Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Sunnyland in Spring

Is there any better time to go out and about seeing new places than the spring time? I’ve been reading around the country from Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus and just can’t get over it. It’s gorgeous in Minneapolis, gorgeous in Detroit, gorgeous in California and, of course, back “home” here in Washington, for a brief laundry stop, it’s gorgeous. Everywhere there are blossoms and greenness and occasionally snow flurries to mix it up and keep you guessing.



The readings are going well. You never know quite what to expect or who will turn up. A Girl Scout troop appeared in Perris to shake my hand and talk about their favorite books. The winner by a landslide: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Some students way up in Ely, Minnesota knew their civil rights history and were excited to delve deep into it. One young African American fellow even got to thinking he might take a minor in it as a sub-specialty. That’s pretty cool.

The next swing is all West Coast:
Thursday, May 6 at 6 pm at the University of Oregon in Eugene
Monday, May 10 at 7 pm at Eso Won Books in Los Angeles
Tuesday, May 11 at 3 pm UC Riverside
Wednesday, May 12
at 7:30 pm at Pegasus Books in Berkeley
Thursday, May 13 at 7 pm at Modern Times Bookstore in San Francisco
Saturday May 15 at 2 pm at Elliott Bay Bookstore in Seattle

There will be a few college class visits and radio interviews along the way, too, to mix it up. Then I’ll go home for a few days, the first in six weeks, and hopefully get the garden planted. Then back out.

Test Ride continues to get some nice press.

A review from The Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2010/04/nonfiction_review_test_ride_on.html

And a profile in The Riverside Press Enterprise:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_W_spagna20.48cb618.html

Drop a note/comment to offer any feedback, support, or heckling. At this point, I think I’m unfazed-able.