Overheard at... Powell's Book Store

“If I wrote the things he did I would not be living at the end of a ten mile lane in Maine.”

Over a 1,000 people gathered at Powell's last night to have Jeff Kinney sign his new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, HARD LUCK. Like everyone else, we were waiting for our turn to meet him. Fortunately, though, we’d found a spot to sit and finish homework near the book signing location.

It also happened we were right next to the Thriller section of the bookstore, and in particular, Stephen King. As the line snaked by us it was a perfect time to over hear lots of comments about this prolific author. While many of the comments had to do with how frightening his books are, for some reason most were about his home in Maine.

Here’s a different overhear on the topic:
“Some friends mentioned we had just passed by his house, so I made them go back so I could see it. And then, while we were driving by, he jogged right by us. They pointed out that it had been him, but I hadn’t seen his face. When I asked them to turn around again they said no way. He was hit while jogging, you know. And since they lived in the town they really didn’t think it was a good idea to drive back and forth in front of his house.”

Many comments were of a similar vein… near sightings of Mr. King, or of his house. But one overhear made me laugh out loud. A woman was talking on her cell phone while waiting in line. So I only heard her end of the conversation. But it went something like this:

“Where am i? Instead of explaining she was near the front, she looked around for a marker. “I think I’m in the Thriller section. I’m right next to Stephen King…. No, I’m almost there. But I’m going to have nightmares tonight. … No,” (laugh) “not about Stephen King. About this  ridiculous line.”

I could relate. I suppose participating in the “Hard Luck Tour” meant experiencing some hard luck ourselves

Are you a Stephen King fan? Have you been to Maine and can you explain what would be so scary about living there? I love, love, love, to hear reader comments. And to prove it, I will give $10 to the non-political charity of one lucky November commenter. Leave a comment on any of my blogs and then check back at the end of the month to see if you won!