Welcome to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week we have Isaac Fitzgerald chatting Dirtbag with Tara Westover; the Rally Reading Series spotlighting activist writing; a theatrical celebration of The Complete Clarice Lispector Translations; and the ever-glamorous storytelling event that is The Tell.
Also, it’s my birthday today! You don’t have to get me anything, no really… but if you insist, why not share this newsletter with someone who might be into it.
Monday, October 30
Patricia Evangelista presents Some People Need Killing, in conversation with Jia Tolentino
Investigative journalist Patricia Evangelista presents Some People Need Killing, a meticulously reported chronicle of the Philippines’ drug war, in conversation with the New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in store and cafe; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Emma Noyes + Katie Holt: Guy's Girl
Author Emma Noyes and @readinromance bookstagrammer Katie Holt discuss Noyes' debut adult novel Guy's Girl.
Free; 7pm; Rare Book Room, The Strand, 828 Broadway, New York
Halloween Special: All These Sunken Souls
Four YA horror writers come together for a Halloween special to celebrate the new anthology All These Sunken Souls. Circe Moskowitz (Good Mourning), Kalynn Bayron (This Wicked Fate), Joel Rochester, and Joelle Wellington (Their Vicious Games) will read from their stories, discuss the horror genre, and answer your questions. Halloween attire encouraged.
$10 incl. gift card; 7pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Tuesday, October 31
Henry Winkler: Being Henry - The Fonz … and Beyond
Here’s a flash from the past, actor Henry Winkler discusses his career and his new memoir, Being Henry, with none other than Ben Stiller. In partnership with The Strand.
From $62.90 incl. a signed copy of the book; 7pm; The Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd Street
K-Ming Chang presents Organ Meats
National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree K-Ming Chang (Bestiary) celebrates her latest novel, Organ Meats, in conversation with Gerardo Sámano Córdova (Monstrilio) and co-presented with Asian American Writers' Workshop. A spooky reading followed by a wine reception to usher in Halloween night.
Free (RSVP encouraged); 7.30pm; Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Audrey Wollen and Joanna Biggs present The Halt During the Chase by Rosemary Tonks
The coming-of-age novel from the cult classic writer Rosemary Tonks is back in print, and will be discussed by book critic Audrey Wollen and Harper's Magazine Joanna Biggs (A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in store and cafe; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Wednesday, November 1
In Translation: The Complete Clarice Lispector Translations
In celebration of the complete set of new Clarice Lispector translations published by New Directions—an enormous project spearheaded by writer and translator Benjamin Moser—John Keene, Rivka Galchen, and Lucas Iberico Lozada will come together to discuss The Apple in the Dark. The conversation will be followed by a reception with food and drink provided by the Consulate General of Brazil in New York. The event will include a performance by actors from Group.BR, New York’s premiere Brazilian theatre company
$10 incl. bookstore voucher; 7pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Anderson Cooper in conversation with John Berman on Astor
CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper discusses his new dynastic biography, Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune, at Temple Emanu-El, built on the ground where the Astor mansion once stood. He will be in conversation with John Berman, co-anchor of the morning edition of CNN News Central and a regular relief presenter of Anderson Cooper 360°.
$30 incl. a copy of Astor; 6pm; The Temple Emanu-el Streicker Cultural Center, 1 East 65th Street, New York
Devorah Baum presents On Marriage, in conversation with Orna Guralnik
Critic and filmmaker Devorah Baum discusses her philosophical book about marriage with clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in store and cafe; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Book launch: Sebastian Merrill presents GHOST :: SEEDS: Poems
Sebastian Merrill launches GHOST :: SEEDS, a queer spin on the myth of Persephone, in conversation with Alicia Mountain (Four in Hand), with a wine reception to follow.
Free (RSVP encouraged); 7.30pm; Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, November 2
The Rally Reading Series
The Rally Reading Series launched in 2016 to provide a platform for overtly political literature in the hope of finding actionable, meaningful ways to cultivate change, and advance community and democracy. This month readings from: Clifford Thompson (What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues); Anna Hogeland (The Long Answer); and Amy Zhang, a multidisciplinary storyteller, writer, and producer.
Free; 7pm; Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
Eva Fedderly presents These Walls, in conversation with Julianna Haubner
Eva Fedderly launches her deeply reported narrative non-fiction account of the effort to close Rikers Island, These Walls, in conversation with Avid Reader Press editor Julianna Haubner.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in store and cafe; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Zach Schonfeld + Charles Bramesco: How Coppola Became Cage
Author Zach Schonfeld and film critic Charles Bramesco discuss the genesis of none other than Nicolas Cage (born Nicolas Coppola, in case you were confused like me).
From $8; 7pm; Rare Book Room, The Strand, 828 Broadway, New York
Bora Chung: Cursed Bunny w/ Anton Hur
In collaboration with the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Bora Chung discusses her debut novel, Cursed Bunny, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in conversation with translator Anton Hur.
$10 incl. gift card; 7pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Friday, November 3
Isaac Fitzgerald: Dirtbag, Massachusetts w/ Tara Westover
Two New York Times-bestselling memoirists here discussing Isaac Fitzgerald’s Dirtbag, Massachusetts.
$10 incl. gift card; 7pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Sunday, Nov. 5
The Tell, Vol. 72
A live storytelling event curated by writer and photographer Michael Leviton, with stories tending towards the chaotic and bizarre, interspersed by musical interludes, and followed by a party.
$20 in advance; 7pm, doors; 10pm, after party; Georgia Room, Freehand NY, 2nd Floor, 23 Lexington Ave., NY
Looking ahead:
December 11
The #YeahYouWrite Reading Series Presents: Holidaze on Mic
“Read your work, read from a banned book, sing a song, anything goes,” they urge, at this all-night open mic night from the long-running reading series #YeahYouWrite. Reservations required to read, capped at 15; and reservations required to listen—seating is limited. Also, there’s tacos. This all sounds great.
Free; 6.30pm; Tacovision, 244 E 53rd St, New York
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.