The event for her new book Ask Elizabeth was quite moving. Berkley was eloquent and composed, chatty and accessible. She even took a moment to make fun of some of her more famous choreography. I wanted to write about this event because it was special in a few ways. Elizabeth Berkley is on the NYT best seller list, and she chose to start her talk by thanking our store. She launched into a riff about the importance of independent bookstores, and keeping communities individual, and being out among other people interacting with the world, in a manner that can't be achieved through a square interface. (my weird wording not hers.)
I grew up loving her character Jessie Spano, the leggy nerd who made being smart and commanding look cool. She got behind our podium in her 5" Louis Vuittons and was pushing 6'5". The advice she gave about self image was "If you are uncomfortable being the tall girl, then buy heels and be taller." I left the event surprised and energized. The audience asked so many great questions and she handled them all with an articulate passion.
Ask Elizabeth is now officially a nonprofit (501)c3 ...learn more about it :here:
Perhaps the best part of her talk was the moment she crossed her hands fast in a nod to her (now) cult classic, Showgirls. Berkley is super engaging because she is honest, humble and appears to be deeply committed to her work. (Bonus points for shouting out the indies!)
1 comment:
I was super-impressed with her. At one point, a customer brought a box of caffeine pills through the signing line, in reference to this now viral saved by the bell moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c
And she absolutely loved it.
It's wonderful to see someone who has such passion and dedication for her work but still doesn't take herself too seriously.
Post a Comment