Douglas Coupland reading tonight. I'm not the fan, just a groupie of a fan. Still, I took my City of Glass book and asked him to sign it. I said I love Vancouver and would you write the name of a place in Vancouver that would be good to visit? And he did! He said it would be hard to find on a map and that he might be the only person who goes there. I'm keeping it a secret because I don't want to see you there.

This is the first time I've asked an author to sign a book.

I love readings.

He said he believes that to write a book you have to know the last chapter. It doesn't matter how you get there, and you won't know how you're going to get there, but you do have to know your destination.

He said that he was once asked during an interview if he ever dieted. He said that he tried "The Zone" diet (aka the Atkins diet) for 11 weeks. He lost some weight but didn't write a word during the entire period. Then he fixed a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and wrote for five hours straight. Hahaha! He said that now when he looks at the packaged food in the freezer section at the grocery store, he assesses each item in terms of the number of words it will produce.

He also said that someone asked him how he felt about online file sharing. His response was that there's been a low-tech file-sharing device in use for ages that has served to undercut writers' profits—the library. He said he'd like to organize a movement to tear them all down and erect bookstores instead.

Something like that.

"Humbow to Helen"