Alexander McCall Smith Brings Wit and Charm to Minnesota

The amazingly talented Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, displayed sharp wit last night.  It was hard to tell if I was at a comedy show, or an author reading and I very much preferred it that way.  It definitely wasn't a lecture, so for the purposes of this article, we'll label it a show, because it was thoroughly entertaining.

Mr. Smith was at the Central Park Amphitheater in Woodbury, MN as part of Club Book, which is put on by the Metropolitan Library Services Agency (MELSA).  It is free and open to the public.  Seating is based on a first come, first serve basis, so if there is an author you really want to see, I suggest arriving an hour early.  That's what we did and there were quite a few people who had to stand in the back, because the tiny amphitheater was already full.

mccallsmith.com

I had never been to an author show before and since my Mom is a huge Mr. Smith fan, I decided to tag along with her.  I was familiar with his popular series of books, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, but hadn't read any of them.  I beat my Mom to the library and was greeted by a sea of old people.  I had an inkling that his books appealed to an older crowd, so this wasn't all that surprising.  I just felt very out of place and silently kicked myself for not reading at least one of his books.  I was an impostor and feared Mr. Smith might randomly call on audience members to say something about one of his books.  These are the thoughts that routinely flood a paranoid person's mind.

Dressed in a kilt and blazer, Mr. Smith talked for an hour on a variety of topics.  He began by explaining the orchestra he formed, known humbly as the Really Terrible Orchestra.  He plays the bassoon and according to him, simply stops playing if there are any notes he cannot reach.  As a wannabe pianist, I could relate to this, although I usually just regress to an easier song.  Mr. Smith also talked about etiquette, book readings and the people who attend them.  He said most attendees like to tell you how inaccurate you've been, while others end up at the incorrect reading altogether.  He talked about Proust and recommended book club members memorize just one quote to be used to effectively silence know-it-all book club members, or just know-it-all's in general.  Mr. Smith took a few questions from the audience and we learned his favorite word is fantoosh, which is a Scottish word meaning "fancy".  

He spoke briefly about the books he writes and the characters.  He was tickled by some of the things his characters said and routinely found himself laughing out loud with the rest of us.  He was gracious, smart, effervescent and engaging: are all author readings like this?  What have I been missing out on?  I plan on attending a reading in October with Colin Meloy of Decemberists fame and his illustrator wife Carson Ellis.  Let's hope for a similar show!