I won (a summer reading contest)

I read a bunch of books this summer. After a long spelling of reading only nonfiction, I was ready for a major fiction intake. I read at night. I read on the weekends. I read on vacation. A few times I read when I was supposed to be working (hope none of my editors see that). If you saw my end-of-summer reading list post, most all of the books I read are mentioned there.

Part of the impetus was to keep my 10-year-old son company. Back in June, he signed up for the kids’ summer reading program contest at Portland’s Multnomah County Library, and I signed up for the adult version for moral support. In the adult version, you had to read at least five books and follow the library on Facebook and Twitter to be entered into a drawing at the end of the contest for a handful of reading-related prizes.

Well, guess what? I won! When a library employee called last week I thought it was to ask me about an overdue book (not mine, I swear). Instead, she told me I won the grand prize of a pair passes to Literary Arts’ 2011-2012 Arts & Lecture series. The five-event series features readings and discussions by Annie Proulx, Sebastian Junger and three other world-class authors.

I don’t enter contests often and rarely win anything, so I’m thrilled. I’ve never been to the Literary Arts series either because tickets are expensive, so it really is a great prize. My son, however, is disappointed I did so well. He wanted me to win second prize, a Nook ebook reader.

Me? I can’t wait to hear Proulx, who’s speaking two weeks from now. Look for a post on the writing lessons I pick up from her in coming weeks, and for future posts on everyone else I see in the series.