Rudy Delson’s reading at Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House really was SPECIAL. There were over 100 people there and there was a palpable sense of good feeling and excitement for Rudy’s debut novel, Maynard and Jennica.

Benjamin Kunkel, co-founder and co-editor of N+1, played rabbi at this Bar Mitzvah of a reading and spoke eloquently about Delson’s ambitious book that has 35 narrators.

Rudy read excerpts from the book, which is really a series of monologues, with his agent and editor. Not only were they great readers, but their faces couldn’t hid their sense of pride and accomplishment about this masterful and funny book.

Rudy called his editor and agent the book’s midwives. It was a beautiful and truthful acknowledgment of the collaborative nature of book publishing. Something that is rarely acknowledged, I think.

Rudy also read sections of his book solo like the stand up comic he could be. He’s dramatic, funny and really ON when he reads and that really makes the book’s fictional interviews come alive.

I missed some of the reading because I was so nervous that we didn’t have enough open bottles of wine. I went downstairs and starting corking wine bottles and pouring glasses. Rudy brought a delicious selection of cheeses from the Coop ("only cheeses I’d never heard of," he said) and two lovely women from  Community Books were selling books.

The party went on until 11 p.m. Rudy asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday to the person that the book is dedicated to, who happened to be there. The book was released on his birthday last Tuesday. An appropriate coincidence. Rudy  mentioned that in his thank you speech, in which he thanked just about everyone in the room. Not really.

But it was a gracious night. And a special one.