Reading the City
November 6 to 12
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week I’m excited to see Jhumpa Lahiri in conversation with Edwidge Danticat; also Alice McDermott discussing her latest novel, a John le Carré-inspired spy fiction salon, and, to close the week, a night of LGBTQ+ literary speed dating.
Send feedback, send help, send events I should have on my radar, say hi! And share the love with other New York-based bookish folks.
Monday, November 6
Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series
A monthly non-fiction reading series hosted by Elyssa Maxx Goodman (Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City), with this edition featuring: Mary Giuliani (How to Lose Friends and Influence People); burlesque performer, writer, and sex educator Fancy Feast (Naked: On Sex, Work, and Other Burlesques); and Maria Fernanda (Pollito Chicken, Gallina Hen: How I Hatched Into Myself and Other Essays).
Free; 7.30pm; Niagara, 112 Avenue A, New York
First Floor Walk Up Presents Poetry and Prose
Twice monthly reading series, this time featuring: poet and attorney Stephanie Laterza (Verás); Susana H. Case (If This Isn't Love); Giorgia Pavlidou (Female Body Retold); and Mervyn Taylor (The Last Train).
Free; 6.30pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Jhumpa Lahiri at St. Joseph's
This is a big one. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri celebrates the launch of her newest release, Roman Stories, written in Lahiri’s adopted language of Italian and translated by the author, in conversation with none other than Edwidge Danticat. Co-hosted by Greenlight Bookstore.
From $5; 7.30pm; St. Joseph’s University, 245 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn
Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore presents Touching the Art, with Catherine Lacey
A memoir about intergenerational trauma, fine art, and compartmentalization from returning Soft Skull author and Lambda Literary Award winner, Mattilda Bernstein, in conversation with Catherine Lacey (Biography of X).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Karen Tongson + Dana Stevens: Normporn
Karen Tongson launched her new book Normporn: Queer Viewers and the TV That Soothes Us, in conversation with Slate film critic Dana Stevens.
From $8; 7pm; The Strand, 3rd floor Rare Book Room, 828 Broadway, New York
Tuesday, November 7
Word Presents: Nikki Vargas + Christen A. Johnson
Join author and travel editor Nikki Vargas to celebrate the launch of her travel memoir, Call You When I Land, in conversation with Cosmopolitan lifestyle editor Christen A. Johnson. Wine reception to follow.
Free, RSVP preferred; 7pm; WORD, 126 Franklin St, Brooklyn
Ed Park on Same Bed Different Dreams with Hua Hsu
Ed Park, author of Personal Days and founding editor of The Believer, discusses his latest novel, Same Bed Different Dreams, a genre-defying depiction of an alternate secret history of Korea, with Hua Hsu (Stay True).
$10, incl. equivalent bookstore voucher; 7pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue Brooklyn, or livestreamed
Salar Abdoh presents A Nearby Country Called Love: A Novel
Salar Abdoh launches A Nearby Country Called Love, a captivating window into contemporary Iran and a portrait of the parallel fates of a man and his country, in conversation with Emily Raboteau (Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “the Apocalypse”), followed by a wine reception.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Shibani Mahtani and Tim McLaughlin with Mike Forsythe
Shibani Mahtani and Tim McLaughlin present Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy, in conversation with Mike Forsythe (the New York Times).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Wednesday, November 8
Zach Weinersmith + Randall Munroe: A City on Mars
Scientist and bestselling author Zach Weinersmith releases his new book A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?, in conversation with Randall Munroe (How To, What If?).
From $10; 7pm; The Strand, 3rd floor Rare Book Room, 828 Broadway, New York
Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones presents The Hurricane Book
Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones launches her debut novel, The Hurricane Book, a lyrical history of her family and Puerto Rico, in conversation with poet Paolo Javier.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Lisa Gornick on Ana Turns with Joan Silber
Lisa Gornick (The Peacock Feast) discusses Ana Turns, set over twenty-four hours of a woman’s sixtieth birthday, with Joan Silber (Secrets of Happiness).
$10, incl. equivalent bookstore voucher; 7pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue Brooklyn, or livestreamed
Drink 'N Draft
A night of creative writing inspired by visual prompts. No experience necessary. All supplies (pens, paper, wine!) are provided. Hosted by traveling, interdisciplinary event series Little Nights.
$10; 7pm - 9pm; WORD, 126 Franklin St, Brooklyn
Translation Conversation Series: Damion Searls
Damion Searls presents his translation of A Shining by Jon Fosse, in conversation with Merve Emre (the New Yorker).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Alice McDermott: Absolution w/ Brandon Taylor
National Book Award-winner Alice McDermott presents an account of women’s lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, in conversation with Brandon Taylor (The Late Americans).
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7pm - 8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Kia Corthron presents Moon and the Mars, with Robert W. Snyder
Kia Corthron discusses the paperback edition of her new book Moon and the Mars, a vivid account of life in New York City for the Black and Irish communities, in conversation with Manhattan Borough Historian Robert W. Snyder.
Free; 6.30pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Thursday, November 9
A Clandestine Rendezvous with Joseph Kanon and Paul Vidich on the Legacy of John le Carré
One for spy fiction fans: A conversation between two spy novelists, Joseph Kanon (Beirut Station) and Paul Vidich (The Berlin Exchange), to celebrate the 60th anniversary of John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Part of the Center for Fiction’s Literary Salon series hosted in the members’ lounge, space is limited, and ticket price includes a glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage from their Café & Bar and copies of all three books linked above, as well as (interpret as you will) “a special spy challenge of your own!”
$75 incl. see above; 7pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Naomi Alderman + Maris Kreizman: The Future
Naomi Alderman releases her new novel The Future, in conversation with writer and podcast host Maris Kreizman (The Maris Review).
From $8; 7pm; The Strand, 3rd floor Rare Book Room, 828 Broadway, New York
Casey Plett presents On Community, in conversation with Daniel Shank Cruz
Author Casey Plett dives into the “intractability of community's boons and faults” with Daniel Shank Cruz (Ethics for Apocalyptic Times).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Chin-Sun Lee: Upcountry w/ Chelsea G. Summers
Chin-Sun Lee presents her debut novel Upcountry in conversation with Chelsea G. Summers (A Certain Hunger).
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7pm - 8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Friday, November 10
Booking for Love: LGBTQ+ Edition
This is a new one for me and I’m into it. A bookish take on speed dating, the aim is to have guests go on 12 mini-dates over the evening – with a book of your choosing as a chat prompt – and if both parties are interested in continuing the conversation you’ll each receive information about how to get back in touch. Happy hour specials at the Café & Bar.
$25; 6pm - 8pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, teacher, and author of No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press) and Amphibian (forthcoming from Virago). I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!
Love the newsletter, but could use more listings in Manhattan, especially uptown like at Book Culture, Barnes and Noble, Shakespeare and Co, etc. Thanks!