Readerly Pursuits, and on seeing Elizabeth Strout with Elizabeth Mosier

With Dangerous Neighbors, my novel about 1876 Philadelphia, now safely in my agent's hands and Small Damages, my novel set mostly on a cortijo in southern Spain, now fully formed, I can again turn my full writerly attention to the stories that others tell. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz, had me laughing (and marveling) this past weekend. The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol is (at long last) next on my list. After that I'll be reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, just because many have and I haven't; subsequently I'll re-read Paul West's Master Class.

But what is in store for tonight is something truly special—a trip to Swarthmore College to see Elizabeth Strout, in the company of my writer/teacher friend, Elizabeth Mosier. Those of you who read my blog post on Strout's Olive Kitteridge know how deep my respect for this writer runs, particularly for this collection of linked short stories. You know how much I think this collection teaches.

A thank you, then, to Libby Mosier, for alerting me to Strout's appearance. The last time Libby and I ventured out into the world of literature together, it was dark and cold and we were sharing a meal with the spectacular Patricia Hampl, a writing heroine who lived up to every one of my expectations. I expect tonight to be just as glittered.