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What's happening at WORD?
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Dinner at Le Gamin with romance author and memoirist Eloisa James (second from bottom left)
Despite the torrential downpour, our pre-World Book Night party was a lot of fun. Thanks to all y'all who braved the rain! And thanks to the givers who sent us notes and pictures about how the night itself went; we're gathering them up for an epic post, so keep your eye on the blog.
Ever wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look at the book industry? Here's your chance! The good folks of BookExpo America have opened this year's conference to the public on Thursday, June 7; tickets are $45 and get you access to publishers, authors, and more. There are only 1,000 spots, and tickets are only available through bookstores like WORD. Register online using the following code: WL9X (you must have a code to register, because it's fancy like that). We hope we'll see you on the show floor! |
Artisanal Pencil Sharpening for All
| |  Friday, May 18, 7 p.m. In the culminating event of his tour for How to Sharpen Pencils, David Rees will be joined by comedian and fellow author John Hodgman ( That Is All). The evening will include a pencil sharpening tutorial, a Q&A and signing, and much much more. Our staffers are already fighting over who gets to work this one, but all you have to do is get a ticket. Each ticket includes admission and a copy of How to Sharpen Pencils. Please note: Because Public Assembly has a bar, this event is 21 and up only! Doors will open at 6:30pm, and the show will start at 7pm SHARP. Extra books, including John Hodgman's, will also be available for purchase and signing. Tickets are available online, in-store, or by phone (718.383.0096). |
 This month at WORD!
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For aspiring writers and avid readers:
Wednesday, May 2, 7 p.m.
Places Real and Imagined with Haley Tanner and Alexi Zentner
  Novelists Alexi Zentner (Touch) and Haley Tanner (Vaclav & Lena) will be on hand for a joint discussion about setting in fiction and the pros and cons of real places vs. imaginary locales. In Zentner's imaginary Sawgamet, real magic and mystery lurk in the woods. In Vaclav & Lena, Tanner views New York (and in particular Coney Island) from the eyes of two Russian-immigrant children -- a place of wonder and magic, as well as confusion and grief. They'll discuss the ins and outs of actual geography and imagined, take questions, and sign books. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
For our fellow sci-fi/fantasy geeks:
Sunday, May 6, 7 p.m.
Paolo Bacigalupi and N.K. Jemisin, in conversation with K. Tempest Bradford
  Hugo/Nebula Award winner Paolo Bacigalupi (The Drowned Cities) and Hugo/Nebula nominee N.K. Jemisin (The Killing Moon) will be in conversation with fellow sci-fi writer K. Tempest Bradford on their new books, worldbuilding, the writing life, and more. Bacigalupi is the author of The Windup Girl and Ship Breaker, both of which are perennial staff picks at WORD. Jemisin is a recent discovery of ours but no less beloved -- The Killing Moon, first in her new Dreamblood duo, has been the topic of effusive and adoring emails between several staffers. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
 For citizens of the interwebs:
Monday, May 7, 7 p.m.
Internet Friends IRL: Mark Doten, Greg Howard, and Justin Taylor
One night only: Internet friends IRL! Three fiction writers who all first met in the virtual world now all know each other in the actual world, and prove it by reading together in a real brick-and-mortar bookstore. Mark Doten is a Greenpoint local. Justin Taylor (The Gospel of Anarchy) is a Bushwick ex-pat now clinging to the fringe of Park Slope. Gregory Howard is visiting from Bangor, Maine. Facebook RSVP.
 For public radio and/or art fiends:
Tuesday, May 8, 7 p.m.
Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld Explain Everything
NPR's Brooke Gladstone and artist Josh Neufeld will dish on the state of modern media, the process of creating The Influencing Machine, and more with a multimedia presentation, Q&A, and signing. In The Influencing Machine, Gladstone guides us through two millennia of media history, debunking the notion that The Media is an external force beyond our control and equipping us to be savvy consumers and shapers of the news. Her explanations burst onto the page in vivid comics, thanks to the artistry of Josh Neufeld. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
For self-improvement junkies:
Friday, May 11, 7 p.m.
Improve Yourself with A.J. Jacobs and Gretchen Rubin
  Our favorite lifestyle guinea pig, A.J. Jacobs, will be in conversation with fellow improvement-junkie Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project) in honor of his newest book, Drop Dead Healthy. After Jacobs was hospitalized with a bout of pneumonia, he decided to change his unhealthy ways. And he didn't want only to lose weight, or finish a triathlon, or lower his cholesterol. His ambitions were far greater: maximal health from head to toe. Jacobs will discuss the book with Rubin, as well as read, and both authors will take questions and sign. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
 Wednesday, May 16, 7 p.m.
SOLD OUT: An Intimate Evening with Josh Ritter
Author and musician Josh Ritter will give a special presentation including a discussion of his novel Bright's Passage, musical performance, audience Q&A, and signing. Tickets are sold out.
But never fear! There will be an open signing following the presentation, so you're welcome to come with your copy (or get a new one!) of Bright's Passage and have it signed. We'll also be taking pre-orders for those who can't make it, and we're happy to ship out-of-state -- full details here.
 For doomsdayers and naysayers:
Thursday, May 17, 7 p.m.
The End of the World with Brian Francis Slattery
Brian Francis Slattery presents his new novel, Lost Everything, in a launch party extravaganza accompanied by Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps. The band will perform alongside Slattery as he, well, "reads" isn't really the right word but it'll do in a pinch. Jenn raves: "Lost Everything is a moving and timely meditation on war, a testament to the devotion of a father for his son, and a journey bursting with both terror and laughter." If you were lucky enough to see his performance last time he was at WORD, you know that it's a must-see experience. There's nothing quite like witnessing an author accompany himself with a banjo as he reads from a book. And if you weren't there, we cannot recommend highly enough that you come out for this! Facebook RSVP appreciated.
 For jocks and anthropologists:
Sunday, May 20, 2 p.m.
John Fox and The Ball
From Scotland to the Amazon, lacrosse to basketball, John Fox explores our relationship with that most playful of objects, the ball. In a reading and discussion sponsored by WORD's nerdy basketball league, he'll present his findings, entertain us with anecdotes about related topics such as beheadings and steroids, take questions, and sign copies of The Ball. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
For fans of music and words:
Tuesday, May 22, 7 p.m.
Largehearted Lit: Dylan Hicks and Thad Ziolkowski
  Largehearted Lit is a monthly series celebrating music, books, and their intersection, curated by blogger David Gutowski of Largehearted Boy. Our May event features Dylan Hicks and Thad Ziolkowski. Hicks, a musician and writer whose work has appeared in The Village Voice and Rain Taxi, among other places, will speak, read from his novel Boarded Windows, and perform a few songs. Ziolkowski, a poet and professor at Pratt, will also read and discuss music's influence on his novel Wichita, the latest addition to Europa Editions' new line, Tonga Books. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
For those who live on the literary edge:
Wednesday, May 23, 7 p.m.
PANK Invasion
The Michigan-based literary magazine PANK brings together contributors for a night of readings with Mensah Demary, Sean Doyle, Jennifer Pashley, Robb Todd, M.G. Martin, Tess Patalano, and PANK co-editor Roxane Gay. Brought to you by Vol. 1 Brooklyn. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
 For fans of noir and Django Reinhardt:
Thursday, May 24, 7 p.m.
Launch Party for Emily Mandel and The Lola Quartet
Local author and staff favorite Emily Mandel presents her third novel, The Lola Quartet, with a launch party and reading. In The Lola Quartet, mistakes made years in Gavin Sasaki's past come back to haunt him as mistakes made in his career send him back to his hometown. An intense piece of literary noir, the plot spans jazz, Django Reinhardt, economic collapse, friendship and love, Florida's exotic wildlife problem, fedoras, and the unreliability of memory. Stephanie, WORD's manager, says: "The Lola Quartet is at once alive and frozen: vibrant with the interconnected stories of an old group of friends to whom life has not been kind, and a perfect snapshot of the many ways in which life can be unkind in our modern age." Facebook RSVP appreciated.
 For magicians in training:
Tuesday, May 29, 7 p.m.
Lev Grossman in conversation with Ryan Britt
WORD welcomes back staff favorite and local author Lev Grossman for the paperback launch of The Magician King, sequel to The Magicians. The Magician King brings us the further adventures of Quentin and Julia, spanning Fillory and Earth, and was the best sequel bar none that we read last year. Grossman will be in conversation with Tor.com staff writer Ryan Britt about fandom, the writing process, the relative attractiveness of naiads vs dryads, and more.
Lev Grossman is a senior writer and book critic for Time magazine. He is also the author of the international bestselling novel Codex, the creator of the Time blog Techland, and a graduate of Harvard and Yale. Ryan Britt's writing has been published with Good Magazine, Nerve.com, Opium Magazine, and Soon Quarterly, as well as the Hugo-Award winning Clarkesworld Magazine. He is the staff writer for the popular science fiction and fantasy blog Tor.com. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
  
For armchair travelers:
Wednesday, May 30, 7 p.m.
A Tour of the Exotic with Andrew Blackwell, James Higdon, and Lizzie Stark
Authors Andrew Blackwell (Visit Sunny Chernobyl), James Higdon (The Cornbread Mafia), and Lizzie Stark (Leaving Mundania) will combine forces for a joint reading and discussion on everything from LARPing to radioactive waste to recreational drug use.
For most of us, traveling means visiting the most beautiful places on Earth--Paris, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon. But in Visit Sunny Chernobyl, Blackwell embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth. In Cornbread Mafia, author James Higdon takes readers back to the summer of '87, when Johnny Boone set out to grow and harvest one of the greatest outdoor marijuana crops in modern times. Higdon's relationship with Johnny Boone, currently a federal fugitive, made him the first journalist subpoenaed under the Obama administration. Stark's Leaving Mundania exposes a subculture often dismissed as "geeky" by mainstream America: live action role-playing (LARP). She looks at LARPing from a variety of angles, from its history in the pageantry of Tudor England to its present use as a training tool for the US military. Facebook RSVP appreciated.
 For aspiring fermenters:
Thursday, May 31, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
TICKETED: Pickling Workshop with Kate Payne
This interactive class will cover both methods of pickling, fresh and fermented. Participants will learn how to pickle small amounts of extra produce without pulling out the canner pot. In addition to understanding common safety concerns, you'll learn the basics of fermentation (brining) as a form of food preservation. We'll discuss how fermentation works, why it's safe, and how to try a small-scale fermented pickling project at home. Attendees should come with questions, as Kate will make sure there is time to troubleshoot your own projects. Registration includes a copy of Kate's book, The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking!
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Facebook RSVPs appreciated but certainly not mandatory.
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Book groups
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 Book Group has declared this the Summer of Indie Presses, starting with June! Our next pick is Everything Happens Today by Jesse Browner, from Europa Editions. If you're not familiar with them, Europa specializes in literary fiction, often in translation (they're the folks that brought us The Elegance of the Hedgehog), and Everything Happens Today is a staff favorite. Wes is a seventeen-year-old who attends Manhattan's elite Dalton School and lives in Greenwich Village in a dilapidated town house with his terminally ill mother, distant father and beloved younger sister. In the course of one day, he will lose his virginity to the wrong girl and break his own heart, try to meet a Monday morning deadline for a paper on "War and Peace," and prepare an elaborate supper he hopes will reunite his family. Join us on Saturday, June 2, at noon for discussion.
 Classics Book Group is celebrating a mad matriarch with their next pick, Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood. Blackwood was raised in the aristocracy (heiress to the Guinness fortune!) and later in life, used that experience to produce this dark and witty look at the craziness that only the rich can inhabit. Great Granny Webster herself is a fabulous monster, the chilliest of matriarchs, presiding with steely self-regard over a landscape of ruined lives. We'll meet for discussion on Saturday, June 9, at noon. (Can't wait to find out what else we have planned for this year? The full list is up online!)
 Up next for the Music Book Writing Group is Jonathan Lethem's contribution to the 33 1/3 series, The Talking Heads: Fear of Music. He revisits a time and place that he's also covered in his fiction: New York City in the late 1970s. The book covers the album, which he discovered as a 15-year-old in the summer of 1979, his own lifelong relationship with it, and the ways in which we fall in and out of love with works of art. We'll discuss Fear of Music on Saturday, June 9, at 3 p.m.
As always, all books are 10% off in the month before their discussion. And if you need help remembering to mark your calendar, or can't make the discussion but still want to complain about that thing that happened on page 210, you can join our Facebook groups! There's one for the regular group and one for Classics.
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WORD's April bestsellers
| |  - Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James (ebook available)
- Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (ebook available)
- Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (ebook available)
- The Princess of Trelian, Michelle Knudsen
- Unterzakhn, Leela Corman
- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (ebook available)
- Wild, Cheryl Strayed (ebook available)
- Hollywood Boulevard, Janyce Stefan-Cole
- Doodle New York, Puck and Violet Lemay
- Liberation, Brian Francis Slattery (ebook available)
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Quick links
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This email not enough WORD for you? No worries, we're all over the Internet:Visit our website
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This has been another production of the book-lovin' fools at: WORD 126 Franklin St Brooklyn NY 11222 Open for your reading needs from: 11am to 9pm, seven days a week Available during those hours at: 718.383.0096 And always open at: wordbrooklyn.com |
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