New Delhi, May 2: Book readings in the US see the audience edging off towards the exit after 10 minutes. That’s what New York-based writer Nell Freudenberger said when asked if book readings in India were any different. Here the audience has more patience, she added.

Freudenberger was reading out from her book Lucky Girls, a collection of short stories set in South-East Asia and India, as part of the Barista Experience Series at a Corner Book Store outlet in the city. She had lived in Delhi for about six months in 1999, teaching English at a school run by the NGO Deepalaya.

‘‘The stories are autobiographical to a certain extent—especially the emotional parts of them,’’ said Freudenberger who is presently writing a novel. So is it natural to graduate from short stories to novels? ‘‘I wouldn’t look at it that way. Lucky Girls, for me, is a collection of five novellas and my writing style is suited for novels,’’ she explains.

While America has been ‘the place’ for Indians for a long time now, Freudenberger says that currently the feeling is mutual, with Americans being obsessed about all things Indian—from Bollywood to food. She added that with the trend continuing, she has no fears about writing more about India as her US readers would not feel alien to the setting.

The audience at her book reading were more than just patient—they popped several questions at the author and later even lined up for autographs.