John's first Looking for Alaska book signing, attended by two people (2005)
story · status: told 3× · last event: retold (2026-07-14)
John's first book signing, in Chicago in 2005 after Looking for Alaska came out, drew only two or three people, one of them his boss at Booklist pretending to be a stranger. He told the story in 2014, 2019 and 2026.
Origin known from later mentions
2005 in the title is when this began; it first appears in the videos read here in 2014, so the earlier part is known only from what is said later.
About: Looking for Alaska (novel), Chicago (city)
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-09-02 (happened 2005) | told | John tells how his first signing after Looking for Alaska drew two people, whom he insulted by reading a line about two uninteresting party guests. (playful) | MORTIFICATION 00:00:47 |
| 2019-11-01 (happened 2005) | retold | Three people came, one of them John's boss at Booklist, who generously pretended to be a stranger; the store had set up about 40 chairs and a podium. | On Looking Up to Your Little Brother 00:00:29 |
| 2026-07-14 (happened 2005) | retold | At his first signing, in Chicago in 2005 for Looking for Alaska, two people came, one his boss pretending to be a stranger; John then read a passage that managed to offend them both. (playful) | On the Road Again 00:00:29 |
What is said about it
8 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2014-09-02 · MORTIFICATION — John recalls giving a 45-minute talk to several hundred high-school students who, at question time, asked whether he knew his fly was open. (playful) — 00:01:10
- 2014-09-02 · MORTIFICATION — John wonders whether he has already told that story in a vlogbrothers video, admitting he does not know what has been in his own videos. (playful, unsure) — 00:01:42
- 2019-11-01 · On Looking Up to Your Little Brother — John: Driving back to Chicago, Sarah told John honestly that the event was bad. — 00:00:58
- 2019-11-01 · On Looking Up to Your Little Brother — John: For his first three years as a writer John's signings drew zero to five people, even after Looking for Alaska won the Printz Award; crowds reached double digits only in 2008. — 00:00:58
- 2019-11-01 · On Looking Up to Your Little Brother — John says he learned that books exist not to make authors famous or successful but for the people who read them; his only job after writing is gratitude to readers who find them meaningful. — 00:00:58
- 2026-07-14 · On the Road Again — John says being in rooms of people singing, laughing and reading in 2008 was magic and still is; he can't get used to Nerdfighteria briefly existing in real life. — 00:00:58
- 2026-07-14 · On the Road Again — John: Because of his early, nearly empty signings, John says he feels overwhelmed with gratitude to anyone who attends any kind of book event. — 00:00:58
- 2026-07-14 · On the Road Again — ask: John wants viewers to come to his events but also to other authors': it shows authors that people care about their work and want to be together in real life. — 00:00:58