The last book in the Inheritance Cycle and the reason he’s on tour.
I was on the fence about going to an author signing whose books I’ve never read. Not to mention that said book (Eragon) was a terrible movie. But, my friend, Amber, convinced me to go to his signing and assured me that his book was better than the movie. The King’s English bookstore in Salt Lake City sponsored this event. If you live in the Salt Lake area, they have the best book signings around. Go check them out.
I barely got to the Rowland Hall Larimer Auditorium on time because of bad traffic, but Amber was early and got me a good place in line (Thanks, Amber!). Christopher Paolini started out with a general overview of his life and how he was home schooled, fell in love with reading from a detective novel whose name he can’t remember and how he got really bored when he graduated high school at 15 and decided to dig a big hole. And then he gave some good advice about how if no one is forcing you to do anything, what do you choose to do with your time? You should make that your career. Christopher happened to choose telling stories.
Christopher enjoyed fantasy so he decided to put all the stuff he liked about fantasy into one book. The first draft was awful (Case in point – the main character was named Kevin and not Eragon). He created his own languages for the books and even read passages in his made up languages with lots of rolling r’s.
Here’s the Q & A from the night (paraphrasing from my notes – these are NOT exact quotes :) )
- Are you going to write more books? I have 20-30 book plots in the works from every genre ever invented (he didn’t say that, but the genres he listed were pretty much all the genres ever invented)
- Did you like the movie? I knew someone was going to ask that *LOL-ing*. I’m happy that a film was made from my book because that doesn’t happen to a lot of books. Ultimately, it was the film makers vision of Eragon that made it to the screen. Also, I was going to have a cameo and get beheaded by Eragon at the end of the movie, but it didn’t work out.
- How did you think of the names? (I was very curious about this answer because I’ve heard that people think he ripped of Tolkien) Eragon is Dragon spelled with an “E” at the beginning and evokes the feeling of a past era (Era-Gone). The other names are jokes or word-plays or from his invented languages.
- Did you study old languages to invent yours? You can spend your whole life inventing languages, like Tolkien did. I studied them enough to pick out meanings.
- How does the character Angela know so much? (Asked by the cutest little boy) She knows the author.
- Which cover is your favorite? Brisingr. I actually named the valley, Palencar, in the book (when it was self-published) after the artist because I liked his work. Then Random House, when they published my work, picked Palencar to do the covers without even telling me. (IT WAS LIKE FATE, GUYS. *Mind blown*)
Look! I made Christopher Paolini smile with my geekiness :)
We didn’t have to wait in line very long to meet him. He was signing Amber’s book while she was trying not to be star struck and he was talking about the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Series by Tad Williams and I asked him if The Dragonbone Chair was the first book. He snapped his head up and said, “Have you read it?” “I read about half of it before it got taken away.” He gave me a puzzled look. “I had to return it to the library before I could finish it.” He said oh and went back to signing his books. It was kind of awesome to get his attention like that.
He personalized my copy of Eragon. The book store said at the beginning of the event that he would only personalize Inheritance, but I was planning on giving it away on my blog and keeping Eragon. I decided to switch the sticky with my name on it to Eragon and hope they wouldn’t notice in the rush of signing. Amber insisted that she didn’t know me if I got kicked out.
And now….
THE GIVEAWAY!
I’m doing something special for this giveaway since I haven’t read any of Christopher Paolini’s books. I usually only give away books that I have read and loved. So, since I haven’t read it, I want to know why YOU think I should! Leave a comment and then fill out the Rafflecopter.
Please read the following carefully for entering the giveaway. I’m using Rafflecopter for this giveaway (so if you are reading this in a reader or email, click on the post to see the giveaway).
- Your name can be seen by everyone when you enter. Don’t put your full name – your first name is plenty.
- There are four options to enter the giveaway – you don’t have to do them all, but you can if you want :) Plus, there are bonus entries for tweeting about the giveaway.
- Following my blog is never a requirement for giveaways, but it is appreciated. You can enter the giveaway by leaving a comment on this post and filling out the Rafflecopter entry. Don’t leave your email address in the comments. It’s not necessary. Thanks :)
- Giveaway is for US/Canada only. I’m mailing this book out at my own expense and I can’t afford to ship it far away. I’m sorry.
- The winner will have 48 hours to respond with their full name and mailing address or a new winner will be chosen.
- Must be over 13 to enter.
Giveaway ended December 2011
About Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini was raised in the Paradise Valley, Montana area. His family members include his parents, Kenneth Paolini and Talita Hodgkinson, and his sister, Angela Paolini. Home schooled for the duration of his education, Paolini graduated from high school at the age of 15 through a set of accredited correspondence courses from American School of Correspondence in Lansing, Illinois. Following graduation, he started his work on what would become the novel Eragon the first of a series, set in the mythical land of Alagaësia.
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I want to read it because my friends have been raving about it for years!
I Love these books and I’ve been waiting for Inheritance for so long! Dragons are my favorite mythical creatures and I can’t get enough of this series!
I haven’t read them either! And I badly want to! If I’m not mistaken about when the first came out – I had friends in middle school who were obsessed and said I would like it ;)
Why? Because I believe this one was my first supernatural book, and it’s kinda like the Percy Jackson series, except it’s about dragons instead of Greek Gods. I loved it.
I think you should read this book, because I haven’t read it, either, but I have heard good things about it. I think we will both enjoy it!
I haven’t read these books either, but they are some of my boyfriend’s favorite books, plus they have dragons! I’ve never heard negative things about these books (just the movie…lol).
Read it, because it’s amaaaazing! :) There’s just so much… everything you could want in a book, plus dragons! & I’m feeling all star struck because I just finished the second book of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, and he just talked about it!! :)
I’m so jealous he’s not coming to a town near me.. anyway. Thanks for the amazing giveaway!!
Read them! I’ve only read the first two, but when I did, it was like going on an epic adventure! That’s how immersed I was.
According to my to-read list on goodreads, I have had Eragon on my list since August of 2008. I think it’s about time I read it!
LindseyAylward
LOVE this series. Seriously, I think one of the best fantasies in a LONG time. I can’t really remember the books sadly, like what happens in them and such. BUT READ THEM! You’ll not regret it :)
This series is amazing, there is just so much action, emotion, and magic within that just pulls you in! DO REAM THEM!!!! :)
I haven’t read it yet but I want too because I have a friend who’s a fan of the books.
i want to read it because people tell me what a great book it is!
I haven’t read The Inheritance Cycle yet, but I’ve heard it’s got elements of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings in it, and this is interesting to me. I also love the concept of Dragon Riders, and the covers are all fantastic. It’s definitely on my to-read list!
I read this first and maybe the second of these. My daughter have read all but this one. I found them a bit underdeveloped but she adores them.
I haven’t started this series and I am so ashamed! It’s like one of the basic fantasty series to read (everyone seems to love it!) and I love fantasy in general. Plus, I love dragons! How have I NOT read this?! Thanks for the giveaway!
I haven’t read the series either, but my brother and sister absolutely RAVES about it.. If I win the giveaway, it’s a Christmas present to my brother. :) I think you should read it anyway, my siblings have great reading tastes ;)
I want to read this book, because all my students love it!
I would love to read the series because I have heard so many wonderful things about it!
enjoyed eragon the book hated the movie and enjoyed his writing
I haven’t read any of his books, but I really want to. I read an article about the author and they said that he used to go – in costume – to bookstores and talk about his book. Anyone that can do that is awesome! Also, I gave his first book to my Dad when it came out because it was something I wanted to read. My Dad has read all of them now, and I haven’t read any. Time to fix that!
Thanks for the chance to win this book, I haven’t read this one yet.
I love the Eragon Series! And my husband does to. That being said if one book let alone a whole series can capture my husbands attention it must be good :D
This book has the elements of a great fantasy novel, and the story is captivating. That is why I think that you should read this series.
The Cycle is exactly what a fantasy or science fiction story should be – a grand adventure! There are some moments that will have you helpless with laughter, and others that will leave you heartbroken. The world is beautifully imagined, with a wealth of interesting side characters and plots that will make you hungry for sequels. The investment of your time will be well-spent in reading this series.
You should read his books because Paolini is completely brillant. His books bring you to a different world filled with magic and dragons and elves and dwarfs etc… What else is their to ask. lol. You will be entranced if you read this series. I can’t believe you haven’t yet. Go read it. Go now. lol Thanks for the awesome giveaway. I would love to win a signed copy. =]
I have not yet read this series. I want to read it because it has dragons in it. :)
I have not read the books, but I do have book one in my storage. I am hoping to get my stuff soon so I can read all the books I got at a book store in montana when I lived there. I am really entering this to win for my boyfriend who is a huge fan. This is what he said about the book…
“It is a really good book that brings the reader to a new world undiscovered with thier own gods and goddesses where there is a fight of good versus evil with dragons.”
Thanks for the giveaway. I will be crossing my fingers. Happy holidays everyone!
I have not started this series this yet, but I really want too! It sounds so good, even if the movie kinda of sucked! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
These are such great books. We read the first 3 and can’t wait to read this one. Thanks for the giveaway!
If you like an epic-type of journey, these are great books for you. They cover so many strands of imagination and emotion. My husband, my sons, and I all love them, so they are good for everyone.
I read the first three of the series and just loved them!
Well I read the first 3 when I was in highschool and would love to revisit!
I have yet to read them but I have heard great things and my son is dying to start them as well.
Kevin! lolllll