Thursday, September 22, 2011

For my Friend, Who Sleeps with his Autographed Nora Roberts Books

Okay, he doesn't sleep with them. But he clutches them to his chest for a few minutes every day. He loves his Nook, but he also loves the tactile sensation of holding a book with his favorite author's signature. So do I.

And who can really enjoy a book signing--where you get to meet one of your favorite authors, and maybe have your picture taken with her/him--when you have nothing tangible to be signed as a memento?

Until recently, this rather extreme measure was the only option. Now, Amazon offers this for Kindle owners, but you have to sign in with Twitter, and it appears to be only available for select authors and/or titles.

Here's what I plan to do, sometime before the South Carolina Book Festival next year. I'm going to make myself a Reader's Passport--essentially an update on an autograph book. (Disney offers something similar for your favorite characters.) I'll start with a scrapbook--one with a cover that strikes my fancy. I'll personalize it a bit, and make sections for my favorite genres--mystery/crime, thriller, romance, mainstream fiction, et cetera.

Then, like collecting passport stamps, I'm going to collect autographs. Most authors have either postcards or bookmarks--or something with the cover art of their book--at an author event. I'll ask her/him to sign whatever is available. If I've collected every book she/he has ever published, maybe I'll have my picture taken with him/her and add it to the page in the scrapbook.

Then if I want to sleep with my autographs, my bed will be much more comfortable. If you've switched to an e-reader, how will you have your books autographed?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! I don't sleep with them, only grin at them then clutch them to my chest.
Great idea on the passport, I'll start mine today. Say, will you be my first autograph?

Susan M. Boyer said...

You're a sweet guy, I don't care what you say. :) Yes, I'll be your first, and you can be mine--deal?

Linda Lovely said...

http://www.autography.com/
Hey, Susan--This is the link to Autography. Haven't signed up yet but plan to do so. Another way to sign ebooks.

Linda Lovely
Author of DEAR KILLER
www.lindalovely.com

Donnell Ann Bell said...

Susan, I absolutely love the story of your friend and how much he values Nora Robert's autograph. Sounds like you have come up with a brilliant solution.

This sounds like one more thing I have to learn! And I would love your autograph, please!

Susan M. Boyer said...

Donnell, I want yours as one of my very first entries--along with a photo of me with you. I can't wait ot get my hands on The Past Came Hunting!

Henry Danis said...

Hey Susan,
I'm happy to hear I'm not the only person who treasures his favorite books, even if mine aren't by Nora Roberts.

I'm a Nookie, Nooker, Nook Reader, whatever the appropriate term is these days. For my original Black & White Nook, Barnes & Noble sells replacements for your back cover. I've had a couple of authors sign the back cover of my nook, then just pop it off and get a new cover every so often when it gets full. Not sure it's economical, but then when has collecting ever been?

Love your idea for a Reader's Passport. Until I can figure out how to digitize something on the spot and load it to my nook, you've got the best thing going.

Commenting Live from Kauai :-)

Carole St-Laurent said...

Great questions. With ebooks so popular now, when I buy one, I'm carefully asking myself, will I have the opportunity to have this book signed or not?

But - sigh - sometimes the urgency of having the book RIGHT NOW takes over.

Anonymous said...

I have several shelves of books signed by friends (the authors) ... I'd grab those first in the event of a fire, for sure ... Nice read.