november was cool: book readings in brooklyn

In November I was invited to give two book readings in New York City, both in Brooklyn.

One was at VoxPop, a cozy, bright and friendly little bookstore / cafe / music space a bit south of Prospect Park. The other is Sunny's Bar in Red Hook, a lovely place run by the charming Sunny, where novelist Gabriel Cohen hosts a monthly reading series.

At both venues I spoke for a bit, then invited audience members to join in dramatic readings of correspondences between scammers and people who love to yank their chains. Some material was from the book, some was from the archives.

People enjoy reading out loud. It used to be quite a family and social thing to do. At VoxPop we were graced by the presence of Claire Beckman, artistic director of Brave New World Repertory Theater. An actual actor! But everyone who read was good, and fun was had by all, especially with the story of the prankster who tried to sell a *scammer* the Brooklyn Bridge.

Readings are fun. I'd like to do more, suggestions for venues are welcome. [not Lagos, sorry! although come to think of it, there are Nigerian scambaiters, and they may be hella funny - certainly they'd have the best foundation for stringing a 419er along. Somewhere a Nigerian is probably writing a terrific novel about all of this.]