American Idol.

I Managed to crowbar a work trip to Denver in at the same time that Chuck Palahniuk was in town promoting his new book. This guy packs them in, and by "them" I mean "nerds". There were 300+ people there, and it was down to standing room only. I won't bore you with why I admire the shit out of this guys writing, but hearing the process behind some of his stories is fascinating. He broke down his formula for most of his books, labeling them "classic American fiction" in terms of their structure, and that they are all romances. One of his trademark reading ingredients is "gifts" for the audience, which this time included blow up sex dolls and anal bead bookmarks. Classy.