Hot trends on the literary scene

Tonight is your chance to celebrate with my friend Katia Noyes the publication of her book Crashing America. The party is tonight at 7 pm at Varnish Fine Arts, 77 Natoma in SF [ map it ]

Yesterday before and after my little medical moment, I read n + 1 magazine, which has gotten a lot of publicity because of its author Benjamin Kunkel (who has gotten a lot of publicity because of his new novel Indecision). I did really like n+1. It has a lot of interesting stuff in it -- mostly, to my surprise, nonfiction.

Among the way-too-many books I bought this month is Yiyun Li's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. I first heard of it at Squaw from NPR book reviewer Allan Cheuse, who led one of our workshops -- he said it was extraordinary. If this article is any sign, this book will be huge, huge. Think of the market! Middle class Asians, diversity-minded college students, fans of Amy Tan, and half the book clubs in the country. All for a short story collection. Go Yiyun. (Her name is her only obstacle to success. And the title of her book isn't the easiest thing to remember either.)