Reading the City
August 5 to 12
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
The summertime lull continues, but we do still have Ditmas Lit’s own Lena Valencia launching her debut story collection in conversation with Rachel Lyon; an end-of-season-worthy lineup at Table of Contents; and the return of The Parlor literary salon in Ditmas Park. Also, celebrations for the James Baldwin centenary are ongoing at the NYPL with special exhibitions and free programs for all ages. And finally, if you happen to be in London, where I’m writing to you from, come along to my UK book launch!
As ever, send feedback, send help, send events I should have on my radar, say hi! And please share the love with your bookish friends.
Monday, August 5
Tables of Contents Reading Series
Table of Contents is closing out the summer season with an awesome lineup of writers: Puloma Ghosh (Mouth), Ben Shattuck (The History of Sound), and Joseph Earl Thomas (Sink). Enjoy three dishes inspired by each author’s reading, as well as the perfect biscuits, and a chat about the creative process with founder and chef Evan Hanczor. Tickets include a complimentary cocktail from Cocktails in Color. (Also
has its own Substack now!)$35; 7-9 pm; Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave, New York
Miss Manhattan 10th Anniversary
Join Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series for Tracy O'Neill (Woman of Interest), Simon Wu (Dancing on My Own), and Danny Goodman (Amerikaland), hosted by Elyssa Maxx Goodman (Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City).
Free; 7.30pm; Niagara, 112 Avenue A, New York
Tuesday, August 6
Lena Valencia: Mystery Lights
Co-host of reading series Ditmas Lit Lena Valencia launches Mystery Lights—set against the stark background of the Southwestern desert, this debut story collection glows with the promise, and fear, of the world we know and the worlds we don’t, following women and girls as they navigate dangers both supernatural and existential—in conversation with Rachel Lyon (Fruit of the Dead).
$5, redeemable in-store; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Kristin Vukovic: The Cheesemaker’s Daughter
Kristin Vukovic celebrates the release of her debut novel, The Cheesemaker's Daughter—a "deeply researched and fully inhabited" story (Julia Phillips of Disappearing Earth) exploring underlying cultural and ethnic tensions in Croatia the year before it joins the European Union—in conversation with Hannah Howard (Plenty).
$5, redeemable in store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Regina Porter: The Rich People Have Gone Away
Regina Porter (The Travelers) presents The Rich People Have Gone Away—a diverse group of New Yorkers are brought together by the search for a missing woman in this electric novel of secrets, connection, and community—with Mateo Askaripour (Black Buck).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Helen Phillips: Hum
Helen Phillips (The Need) launches her new novel Hum—this work of speculative fiction captures an urgent and unflinching portrayal of a woman’s fight for her family’s security in a world shaped by global warming and rapid technological progress. In conversation with Lincoln Michel (The Body Scout).
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Sam Sax: Yr Dead
Writer and educator Sam Sax (Bury It) launches their new book Yr Dead—a queer, Jewish, diasporic coming-of-age story that questions how our historical memory shapes our political and emotional present—in conversation with artist and writer Fatimah Asghar (If They Come For Us).
$7.81; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Rollo Romig: I Am on the Hit List
Author and journalist Rollo Romig celebrates the launch of I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India—a gripping investigation into the mysterious assassination of a journalist in India, revealing the courage and vulnerability of those who are fighting the decline of democracy around the world—with writer and academic Suchitra Vijayan (Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India).
Free; 6.30-8pm; Lofty Pigeon Books, 743 Church Avenue Brooklyn
Sophie Brickman: Plays Well With Others
Journalist Sophie Brickman discusses Plays Well With Others—an epistolary novel incorporating emails, group texts, advice columns, newspaper profiles, and more, for a whip-smart, genuinely funny romp through the minefield of modern motherhood—with The New York Times’ Elizabeth Harris (How To Sleep At Night, forthcoming).
Free; 7pm; Barnes & Noble, 82nd & Broadway, 2289 Broadway, New York
Wednesday, August 7
The Parlor
An occasional literary salon in Ditmas Park, The Parlor is organized by Emily Roese, Andrea Abello, and the Brooklyn Artery, and this iteration’s theme is “siren, soak, and absolve,” featuring poets, playwrights, fiction writers, and a dance performance. Announced so far is: Gina Chung (Sea Change), Xavier Clark, Ananda Naima González, and Sabrina Imbler (How Far The Light Reaches).
Free, but donations encouraged for the writers; 7.30pm; Brooklyn Artery, 1004 Cortelyou Rd, Brooklyn
Joél Leon: Everything and Nothing at Once
Joél Leon, creative director at the New York Times’ T Brand Studio, discusses his essay collection Everything and Nothing at Once: A Black Man's Reimagined Soundtrack for the Future—a beautiful, painful, and soaring tribute to everything that Black men are and can be in America—with Jess Janz, a writer and founder of event series Dinner with Strangers.
$15; 8pm; Liz’s Book Bar, 315 Smith Street, Brooklyn
Swan Huntley: I Want You More
Swan Huntley (Getting Clean With Stevie Green) launches I Want You More—when ghostwriter Zara becomes entwined with celebrity chef client, Jane Bailey, she starts to see the side Jane keeps hidden from the cameras and gets stuck in a plot she never saw coming—in conversation with Elizabeth Greenwood (Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud).
$5, redeemable in-store; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, August 8
Laura Marris: The Age of Loneliness
Laura Marris presents her debut essay collection The Age of Loneliness—a vital, intimate inquiry into the astonishing connections between personal and ecological loneliness—with Adam Dalva, the senior fiction editor of Guernica Magazine.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Eliza Griswold: Circle of Hope
Eliza Griswold presents Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church—A Pulitzer Prize winner’s intimate portrait of a church, its radical mission, and its riveting crisis—in conversation with the New York Times’ Jodi Kantor.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Friday, August 9
Andrew R. Chow: Cryptomania
Time magazine’s technology correspondent Andrew R. Chow celebrates the launch of Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire—an explosive, page-turning account of one of the largest financial frauds in US history, chronicling the utopian promises, human collateral, and incineration of billions of dollars in the 2022 crypto crash.
Free; 7-8pm; Yu and Me Books, 44 Mulberry Street, New York
Brooklyn Poets Reading Series
Featuring poets Renia White (Casual Conversation), Hieu Minh Nguyen (Not Here) and sam sax (Yr Dead). Wine reception from 6pm. Readings from 7pm.
Free; 6-9pm; Brooklyn Poets, 144 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed via Zoom
Sunday, August 11
2nd Anniversary Party - Book Club for Book Hoes
The Book Club for Book Hoes launched by
is turning two, and celebrating having built a thriving book community with a party. Expect lots of prizes, giveaways, raffles, bookish merch, and chances to connect with your fellow “book hoes.”From $20; 6-8.30pm; Nighthorse, 66 Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Archipelago Books 20th Anniversary Party
A festive evening of readings from translators who have contributed to Archipelago press over the years, including Mark Polizzotti, Adrian Nathan West, Jennifer Shuye, Minna Zallman Proctor, and Ross Benjamin, with free drinks for the first hour or so and $5 wine and beer after that.
Free; 6-9pm; Topos Too, 5922 Myrtle Ave., Ridgewood, Queens
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and author. My debut novel Amphibian is forthcoming from Ig on October 22, Virago (UK), and dtv (Germany). My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press, 2018) followed my childhood as the daughter of an international pot smuggler and federal fugitive. I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!