Richard Peck at the Provo City Library

Last night I had the chance to meet Richard Peck. I'm sad to say that I've never read any of his books, but after listening to him talk for an hour, I'm sold. To my defense, I have checked many of his books out several times, though have never had the "time" to read them. His book A Long Way From Chicago was this year's pick of the ProvoReads organization to be read by the Provo school district and the Provo City Library (for more info, click here). I knew this was going to be a good event because there were only a limited amount of tickets, I was too excited to write a paper (story of my life), and Barnes and Noble was there to sell books ( Yes, I did help stimulate our economy last night).
They had a Q&A session that had some interesting questions- I didn't get a chance to ask any questions, but here's what I would have asked, given the chance:

• Was the food they offered at the Newbery dinner worth winning the Newbery?
• Why would you have a cat with you- if you're getting secluded on this make believe desert island, why not have a dog that walks itself?

This author-attending was definitely one of the best I've been to. Although I haven't had much exposure to Peck's work, I fell in love with his love for the English language, his ability to weave a hilarious and engaging story, and his overall charisma and personality. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to not only meet Peck, but that I was able to spend an hour or so with him. It was definitely the perfect evening out, and I'm excited for the next ProvoReads event!