Yes, Sir

Adam Langer, who earlier wrote about authors he had interviewed for The Book Standard, has another engaging piece there entitled In Which The Author, Nearing His Publication Date, Offers Ten Tips To Ruin A Perfectly Good Interview.

One was particularly amused by Rule #2: "reveal your delusions of grandeur". Langer writes: "One of my favorite comic authors was (and, to some extent, still is) David Lodge, whose books Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work are among the funniest academic novels ever written. To show him the appropriate respect, I greeted him by saying, 'How are you doing today, sir?' A long pause ensued. And then Mr. Lodge took time to correct my mistake; I should not call him 'Sir,' he informed me—he hadn’t been knighted yet."