Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Ripken, Dubus, Vowell, Richard, Obreht at Politics & Prose

Politics & Prose Bookstore has some excellent writers lined up for visits in the coming weeks…these are all can't-miss, though I'll have to miss a few:

Monday, March 14: Cal Ripken, Jr.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend this event featuring my good friend (okay, acquaintance…or perhaps more like my celebrity stalkee). Normally I object bitterly to celebrity children’s books, but Cal can do no wrong, and I’m sure Hothead, about a young all-star shortstop with anger management issues, is absolutely fabulous.

Monday, March 21: Andre Dubus III
I just bought a copy of his new memoir, Townie, about growing up as a “townie” in Massachusetts. Here’s the New York Times review, and he sounded very smart on the Diane Rehm show, and I liked his novel, House of Sand and Fog.

Saturday, March 26: Sarah Vowell
I don’t think I’m all that interested in her new book, Unfamiliar Fishes, about the history of Hawaii, but this woman can make absolutely anything interesting. I’ve been sort of in love with her mind (and her crazy voice) way from old-time “This American Life” days when she talked about building a cannon with her father.

Sunday, March 27: Mark Richard
Author of one of my favorite short stories ever (“Strays”), I met him at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and he was a compelling reader, writer, and teacher. I can still hear him advising us to “swing for the fences” in our writing because we were writing for time. And his memoir, House of Prayer No. 2—told in the second person—sounds innovative.

Monday, March 28: Tea Obreht
Author of The Tiger’s Wife, a section of which appeared in The New Yorker and which kept me enthralled on a tedious metro ride. I wasn’t crazy about her work in the latest Best American Short Stories, but based on that New Yorker excerpt, I’m very interested in this book.

For more information:
Politics & Prose Bookstore
5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008
202/364-1919
www.politics-prose.com

Disclosure per the FTC overlords: No one paid me anything and nothing came free...though if Cal wants to swing a few baseball tickets my way, he should feel free to look me up.