I did my second ever reading this last weekend. I did fine. I only lost my place once. I got some compliments afterward. I think the English accent helps.
Question for everyone. When you do a reading, do you just read straight from the text, or do you edit and tailor it to the event, beforehand?
I edited the heck out of mine. I cut lines that referred to other sections of the book (which the audience wouldn't be aware of), I cut out a huge chunk of the middle of the chapter that amounted to thoughts and references to other characters not evident in this particular scene, and instead focused on the action and what was happening 'now'. And some words I cut out, because with this temporary bridge stuck in my mouth I just couldn't pronounce them (lol). There was a strict time limit (7 mins) so I needed to get in there and entertain. But I sometimes worry I'm not being 'true' to the book. It's still all my prose, but it felt more like an extended 'trailer', rather than a whole piece taken straight out of the book. Does that make sense?
