Just over 30 people gathered at Towne Center Books last week to hear Berkeley writer Ayelet Waldman, discuss her latest work, “Love and Other Impossible For Towne Center, the crowd at the lunchtime event was a record setter. When Waldman visited the store in 2005 and only 10 people attended, but things have changed for Waldman in the past year.
“We’ve discovered her now,” said Judy Wheeler-Ditter, owner of Towne Center Books, as she welcomed the crowd.
To maintain the intimacy of a luncheon and allow everyone in the crowd a chance to ask questions, Waldman visited each table of dining guests for approximately 20 minutes.
While chatting to fans, Waldman fielded questions not only about her fiction, but also on her controversial New York Times essay, “Truly, Madly Guiltily,” about ‘motherhood ambivalence’ and a subsequent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show.
“The most common question I get is, ‘What’s it like to be on Oprah?'” said Waldman to the group before she started her ‘lunchtime chats.’
In addition to her current release, her work includes a five-book series called the “Mommy Track Mysteries Series” and another novel, “My Daughter’s Keeper.” Her fiction frequently explores the topic of modern-day motherhood. With four kids ages 3 to 11 to keep her busy, Waldman squeezes in writing between carpools and doctors’ appointments. Married to fellow writer Michael Chabon, she is currently working on her next book.
According to Wheeler-Ditter, the store began hosting monthly “Read It and Eat” events with various authors over a year ago. This event was three times the size of the typical crowd. The March event is not yet confirmed and costs for attending the lunches vary.
For more information regarding upcoming events, call 846-8826 or visit www.townecenterbooks.com.
