Today I studied for three hours at the Gold Coast Barnes & Noble. Around hour two, I took a break and asked one of the store workers whether I could sign the in-store LAWYER BOY copies. (I’m told that authors do this.)

“This one is your book?” the store clerk asked.

“Yep.”

“Can I see some identification?”

“You’re joking me.”

“I’m not joking you; I have to see identification.”

“There’s a picture of me in the jacket flap.”

The guy looked at the picture, then back to me, then back to the picture, then back to me.

“Let me get you a pen.”

“Wait….do a lot of people come in here asking to sign books they haven’t written?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“So…yes?”

“It’s happened more than once.”

“Have YOU seen it happen?”

“Let’s just say, it’s happened more than once.”

Come on. That’s just crazy. Under what circumstance would somebody do that? I’m skeptical…

IN OTHER NEWS

I’m doing my first of two book readings tomorrow. FRIDAY JULY 11th at 7PM at the BOOK CELLAR in Lincoln Square. (That’s right off the Brown Line Western stop.) If you’ve got nothing else going on, come on by. There’ll be magic tricks and wine. Plus you can meet my dad, Lawyer Man.

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LAWYER BOY doesn’t come out until Tuesday, but my local Barnes & Noble was selling the book today. They had four copies of the book on the “Hardcover New Releases” table, and one of them was propped up on a bookstand.

I went to that Barnes & Noble to study for the bar exam—22 more days (!)—but ended up spending my time hovering nearby my book, waiting for somebody to pick it up. Trouble was, this bookstore is in Chicago’s business district, and nobody really goes there on weekends.

But FINALLY, some guy carrying two or three other books picked up LAWYER BOY and flipped though it for five whole minutes. He read the jacket description. Read the blurbs. Read a random page. But then he put it back on the bookstand.

“Didn’t make the cut?” I said.

“Excuse me?” he replied.

“You flipped through the book for like five minutes. And it looked like you were into it. You only flipped through that other book you’re holding for like sixty seconds. What the hell?”

“Do we know each other?”

The guy’s name, I learned, was Sam. Sam was in town for a summer clerkship at BigLaw…and I’m pleased to report he ended up buying a copy of Lawyer Boy. And no I don’t feel weird about talking somebody into buying my book; I’m panning to persuade people for a living, after all.

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