MONDAY, 9.20: If there were blind items in this column, they would read a little something like: “Rejoice, hipster lit fans, in Monday evening’s offerings, as now you can go and get sweet and vicious at the home away from home for downtown’s deshabille doyennes.” But alas, there aren’t, so click here if that tickles your fancy. As for me, I’d rather punk out on everything else — and like, totally clear my Blackberry — to head over to Forbidden Planet for the special appearance by the too-cool-for-school creators of Love and Rockets, Los Brothers Hernandez. 6:00pm, FREE.
TUESDAY, 9.21: “You know, you’d think that you get the best person, but the last 5 or 6 presidents of this country — put them in a room together and you wouldn’t hire them to sell shoes.” The editorial cartoonist responsible for my quote-of-the-week will almost certainly offer more of the same when he chats about his latest collection, Wreckage Begins With “W,” at Coliseum Books. 6:00pm, FREE.
Note: I’m writing this column during a weekend trip deep into the heart of suburban Maryland, and the charming antique that passes for a computer here at the ancestral manse is, even more charmingly, totally on the fucking fritz. I will just assume it’s allergic to my urbane sensibilities and so, sadly, from here on out, it’s just the bare facts (links, actually) for you, gentle reader.
WEDNESDAY, 9.22: Po’boy Jordan Davis debuts his Million Poems Show at the Bowery Poetry Club. Orhan Pamuk reads from Snow at 192 Books. Open City hosts a reading at KGB.
THURSDAY, 9.23: Teen-spirited author Ned Vizzini reads from his new book, Be More Chill, and introduces a screening of Donnie Darko at the Brooklyn Brewery. This event sounds delightfully angsty, but it’s kind of pricey ($25, although that includes a copy of the book, the film screening, and open bar privileges); better bring that credit card your dad gave you “for emergencies.”
FRIDAY, 9.24: Paris-based, glamourous badass, Marjane Satrapi, graphic memoirist and author of Persepolis and Persepolis 2, stops by Cupcake (the reading series I co-direct), to discuss her work, and perhaps, the joys of dating anarchists.
SATURDAY, 9.25: Don’t miss Berkeley poetry legend Landis Everson’s first public reading in four decades at KGB. Those of you with tiny, self-absorbed companions can indulge them at a children’s event at 192 Books, when Matteo Pericoli discusses his gorgeously detailed study of New York’s skyline, See The City: The Journey of Manhattan Unfurled.
SUNDAY, 9.26: Suki Kim, author of The Interpreter — a future classic, if there ever was one — reads as part of The Other Half Reading Series at The Brooklyn Museum of Art.
The Smart Set is a weekly column, usually edited with more care (see “technical difficulties,” above) by Lauren Cerand, that appears Mondays and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please submit details to lauren@maudnewton.com by the Thursday before publication for consideration.
