The 'Author Readings' Tag Archive

Below you'll find all my writing tagged with the word Author Readings. The posts are listed in chronological order. Click the post title to read more.

May 8th, 2010

My new affectation is destroyed by crack

The latest affectation I am trying to adopt is that of avid note taker. I even bought new Field Notes notebooks just for this effort (and you can just hush it about that stack of six Moleskines in that bookcase over there. I had to buy those, they were $5 a piece. Five-dollar Moleskines! I [...]

January 31st, 2010

Literary Salon II minus the electric boogaloo

Friday night my friend, Hypster Mom, hosted a sort of literary salon featuring J.C. Hallman author of many things, most recently the short story collection The Hospital for Bad Poets. Before he read a story he talked a little about a book he edited called, The Story About the Story. Specifically he talked about the [...]

November 11th, 2009

Worth $30 just to hear Owen Meany’s voice

As we stood in line waiting to get into the venue housing last night’s John Irving reading, Sister #2 set out a few ground rules. “One,” she said. “There will be no hugging. ” There was more on the list, but I was too distracted by a nine-year-old wearing heavy makeup, falling off what can [...]

October 13th, 2009

Four things about the Lorrie Moore reading last weekend

She’s funny. Which wasn’t wholly unexpected because her stories are funny. But it was reassuring. She was so funny that my nephew Max, who is going to be 11 in a few weeks, laughed. A lot. And it wasn’t because she was talking about butts and/or farting. She loves Alice Munro. Really, really, really, really [...]

May 22nd, 2009

Last night I met an author and didn’t do anything stupid, which is a first

It isn’t often when my love of Rock & Roll collides so beautifully with my love literature. Last night it did at Arthur Phillips’ reading for the delightful, delectable, delovely The Song is You Phillips, who grew up in Minnesota, read in the huge Carl Pohlad hall at the Central Library in Minneapolis. The place [...]

August 15th, 2008

Dear David Carr, I am sorry I am not Paul Westerberg

Last night Jags and I went to see David Carr read at Magers & Quinn and it was awesome. It was packed. People were sitting on the floor, standing in the stacks, and lined up out of the room. It was the kind of turnout that I wish every book reading had. It was made [...]

August 14th, 2008

David Carr reading tonight at Magers & Quinn

I just wanted to remind you forgetmenots that David Carr is reading at Magers & Quinn tonight. After much hemming and hawing, I have decided to attend. I’ll be the tall girl looking uncomfortable and out of place. Say hi.

August 1st, 2008

A few more things about the Ethan Canin Reading

you can see where he screwed up because I made him nervous I’m having a hard time writing about the Ethan Canin reading from Wednesday night at Magers & Quinn. The combination of nerves and having my mind blown has turned my memory to Swiss cheese. I do remember standing in line with Jags, Peabo, [...]

July 30th, 2008

Two things I can tell you about the Ethan Canin reading

1. Ethan Canin told me I was making him nervous. I wasn’t even doing anything creepy. All I did was introduce myself and told him that the e-mail he sent me about my post on America, America made my summer. “Now I’m nervous,” he said. He was so nervous, in fact, that he misspelled a [...]

December 2nd, 2007

Don’t be careful with your love

I have long been of the belief that one should never meet their heroes because it’s bound to be disappointing. Really, what can come of a meet up with someone who you’ve invested so much in and who doesn’t know you from Adam? Well let me tell you this darling ones, I was wrong. Yeah, [...]

September 21st, 2007

How I’ve been ruined by Joshua Furst

“I read that because I heard you were going to be here,” Joshua Furst the author of the absolutely wonderful (and challenging in a good way all books should challenge you) The Sabotage Cafe said. “Where’d you hear that?” I asked because I should not be allowed to talk to total strangers. “Oh,” he smiled. [...]

October 2nd, 2006

Exercising the Sister #1 Power of Tune Out

Since I’m Sister #1 I sometimes get to be a bit of tastemaker for the Sisterclub. Now that I think about it, that’s totally delusional. They generally ignore me and go right on listening to their Killers and Dixie Chicks and Cowboy Mouth, despite what I tell them they should listen to. But when it [...]

September 26th, 2006

Mary Gaitskill told me I had a radiant smile

Mary Gaitskill is tiny. She wore a perfectly tailored, brown pinstriped suit (the one here. The podium came up to her chest, and she read from Veronica under the heavy, dark eyebrow of Frida Kahlo. At first I thought she came off as cold. But the more I watched her, the more I listened, Gaitskill [...]

February 3rd, 2005

ohmygod. ohmygod. ohmygod. ohmygod. i am never washing these shoulders again

let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. . . DOUGLAS COUPLAND HUGGED ME. me. yes me. i was hugged by DOUGLAS COUPLAND. the stink, sister #2, and i ventured to the Barnes & Noble at the Galleria in Edina to see and hear Coupland read from his latest book Eleanor Rigby. [...]