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Bookish Events in New York City: February 9th – 13th
The weather is still a total bummer in New York City, but thankfully our local bookstores and bars are continuing to schedule amazing literary events. This week you can hear two-time Booker prize winner, Peter Carey, read in Brooklyn, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening talk about the beloved cartoon family in Union Square. There’s another chance to tell your stories at The Moth in honor of Valentine’s Day, or if your love life is really suffering, you can relish in post-apocalyptic doom at BookCourt.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Franklin Park Monthly Reading Series
618 St. John’s Place
Brooklyn, New York 11238
8:00pm
It’s novel night at the Franklin Park Monthly Reading Series. This month’s reading features Peter Carey, Laura van den Berg, Atticus Lish, Mark Doten, and Kashana Cauley.
FREE
Irvine Welsh at BookCourt
163 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
7:00pm
Irvine Welsh will be joined in conversation with Ben Greenman to discuss Welsh’s new novel, The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. Stop by for a reading, Q&A, and book signing.
FREE
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Michelle Tea at The Strand
828 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
7:00pm
Celebrate the release of Michelle Tea’s new memoir, How to Grow Up. She will be joined in conversation by Saeed Jones. Information and tickets are available here.
$15
The Moth StorySLAM! at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
7:00pm
There will be ten stories, three teams of judges, and one winner. This evening’s theme is “Love Hurts.”
$8 — Limited tickets available. Arrive early and join the line.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Kelly Link at Barnes and Noble
1972 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
7:00pm
Kelly Link will be joined in conversation by Emma Straub to discuss Link’s new collection of short stories, Get in Trouble.
FREE
Sandra Newman & Emily St. John Mandel at Greenlight Bookstore
686 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
7:30pm
Come out for an evening of post-apocalyptic literature. Sandra Newman (The Country of Ice Cream Star) and Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven) will talk about the terrifying futures that they have created.
FREE
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Jeffery Renard Allen and Marie-Helene Bertino at Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House
58 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
7:00pm
Jeffery Renard Allen (Song of the Shank) and Marie-Helene Bertino (2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas) will discuss their work as part of the Reading Series sponsored by NYU.
FREE
Pete’s Reading Series
709 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
7:30pm
Pete’s Reading Series is one of the most beloved in New York City. This evening features Meghan Daum and Amanda Petrusich.
FREE
Friday, February 13, 2015
Matt Groening at Barnes and Noble Union Square
33 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003
6:00pm
Matt Groening will discuss his new book, The Simpsons Family History, and shed light on the iconic cartoon family.
$35 – Receive a wristband with the purchase of The Simpsons Family History
Saaed Jones at The Bellwether
98 Moore Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206
8:30pm/10:00pm
Come out for a one-night-only multi- disciplinary installation based on Saaed Jones’ book of poetry, Prelude to Bruise.
$15 – Tickets are available here
Posted by Jennifer Morell
Read in the Bathtub Day: Four Great Books You Should Read
Whether you use bubbles, bath bombs, candles or just stew á la you, here are four books set in, on and by the ocean that are perfect for bathtub reading.
*bubbles not included
Posted by Jamie Canaves
Entertainment Weekly Reveals the Title and Excerpt from Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Book 3!
Hello, hello Miss Peregrine fans!
For the last week we’ve been keeping a secret but can finally reveal exciting news. Ransom Riggs’s follow-up to Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children has a title and we're in love.
Drumroll, please!
Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children
Entertainment Weekly revealed the title earlier this afternoon and they have an exclusive first look at an excerpt from the book along with some vintage photography that you may find. Head on over and check it out!*
Library of Souls goes on sale on September 22, 2015 and is available for preorder.
While you’re waiting for the third book, continue to visit QuirkBooks.com and follow Ransom Riggs on Twitter (@ransomriggs) for more information, giveaways, and reveals.
And if you loved Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and haven’t read Hollow City yet, be sure to pick up a paperback edition on February 24, 2015.
*Spoiler Alert: Ransom Riggs warns that if you haven't finished Hollow City then you should hold off on reading the excerpt for Library of Souls.
Posted by Nicole De Jackmo
National Doodle Day: Authors Who Doodle
Doodling is often looked at as a juvenile waste of time. The meaningless lines and scribbles one puts on the margins of far more important works are things to hide, to be ashamed of, to keep yourself from doing.
But that shouldn’t be the case. As educator Sunni Brown says in her TED Talk on the very subject, we as a culture are so focused on verbal information that we are blind to the value of doodling. Expressing thought in visual, abstract ways helps cognitive function. Smart people doodle, because doodling helps you become smart.
So it should be no surprise that some of the very best authors, clear masters of presenting verbal information, are also prolific doodlers. And since today is National Doodle Day, here are some favorite authors' doodles:
J.K. Rowling
The reigning queen of magical fantasy couldn’t have written the Harry Potter series without doodling. She drew every character and creature before she wrote about them. She even drew the effects of magical spells, often in several sequential drawings, like an animation storyboard.
John Keats
Before he was revered as a great romantic poet, John Keats was just a schlubby medical student, doodling flowers and butterflies in the margins of his notes. He also clearly was a heavy metal fan a good hundred and fifty years before it was invented, as evidenced by the skulls he drew on the cover of one of his notebooks.
Jorge Luis Borges
Borges once remarked that meeting Keats was one of the great experiences of his life. One wonders if they discussed their shared love of doodling. Borges contined to doodle even as his sight deteriorated, creating abstract scribbles of ink.
Allen Ginsberg
Not content with providing a mere signature, Ginsberg would doodle all over proffered works for fans. Like Keats, he too was drawn to drawing skulls and flowers.
Vladimir Nabokov
Contemplating Gregor Samsa’s transformation is one thing, doodling it is quite another. But Nabokov clearly could not get past the first page of Kafka’s Metamorphosis without working out just how that giant cockroach looked.
Franz Kafka
Kafka, for his part, doodled angry, accusatory faces and lonely, depressed men. Which, when you consider his work, seems entirely appropriate.
Henry Miller
Miller’s doodles, however, offer a sharp contrast to his work, full of open lines and an almost anime-like sensibility. Was Miller fond of anime? He’d probably like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure…
Sylvia Plath
Plath would cover her diary in doodles. While roses might come to mind as a prominent subject, the sinister, anthropomorphized food is a far more compelling window into Plath’s mental state at the time. Look out for that hot dog!
Samuel Beckett
Beckett’s doodles tend to be slightly abstract, knowing faces with prominent noses.
Charles Bukowski
In case you were wondering if Bukowski did this doodle with a bottle in hand, he drew one in there. Just so you’d know.
Kurt Vonnegut
Perhaps the king of all literary doodlers, Vonegut has incorporated his doodles into his written work several times, most successfully in Breakfast of Champions. Now, there’s a man who understands the importance of verbal and visual information.
Posted by Jadzia Axelrod
BOOKISH EVENTS IN PHILADELPHIA: FEBRUARY 6TH – 13TH
From workshops to slams to romantic readings, there are some delightful literary events going on in the coming week. Don't miss out!
You know The Pigeon Presents: The Philadelphia Poetry Slam always brings one featured poet who blows your mind and inspires all the local competitors in the room. This month it’s Dasan Ahanu of North Carolina. Get there TODAY (February 6) at 7:00 p.m. for a free workshop with Dasan or show up at 8:30 to make sure you get a seat at the slam. PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St, 19123
Do you know a teen who loves writing? On Saturday, February 7, get them to Philly Youth Poetry Movement’s free Saturday workshops at the Painted Bride (232 Vine Street) from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. This week: learn how to improvise a freestyle, and shake loose your creativity in the process.
On Sunday, February 8, see the city’s Poet Laureate Frank Sherlock read with Youth Poet Laureate Soledad Alfaro-Allah, as well as poet Chris McCreary at the ever-diverse and delightful Jubliant Thicket reading series. The Poet Laureate program names one adult and one teen poet to promote poetry across this great city. 5 p.m., Head House Books, 619 S. 2nd St.
Tuesday, February 11, comedian B.J. Novak (yeah, that’s Ryan from The Office) comes to the Free Library to read from his new book One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories. 7:30 p.m. Central Library, 19th and Vine.
Ready for Valentine’s weekend? Next Friday, February 13, mark your calendar for the Love Stinks reading at Molly’s Books and Records, 1010 S. 9th St. The reading lists “special broken-hearted guest host Ryan Eckes” for this poetry lineup, with doors at 7, poems at 8, and “libertine writhing/key party sometime after 10 if we are VERY fortunate.”
Have a very lucky weekend, all!
Posted by Lillian Dunn
Six Romantic Literary Destinations
As Valentine’s Day approaches, you might be wondering if you and your beau should visit somewhere special. The question is where. Paris? Overrated. Rome? Whatever. Vienna? It’s just okay. We all know the best romantic destinations aren’t an expensive plane ride away—they’re in the pages of our favorite books.
Of course, the romance between a reader and these literary places is a bittersweet one, for we must admire them only from afar. But what if we were able to jump into our favorite books, à la Pagemaster style? Where would be your first pick?
As your literary travel agent, allow me to list a few excellent options:
Posted by Tara Sim