William Gibson read from his new book today

Cafe Society
1

I got to hear William Gibson read from his latest book Zero History today, which was also the launch date. I love his stuff from first reading Neuromancer around 1985.

He read a pretty wild chapter. And a pretty good reader. Not overly animated but subtle emphasis and audible irony. He’s a tall skinny dude wearing a v necked cashmere sweater and what looked like a white t-shirt underneath gone grey. Then later explained that because he rewrites his stuff literally hundreds of times in the the 14 months he wrote it (and he tends to read from the beginning making unthinking corrections for about the first third of the novel), that when he reads to an audience he gets something approximating the reader experience - but only the first time or two he reads. So that was pretty special for us.

Then he did a pretty good Q&A. I asked if he had “read any good books lately?” And the answer was http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-City-Lauren-Beukes/dp/0007327684

Q&A was very measured, well spoken, erudite. I took a couple of notes:

Question if he gets creeped out by Technology: “Stuff I find coolest kinda creeps me out. Tech is neutral till we do something with it.”

“Drive by anthropologist” is part of what I do.

Asked why critics thinks he is so dark or negative: “When I turned the entire eastern seaboard into a giant slum in neuromancer, I thought I was testifying for life.” He went on to explain that in the 1970’s the threat of nuclear war with Russia had an overshadowing effect.

I didn’t have time to wait for the book signing or actually meet him but nonetheless I was pretty happy to have the experience today.

Any other William Gibson fans out there? I like Neuromancer and Idoru the best if I had to pick just two

2

Coincidentally, just the other day I watched that episode of the X-Files he wrote. I love his stuff.

3

Any other good Authors reading From Their Own Works stories?

I saw (no, I heard – crowd was too thick to see more than the top of is head) Douglas Adams at a tiiiiiiny local bookstore.

But the high point of my literary life was seeing Tom Robbins at a student union back in the day. He told stories and read the first chapter of his upcoming Jitterbug Perfume which he later totally rewrote, taking out ALL the auto-biographical anecdotes that he’d regaled us with!

But the best moment was during the Q&A, when a college jock asked, "Uhh, Mr. Robbins, what is like of all your books your favorite?"
Without missing a beat: "Gone With The Wind. An early work, but I think it holds up. Next question?"

4

I like his ideas and environments, but not always the story or the resolution. He is asking great questions, but that is different than being a great storyteller. He’s like the Malcolm Gladwell of spec fiction - and that has positive and negative implications…

I prefer his short stories - the collection Burning Chrome. Better suited to his approach, IMHO.

I will likely seek out his new book.

5

I’d always been a huge Gibson and even defended him when other of my friends expressed their ardent dislike for Pattern Recognition. After reading Spook Country, though, I had to concede their point that he’d lost whatever attachment to science fiction and literature he’d had. That was seriously one of my top 10 book disappointments.

6

(Missed the edit window)
That said, he does give a great reading and I’m glad you got to catch him in person.

7

Is there a consensus “second best Gibson novel”? Necromancer was one of my favorite sci-fi novels, but the only other thing I read by him was a short story collection (don’t remember the name, but it had New Rose Hotel and Johnny Mnemonic in it) which I also liked.

But I don’t read much fiction these days, so I doubt I’m gonna read everything the guys written. If I only read one more Gibson novel then, what should it be?

8

You mean Neuromancer. The short story collection was Burning Chrome, which I reference above.

In terms of novels, I found Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive (while possessing the coolest name evah) kinda meh. I enjoyed Pattern Recognition a lot for its vibe but the plot felt whisper thin. His stuff is more about feel and ideas that plot or character, so I don’t find his novels satisfying in a novel-y sort of way…

9

I’m halfway through Zero History right now. I’m liking it.

But Damn, the twitter name GAYDOLPHIN2 has already been registered. Protected. 1 following, 1 followers. I lolled. ;p

10

Loved everything up to Idoru, was ok with it. After that he seemed far more concerned with demonstrating how uber-hip he is and how wonderful a literary stylist he is. Story and idea seem secondary.

I picked up Spook Country a couple weeks ago, and much like Pattern Recognition I couldn’t find any reason to continue past about 20 pages. Descriptions of designer clothes and sunglasses bore me. Style without substance annoys me.

11

I’m not sure I’m fully on board with his cutesy names thing he’s got going on. Bigend? Are you sure that’s gonna work? Inchmale? I feel like I’ve walked in on a penis size competition.