Author Elizabeth Berg charms, frustrates

I could've sat and listened to her for three hours," said my friend after author Elizabeth Berg wowed the audience at the 'brary last night. Indeed, Elizabeth Berg was her usual charming and witty self, bringing both tears of laughter and that self-aware kind of pain, but mostly laughter, to our eyes. About 130 die-hard Berg fans listened with rapt attention to her wryly romantic story of 50- something Agnes pursuing an old "bad boy" flame while her steadfast "boring" husband Bill waits to take her out to dinner. The story, "Returns & Exchanges," is featured in her excellent new book, The Day I Ate Everything I Wanted. Berg read practically every last sentence of that story, except for the part right before the end when the old boyfriend shows up!!!! AAAAARGH!!!!! We were all left hanging, twisting in the wind of frustration! I gotta go buy the book! I gotta go check it out at the 'brary! That's how those authors get you... ;-)

The secret to Berg's appeal and success as a writer is her ability to capture emotions in words. Think of the vast array of human emotions, and how most of them are vague and indescribable. But Berg nails them with uncanny specificity. You read her novels and you think she's ripped a page out of your diary or overheard a conversation you had with a close friend or witnessed an argument with your mother. I could gush on, but perhaps you all would like to search our catalog for her books and check them out! ;-)

Berg resonated with her audience. I have to tell you, we are all of a type. Berg, who has lived in the Chicago area the past 8 years but has lived on both coasts, remarked that Midwesterners are the best kind of people. That's what she likes best about Chicago--the people. (And the hotdogs with the works!) Her audience was primarily women "of a certain age," though I think there were 2 or 3 Token Males in the audience (who looked like they were enjoying themselves, too.) Everyone wore sensible shoes--either Clarks or Bjorns, we noted. We were all there in our capris and cardigans, clutching our signed books and bonding with our book group friends. It was all much of a muchness. ;-)

When a reader asked Elizabeth Berg how she got started in writing, Berg admitted she was "blissfully naive" and thought she would be successful right away, that it would be easier than selling Tupperware, and what did she know. She bought a batch of magazines she wanted to write for, and started submitting short pieces and articles. She did say she probably was more immediately successful than most people are. With the publication of her first book, Durable Goods, Berg made the leap into longer prose. Her last novel, Dream When You're Feeling Blue, was promoted last summer when she visited GBPL for the first time.

Oh, Elizabeth Berg now has a website and a blog! She was very excited to announce that she was so technically-advanced! You can visit her website at elizabeth-berg.net and sign up for her newsletter, which has some truly delicious memorable recipes in it. Berg's publicist Bill says he remembers the newsletters by which recipe was featured in it. So that's how memorable her recipes truly are...

If you've never read any of her books, you should! Especially if you like realistic, character-driven books with a substantial amount of observational humor. Or if that's what your life is like... Berg is a wonderful writer and her down-to-earth, unassuming manner makes you feel like she's one of your girlfriends.You can probably tell I'm a big fan...it was my pleasure and honor to introduce her at the beginning of the program, too. What a moment! I was really thrilled.

Ok, blah blah blah. Better get back to work now...