Katie Hafner

A New York Times journalist and author of several major books on the internet and emergent computer issues (Cyberpunk, The Well), Katie Hafner is also an abiding music lover. In Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano (Bloomsbury), she tells the story of a particular, ... (more)rare unique piano, the nearly blind man who tuned it (for twenty years), and the particular, rare, unique man who played it, the one and only Glenn Gould.

It's been called the "musical version of Seabiscuit," a book that tells you everything you didn't know you wanted to know about . . . the relationship between a piano, a piano tuner, and the eccentric and enigmatic pianist, Glenn Gould. Katie Hafner is a former correspondent for the New York Times and ... (more)the author or coauthor of four books, including Where Wizards Stay Up Late, Cyberpunk, The Well, and The House at the Bridge. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"It isn't giving away too much to say that A Romance on Three Legs has
its share of tragedy. But you wouldn't want to miss how clearly Hafner
makes us see why Gould's eccentricities were more than just charming or
laughable. The weird chair, the odd posture, the action of CD318-all
were vital to his genius. The results were not always magical, but when
Gould was paired with the right composer, Bach especially, he could make
you wonder if he was altogether human. And reading Hafner on Gould is
sometimes as much fun as listening to him play. And that's saying a
lot."
-Malcolm Jones, Newsweek

New York Times correspondent Katie Hafner will be at BookPeople tonight with her intriguing new book, A Romance on Three Legs. A Romance on Three Legs is the engaging story of the brilliant and eccentric musician Glenn Gould. Known for such oddities as always wearing a hat and gloves (even during summer), ... (more)refusing to sit on anything but his battered chair and his phobia of germs, Gould was famous for his bizarre habits – including his love affair with the temperamental instrument he loved most of all, a Steinway concert grand known as the CD318. Come to BookPeople tonight at 7PM to meet Hafner and pick up your copy of A Romance on Three Legs.

KATIE HAFNER
talk & booksigning for "A Romance on Three Legs"
Wednesday, July 9 at 7:30 pm

Glenn Gould was one of the most brilliant artists of the twentieth century ­ as well as a musician famous for his many eccentric habits. "A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest ... (more)for the Perfect Piano" tells the story of the Gould’s greatest obsession of all, a Steinway concert grand known as CD 318. Katie Hafner’s fascinating and detailed new book is a must-read for classical music buffs, armchair musicologists, Gould fanatics, and even those rare few who never heard a note Gould played.

Katie Hafner is a correspondent for the New York Times and the author or coauthor of four books, including "Where Wizards Stay Up Late," "Cyberpunk," "The Well," and "The House at the Bridge." She lives in the Bay Area.