readings past

I was lucky enough to participate in two great readings in the past two weeks. The first was InDigest's flash fiction night at La Poisson Rouge with Ann DeWitt, Shya Scanlon, Robert Lopez and John Jodzio. The second was the always packed and awesome Franklin Park reading series with Caitlin Harper, Courtney Maum, Victor LaValle, and Tayari Jones.

The latter got a great write-up by Ryan Chang in Electric Literature's Outlet blog. Very complimented by this line:

Michel reads sternly, tinged with finality, but his narrator’s child logic evokes the comic element of his fiction, locating that delicate place between comedy and tragedy.

UPDATE: Electric Literature also published a review of the InDigest reading by David Moscovich.

boring personal reading habits: 50 literary pillars

I've been enjoying the William H. Gass inspired "50 literary pillars" series at Big Other, where guests such as Christine Schutt, Matt Bell, and Samuel R. Delaney post their 50 favorite books. The list by Gass which inspired the series can be found on Goodreads.

When I logged onto Goodreads to see Gass's list, I checked my own list of favorite books, which happens to stand at 54 books. This is a very casual list that I've added a book to now and then since 2007, when I apparently first started a Goodreads account. It isn't a carefully compiled list that I agonized over to make sure I represented my various interests, had a good balance of different types of literature, and so forth.

But, as such, it may actually be more telling than a list that one I'd consciously compile for publication. Unedited list and comments after the jump.