In order to shake things up a bit, I’ve decided to start writing about other literary blogs I admire. It’s funny that almost a year ago when I started BookStalker I had so little knowledge of New York’s rich and vivrant (that’s right, I said vivrant) literary community. Not to say I’m an expert now, but I have gotten to know some cool outlets, and, dear reader,  I’d like to share them with you.
 
Let’s start with one of the first literary bloggers I met in New York (in a cigar bar, specifically): Ron Hogan. Now, for anyone who doesn’t know, Ron is kind of a legend. He started Beatrice.com back in 1995 (!), which makes his the longest-running lit site OF ALL TIME. Ron offers a ton of content, from book reviews to author guest essays to a new podcast where he interviews memoirists. He’s a nuanced and engaging writer, and in every post his intelligence and knowledge shine through. Check out his most recent post, in which he invites Emma Straub (Other People We Married) to talk about the genesis of her “obsession” with short stories.

Alrighty. We have one more thing to get to—namely, my top lit picks for the week.  

MONDAY: Susan Cain (Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking) will chat with George Prochnik (In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise).Using inside voices, of course. [GREENLIGHT BOOKSTORE]

TUESDAY: Algonquin Night will feature marketing director Craig Popelars sharing book recs and Algonquin authors Jonathan Evison (West of Here) and Kevin Fox (Until the Next Time) discussing “sasquatch, gun-running, marmots, scurvy, ex-girlfriends, and, of course, their latest works.” There is also talk of arm-wrestling. [WORD BOOKSTORE]

WEDNESDAY: Launch party for the second issue of The Milan Review of the Universe, featuring Seth Fried, Lynne Tillman and Robert Lopez. This issue paired writers and artists for 12 chapters based on the signs of the zodiac. [POWERHOUSE ARENA]

THURSDAY: Book party for Sara Benincasa is Agorafabulous!, the funny and poignant memoir of Sara’s attempts to treat her agoraphobia. Includes an open bar. [HOUSING WORKS BOOKSTORE]

FRIDAY: Edmund White will read from his most recent novel Jack Holmes and his Friend, which is about a complex and decades-long friendship between a gay and straight man. [192 BOOKS]