is a huge Palahniuk fan although he wasn't inclined to go out and buy PJs for the event. It was pretty remarkable to see how many grown-ups own footie sleepers.

Anyhow, the event was certainly the most energetic book reading I've ever been to. Kudos to Watermark Books for bringing it. Chuck and his crew passed out white beach balls for us to blow up. The sound of a couple hundred people blowing up beach balls is pretty weird, as one might expect. The balls were big enough that it took a while to inflate them and I overheard several people wondering if Chuck was hoping we'd all get lightheaded. I don't think anyone passed out.

Along with the beach balls, we were given a couple of glow sticks. Mine were pink, which was kind of cool. Because we are so smart, we deduced that the creepy orifice in the ball was meant to house the glow sticks when connected, thusly:

Yes, this is the kind of thing that counts as a "date night" for us. We don't get out much anymore. I blame the kids. And antisocial tendencies, of course.

Chuck looked very dapper in his red smoking jacket and ascot. I wish I'd snapped a photo of his bunny slippers because they really made the outfit.

He explained that the balls were purely functional. We were to write questions for him on our balls and periodically through the evening he would ask the house to dim the lights, whereupon all of the balls were to be tossed through the air with one being selected. Like a gigantic, glow in the dark bingo tumbler. 

I had forgotten how much I hated being pelted with balls in my youth. These were pretty, at least. And, no, neither of our questions was chosen. Which is probably just as well.

Throughout the evening, Chuck would duck behind the velvet curtain and come out bearing gifts.

We didn't catch the oinking toy piglets but Bob and I each came away with a stuffed kitten. Roo was pretty excited about them.

All in all, it was an amazing evening. Chuck Palahniuk is a great storyteller and probably knows more euphemisms for body parts than anyone I have ever met. If you have the chance, I highly recommend attending one of his readings or listening to him read his books on tape. His delivery makes them even funnier and more pointed. Thumbs up!