November: Treats Truck, LEGO creations, and Jersey Pride

What's happening at WORD?

Midnight Murakami signatures

Above: three Murakami fans who got lucky and got a signed copy of 1Q84 at our midnight release.

Below: Julie Klam (r) definitely got the cutest turnout at her event.

Julie Klam and friends

We're packing one more month full of great events before we dive into the holidays. Read on for more information about a Lego workshop, a visit from the lady behind the Treats Truck, a celebration of New Jersey, multiple launch parties, and how to improve your love life with the help of a good romance novel!

This month at WORD!

For the dirty-minded:
Wednesday, November 2, 7 p.m.
Mike Edison and Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!

Mike Edison (publisher of High Times and author of I Have Fun Everywhere I Go) presents his newest book, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!. A pop-culture history of girlie mags, it follows the four horsemen of smut -- Hugh Hefner, Bob Guccione, Larry Flynt, and Al Goldstein -- from the 1950s when Hugh Hefner launched Playboy, through the end of the century when the Internet pretty much killed the thrill of the centerfold. Join us for an event complete with music and spoken word. Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For those with a sweet tooth:
Thursday, November 3, 7 p.m.
Kim Ima and the Treats Truck Baking Book

Kim Ima, "The Treats Truck Lady," will be on hand to share tricks and tips, as well as free sample treats, with attendees in a celebration of The Treats Truck Baking Book! Discover dozens of recipes, along with the story of the bakery phenomenon that has induced mass cravings in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For smart and sassy ladies and gents:
Friday, November 4, 7 p.m.
Sarah Wendell and Everything She Knows About Love

Our favorite Smart Bitch Sarah Wendell (Beyond Heaving Bosoms, SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com) presents her new book, Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels. Simultaneously celebrating and skewering the joys and pitfalls of the genre, Wendell serves up lessons in love and life with a big dose of hilarity. Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For local literati:
Saturday, November 5, 7 p.m.
Local Organic: New Works by the Greenpoint Writers Group

The core members of the GWG will share excerpts from their latest works, including novels, stageplays, and screenplays. Writers include Jessica Glazer, Christianne Hedtke, Nathaniel Kressen, Kathy Lindboe, Danielle Pollack, and Laura Weinert-Kendt. Free admission. Complimentary wine. Gratuitous awesomeness. Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For budding engineers and designers:
Sunday, November 6, 1:30 p.m.
TICKETED: Lots of LEGO® with Sean Kenney

The author of the wildly popular Cool Cars and Trucks and Cool Robots, Sean Kenney is back with Cool City, featuring original city creations of all sizes, colors, and styles. Learn how to build a skyscraper, a brownstone, a mini metropolis and more!

Tickets are $12.99 and each guarantees admission for one child (accompanied by a parent) and a copy of Cool City to take home. There will be LEGOs on hand for kids to play with, and Kenney will spend time building with them as well as signing books. In order for each child to get time and materials, this event is limited. Sean's events regularly sell out, so please buy your ticket in advance! Available in-store, over the phone, or online.

For fans of words and music:
Wednesday, November 9, 7 p.m.
Joshua Cody & Nathan Larson

Largehearted Lit features two composers-turned-authors this month. Film composer and former Shudder to Think guitarist Nathan Larson (Dirty Pretty Things, Boys Don't Cry) will read from his debut novel The Dewey Decimal System, and Joshua Cody will read from his memoir [sic]. They'll will also discuss music's influence on their writing, and vice versa. Musical guest TBA! Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For those of the paranormal persuasion:
Thursday, November 10, 7 p.m.
Launch Party for Leanna Hieber and Darker Still

Celebrate with local author Leanna Renee Hieber as she launches her newest novel, Darker Still. Set in 1880s New York, it's been described as The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There will be a reading, Q&A, and signing, and refreshments inspired by the book! (Feel free to wear your best 19th century finery.) Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For dreamers:
Tuesday, November 15, 7 p.m.
Julia Mayer, presented by 826NYC

Julia Mayer's journey from struggling writer to published author began the summer she was sixteen. Start with an amazing workshop program supported by bestselling author Dave Eggers, add an editor who wouldn't give up on a great story, and voila! Eyes in the Mirror follows two girls -- the same person, but living in alternate worlds -- who discover a way to switch places. That one small decision changes both teenagers' lives and destinies forever. Facebook RSVP appreciated.

Thursday, November 17, 7 p.m.
Vol. 1 Brooklyn presents Civic Pride: New Jersey

Get your Jersey on with Vol.1's Civic Pride! The series, focusing on writers with a connection to a particular city, state, or region, returns with an event focusing on the Garden State. With a line-up featuring Barbara Browning (The Correspondence Artist), Jackie Corley (The Suburban Swindle), A.N. Devers (editor, Writers' Houses), Amy Klein (musician with Titus Andronicus), Maris Kreizman (Slaughterhouse 90210), and Hirsh Sawhney (contributor to New Jersey Noir), we can pretty much guarantee a good time. Plus and also, beer! Facebook RSVP appreciated.

For poets and writers and fans thereof:
Tuesday, November 29, 7 p.m.
Meghan O'Rourke and Philip Schultz

Join us for a conversation with memoirists and poets Meghan O'Rourke (Once, The Long Goodbye) and Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Schultz (My Dyslexia, Failure), moderated by Darin Strauss (Half a Life). The discussion will include themes common to their work and literature and its different forms, among other things, and the event will also include a reading, Q&A, and signing. Facebook RSVP appreciated.

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Every time you attend an event, you get a chance to
enter our event book raffle for a signed set of featured books!

Facebook RSVPs appreciated but certainly not mandatory.

Never miss an event! Check out our public Google calendar.

Book groups

Our next book group pick is You Lost Me There by Rosecrans Baldwin. A surprising and funny book, the story follows a prominent Alzheimer's researcher who works too much and is trying to cope with the recent death of his wife. When he finds a set of index cards detailing incidents from their marriage, he's surprised to find he barely remembers some of them, and remembers others quite differently, even though they were all, to her, the turning points of their relationship. It's both touching and genuine, but never becomes too saccharine (actually, it's quite acid, in all the best ways). Anyone who's ever fought with a significant other will love this book and its search for whether anything can actually be true in a relationship. Also available as a Google ebook, for the ereaders among us. We'll discuss it Saturday, December 3, at noon. No sign-up necessary; just read and join us!

Our final book in our year of Russian literature in classics book group is actually not a Russian novel at all: it's The Possessed by Elif Batuman (also available as ebook). And after a year of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, it's a pleasure to turn to slightly lighter fare, and read about Batuman's wandering and wondering about many of the books and authors we discovered (and re-discovered) in 2011. Says WORD favorite Simon van Booy: "While some parts of the essays read like spy thrillers, others are more like episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, with academic stealing one another's parking spaces and then giving the finger." Well, if a book ever sounded more suited for the fair readers of Greenpoint, we have yet to hear it. Whether you joined previous discussions this year, feel free to drop by Saturday, December 10 at noon!