John Connolly was exceptional November 15, 2011. He came toUSM (University of Southern Maine) to speak. He had no problem holding theaudience’s attention for what he called a lecture. With him speaking it couldbe called that. He decided to speak about something he thought was important toshare; his list of the 20 must read mystery novels. Instead of talking abouthim-self, which that audience would have been fine with, he chose to speakabout other authors and literature that he felt was important.He decided to do this because he came torealize that a lot of people and a lot of authors have only read currentmystery titles. John Connolly is very charismatic and you could feel hispassion for these books. He even said, “without some of them he probablywouldn’t be an author”, though I find that hard to believe.If you are interestedin the list of 20 mysteries you must read before you die, here is the link, http://johnconnollybooks.posterous.com/twenty-mysteries-you-must-read-before-you-die.John Connolly is a great public speaker and has this way ofspeaking that is just captivating. He makes you think and laugh at the sametime. He is also very personable when you talk to him. He is appreciative ofhis audience and fans, not taking it for granted. John Connolly is a remarkableman and author. I have not met anyone like him. He is a bestselling author and nowheredo you find arrogance or superiority over another person. He loves what he doesand seems to love the people around him. I would just love to sit and talk tohim for hours.
When I went to get my books signed he said he remembered mefrom Borders when I asked. He could have just been saying it but I think heactually did. I’m sure it’s hard since he has a ton of fans. He was extremelynice and thanked me for coming and ended up giving me a T-Shirt after talkingwith him. It was above and beyond any expectations I had. I expected it to begreat but he still managed to make it even better.
The Swag I got :)
A Bumper sticker :) I love that John Connolly loves Maine :) The Great Lost Bear is a Maine restaurant... oh yah :)
The T-Shirt He gave me-front and back :)Pins that shall decorate my school bag ;)
One of the three books I got signed. Some of them were a bit hard to decipher what he wrote :-P
I hope everyone has a chance to meet him at some point!
Check out books by him on Amazon!
