The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled and posted by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30 pm, 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 send details to Ms. Cerand at lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication. Due to the volume of submissions, events cannot be considered unless the date appears in the subject line of your message.
The “Over and Out” Edition
I love doing events for work, and love attending events in general due to my insistent belief that “everything happens at parties” (cribbed from an abstract of an article in an obscure periodical found in an only slightly less obscure periodical), and New York is the best city in the world for all that. Nonetheless I’m taking it easy for a change and The Smart Set will return in January. On my agenda for the rest of the month:
MON, DEC 8: Kurt Andersen, Evan Wright and Jeanne Marie Laskas, contributors to The Best American Magazine Writing, will be reading from their work at the Half King. Highly recommended. 7PM, FREE.
SUN, DEC 14: Good Words at Good World does the “Anti-Holiday” thing (as I’ve been known to do, having spent perhaps my favorite Christmas Eve at that bar having a drink with my dear brother at midnight), featuring a “Greatest Hits” roster of reading past, with Max Blagg, Kristin McGonigle and our own Maud Newton. Essential. 5PM, FREE.
And Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending series wraps up its residency with two final shows, on the 10th and the 17th.
Plus, ongoing: “The Film Society proudly presents Spanish Cinema Now, December 5 – 24, one of the Walter Reade Theater’s longest-running series. This year, get a chance to discover how Spanish filmmakers are breathing new life into tried-and-true genre tales with 4 outstanding thrillers, including [Rec], a proud, offbeat, addition to the tradition of Spanish horror films. This premiere showcase for Spanish cinema features 20 premieres and works such as Before the Fall and Timecrimes that offer a distinctive brand of science fiction.”
As for me, I’ll be here and there, maybe dropping by the Guggenheim to spend some time with Joseph Cornell’s Setting for a Fairytale, as ever the plan…