Gary Shteyngart doesn't think I'm that short

Hey Girls,

Well, this year I am making an effort to go to events I might not have typically been expected to be at, to learn and discover new authors and books. This week I went to my first romance reading, and last night I went to a science-fiction event. I am not die-hard science fiction but I think it is a good idea to get a taste for all types of genre's writing and books, as a writing I can appreciate the creativity involved in writing and passion author have for their work.  Last night went to the NY Review of Science Fiction event at the SoHo Digital Art Gallery and authors Rick Moody and Gary Shteyngart read from their cool books. While he was reading, I imagined Rick Moody's book THE FOUR FINGERS OF DEATH, as a concept for a movie actually (like a Tom Hanks in Cast Away only instead of Wilson the volleyball it's Saratoga the space craft he is communicating with). When Rick mentioned the Mars explorer called the Saratoga Originally launched by the United States of America in 2019, (I couldn't help but think of how enchanting the name of the craft sounded and what came to mind was a memory of  going to Saratoga Springs when I was teen in Upstate NY). Anyways, in the book Four Fingers of Death, Jim is on Mars and he has encountered the long lost Saratoga craft.  Now although I am tech savvy when I heard about Jim checking out the Saratoga and noticing, "a small forgotten panel in the Saratoga slid back, and a punch pad appeared," I thought of actually a punching bag! It didn't click with me until the Saratoga and Jim started communicating when, "Jim found himself hoping against hope that the keypad would be both numerical and alphabetical, because if he couldn’t talk to the Saratoga in English, he didn’t know what he was going to do."

Rick did a great job reading, so good I almost forgot about the guy who sat near me who reeked of grime and God knows what, and I told Rick I enjoyed this reading and his eyebrows kind of arched when I mentioned that I will be writing about him on a modeling blog. haha. 

Also, both authors needed water before they read, it was getting hot as hell at the SoHo Digital Art Gallery which is a small space. Having water before reading at an event is nornal, but it was funny because Rick Moody whipped off his sweater and plead for water and the gallery people had to hunt for the water before he read. 

Rick Moody gulping down water before his reading of  The Four Fingers of Death.

Gary Shteyngart drinking water before reading from his book Super Sad True Love Story.

I got Gary's book SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY, which is about a future functionally illiterate America, also Gary mentioned while reading that this could actually be next week, ha, the characters in the book all have these devices around their necks which tell others their stats for how smart they are, how good they are at romance, etc.. Actually I have thought about this before, what if you were at a coffee shop, bar, the subway, and you could see on the train the characteristics of the person around you, all based on a device they wear around their neck or an ID card that shares their pro's and con's, their stats for being thoughtful, kind, their hobbies, interests, etc. Not that this would be good or bad, but just the thought of it, haha. Anyways when Gary mentioned that this was an aspect in his book I became intrigued! He also mentioned the main character Lenny is short. I found it interesting that the characters are afraid of the smell of books and live in a world that is anti-books (especially with the changes and add-ons in publishing and digital publishing these days.  His book has been called "a Romeo and Juliet for our wobbly age" by Kiran Desai and watch the book trailer.

Also while Gary signed his book for me, of course I commented on how his character is "short" and plugged how short I was and that I was a petite model and author and advocate for the shorties, and he said "all my characters are short!" And he told me I wasn't that short, hehe aww of course then I gave him a copy of my modeling memoir Almost 5'4" :)

Ok Girls, so I know science fiction may not be your thing, and I didn't think it was my thing when I walked into the event, but I gained a new respect for science-fiction this week.

~Isobella Jade

P.s: On Amazon and BN.com you can read an excerpt from both books, sometimes it is nice to discover new authors, new writing styles and voices and the creativity involved with picking up a book you might not have typically considered:  Here's Rick Moody's The Four Fingers of Death or on his website.
And Gary Shteyngart's : Super Sad True Love Story