Some people ask, sensibly enough, what the readings (or rather, the readers) on this site have to do with the book itself. The answer, on the most literal level, is: Nothing. The book does not star James Franco, or any of the other contributors. At the same time, the question is sometimes pitched a little disingenuously. ‘Would You Read A Book Because Gwyneth Paltrow Liked It?’ one blogger, who seemed to me to have it backwards, asked. (’Would you avoid a book because GP liked it?’ is perhaps a more interesting question. The answer could indeed be yes, but that at least suggests an opportunity for self-examination.) The readings are there because they’re fun, at least for me, and they tease the book in ways that might encourage curiosity. Might encourage animosity too, I suppose, but neither feeling’s a substitute for actually reading the book, which might, so to speak, persist long after these audio files have dissolved into cyberdust.
Promotion is what it is, and my own feelings about it are a little mixed. Between attention and good will, there sometimes lies a lifetime. Still, I like the readings, and there are more of them coming. Whether they encourage people to leap off the screen and read the book, who knows, but hopefully they don’t get in the way of the real experience–what matters–of so doing.