Feeling Woefully Under-read

The past two years I've wanted to attend the Brooklyn Book Festival, but life got in the way. This September, it's going to happen. I recently checked the list of authors and participants. Know how many authors I've read?

Five.*

That seems to be an incredibly paltry number. In preparation for the September event, I will read, um, more. How many more? I'd like to at least double my number. I've got a month and a half, so that is definitely doable.

Some possibilities:

Half-Lit Houses, Tina Chang, who apparently is Brooklyn's poet laureate. I didn't know that such a post existed! Her New York Times profile makes her seem irresistible, and I love the title of her first collection.

A Tiger in the Kitchen, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. I like food. I (often) like memoirs. I'm not crazy about the cover (and yes, I often judge a book that way) but her blog is beautiful, so I'm willing to give it a try.

Vaclav & Lena, Haley Tanner. I like Brooklyn. I'm a bit trepidatious about this one, as the Times review says that it's overly dramatic in places. I usually like reserved writing. 

I think I'll print the list of authors and stick it in my wallet to have handy next time I'm wandering the library or bookstore.

Oooooh! After printing the list, I realized that my good friend's brother, David Ezra Stein, is on it! He's a children's book writer and illustrator. I wasn't paying too much attention to that section, as I don't typically read children's books. Maybe it's cheating, but I'm going to make sure to read one of his books (Interrupting Chicken, maybe?) to count towards my five to be read.


*For the record: Johnathan Safran Foer, Chuck Klosterman, Nicole Krauss, Joyce Carol Oates, Téa Obreht.