Katie Hafner - Excellent Author Event

Joni and I went to the Larkspur Library (sponsored by Book Passage) last night to see Katie Hafner.  She is promoting her new memoir, Mother Daughter Me.  I, of course, bought the book there and had Katie sign it.  It looks to be fascinating, and I will get it up near the top of the queue - soon.

I don't usually do this, but let me quote the blurb about Katie on the book jacket.  She has a darn interesting background.

Katie Hafner is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, where she writes on healthcare and technology.  She has also worked at Newsweek and BusinessWeek, and has written for The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Wired, The New Republic, The Huffington Post, and O: The Oprah Magazine.  She is the author of five previous books covering a diverse set of topics, including the origins of the Internet, computer hackers, German reunification, and the pianist Glenn Gould.  She lives in San Francisco.

Whew, that's a lot of stuff.  And she is every bit as engaging as her bio would indicate. The book deals with a 6-month period in 2009 when she lived with her mother and 16-year old daughter.  Now that doesn't necessarily seem all that interesting, does it?  Well, guess again.  Katie's childhood with her mother is The Glass Castle-like.  Does that pique your curiosity?  It should.

My wife is like Mikey (remember him from the Life Cereal commercials?) when it comes to authors reading from their books.  She doesn't like any of them.  Except for last night. Katie read 3 very different sections from her book.  The writing is excellent, and the subject matter is mesmerizing.  Joni  wants to read Katie's book just from listening to those 3 excerpts.  That's a 1st for her.  Nice job, Katie.

I obviously can't recommend the book yet because I haven't read it.  But I have a very strong feeling that I will be telling all of you to get a copy of Mother Daughter Me.