A limited number of signed copies of Sex, Death & Oysters are now available at Kitchen Chick in Galveston and El Real Tex-Mex in Houston.
One night at Gaido’s, the historic seafood restaurant here in my hometown of Galveston, my wife and I were being seated at one of the popular tables near the windows when I overheard a conversation between a guy at the next table and his waitress. They were talking about oysters.
“Have you ever read Sex, Death & Oysters? Now that’s a great book,” he told her. It was the moment of a lifetime. I smiled from ear to ear. My wife heard him too, and she prodded me to go talk to the guy.
“I’m glad you liked the book, I’m Robb Walsh, I wrote it,” I said as I extended my hand to shake. His iaw dropped. We both sputtered in laughter and incoherent mumbling about the odds of such a coincidence. It was like a scene in a Woody Allen movie. When we recovered from our surprise, we talked about books and oysters for a few minutes and exchanged cards. Turns out it was his birthday. I told him I would come by his shop and sign his book if he wanted.
Last weekend, I gave a talk about oysters at the Grand Soiree, part of the Dickens on the Strand celebration. After my speech, I ordered a beer, The lovely young woman who filled my glass with a draft said, “After I read your book, I went to the Galway Oyster Festival. It was wonderful, I met the world champion oyster shucker who gave me a few tips backstage,” Turns out she not only tended bar, she also shucked oysters for a living. It’s kind of amazing how this particular book resonates with the small, but passionate population of avid oyster fans.
Sex, Death & Oysters has been unavailable for awhile, The only copies on Amazon were used or slightly damaged and bookstores haven’t carried it for years. Alicia Cahill at Kitchen Chick, the kitchen equipment and cookbook store in Galveston, told me she had a standing order for the book, but her distributor couldn’t find any. For my oyster talk at the Grand Soiree, I talked the publisher into doing another small printing. So for a little while, you can actually buy a new paperback.
It is the perfect gift for the oyster lovers on your Christmas list.
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