Paul Auster, The New York Triology and an old new life

I saw Paul Auster last week in a...I don't know what you call it. He was on a stage togther with a (pretty lousy) journalist (?) and she asked him questions. It was supposed to be like a conversation and not an interview, I think, but the woman wasn't very good with the follow-up questions, so the conversation wasn't exactly flowing.

Afterwards Auster signed my battered copy of The New York Triology. His books have changed my life twice.

I'll tell you about the first time, since you asked so nicely. I was doing a language course and there was this guy I fancied in my class. I think I was pretty sure he fancied me too, because I set up this screening test to see whether I should pursue him or not. I thought about what I was looking for in guy and this is what I came up with:
-that he liked Paul Auster
-that he liked Tindersticks
and
-that he wore Issey Miyake for men perfume.
(True story this is.)

So. I could clearly smell the Issey Miyake, so CHECK! He had already said that he liked Tinderstick, so CHECK! Only Auster left. For some reason I didn't just want to ask him, so I cleverly planted a book by Auster (I think it was Leviathan) in my bag. I say planted because I had already read it.

On the big break or make-day, I sat down next to him and casually open my bag so that he could see into it, if he so wished. He glanced in the bag's direction, saw the book and said that he really liked Auster, what did I think about him?

The rest was history. We were together for five years.
True story.
(I didn't chose my husband on these criteria).