Shelf Awareness
Legendary actress Lauren Bacall, who, as Jacket Copy put it, "decided to tell her own story in not one but three memoirs"--By Myself in 1978, Now in 1994 and By Myself and Then Some in 2005--died Tuesday. She was 89.
"Writing a book is the most complete experience I've ever had," she told the Los Angeles Times regarding By Myself. During a book signing at Pickwick Books, "Bacall put aside people who wanted her to sign memorabilia so that she could get to everyone who had a book. After signing close to 500, she had to move on to her next event, but some readers were still waiting--so she arranged to have books brought to her hotel where she could sign them later," Jacket Copy noted.
Tom Campbell, owner of the Regulator Bookshop, Durham, N.C., remembered a brief brush with Bacall, writing, "It was a slow Saturday afternoon, back in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Only one customer in the store. A woman, browsing the biography section. Susan, who was working the counter with me, put her hand over her mouth and whispered, 'I think that's Lauren Bacall!'
" 'Really?' I answered skeptically. But glancing at the profile of the woman's face, I had to admit that she could indeed be Lauren Bacall. But how were we going to know for sure? I mean, you just don't walk up to someone and ask them if they are Lauren Bacall. And bookstore policy has always been that we leave people alone so they can browse without being bothered.
"Luckily, Ms Bacall helped us out. She turned toward Susan and me and asked a question. And as soon as we heard that deep, smoky voice, there was no question. This was Lauren Bacall, browsing in the Regulator.
"As I recall, we had the book she was looking for, and she bought it. Susan and I stayed cool, no screaming, no asking for an autograph. But of course we were excited. So much so that I have no memory of what the book was that Lauren Bacall bought. But I think she had a pleasant, quiet time, browsing in our bookstore that day.
"Thanks for the memories, Ms. Bacall."
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