ALA: "I've got a reader hiding in the Vatican"

The ALA Literature of Ideas presentation featuring John Scalzi, Charlotte Jones, Steven Erickson, and myself went very well, I thought. Everyone interesting and not too much similarity between talks.Just a few snippets to tease you below, with a detailed report on Amazon.com's book blog on Monday...JeffSteven Erikson:"I've got a reader hiding in the Vatican. And if he's reading my book, he must be hiding.""I write about ambiguity and ambivalence.""My first four books were written under my real name, Steve Lundin, and I'll pay you $20 if you can find copies of them anywhere now."John Scalzi:"The SF deals with the consequences of technology--advanced modeling of what we may have to do.""The wings of Icarus and the minotaur might be the first cautionary tales of the consequences of technology.""The moment I remember from Frankenstein is when the monster reaches out its hand to Frankenstein and Frankenstein is repulsed by it....Are we mature enough to embrace the consequences of what we do with our technology."Charlotte Jones:"[On a personal level] A Wrinkle in Time was a working out of pain from an unusually difficult decade."On having had difficulty finding an audience: "It's for people. Don't people read books.""At the center of the universe is love."