In other cities, bigger readings
Daniyal Mueenuddin’s San Francisco book reading last night was the quickest I’ve ever seen. The author seemed crisp rather than rushed, but from start to finish — a gilded introduction by a bookstore person, reading three passages, taking a handful of questions — he finished in half an hour on the dot.
Wearing close-cropped hair and a fitted black jacket, the youthful Mueenuddin doesn’t fit the stereotype of a shaggy literary lion. He has the kind of accent endemic to those who’ve split their time across countries, a hybrid of Pakistani and American English, pronouncing some words in perfect Urdu. Two of his selections were some of my favorite passages in the book, which makes him not just a good author but a reader with taste.
It never fails to amaze me how small the book reading scene is in cities outside New York. Mueenuddin may be a debutante, but he’s got plenty of literary buzz. Still, barely 30 people showed up to the City Lights reading room, a small upstairs alcove fitted with warm lighting and glowing hardwood floors. We had books signed and departed for burritos, profiteroles and cappuccino.
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