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The Reading Life with Jason Berry

Hello, and welcome to The Reading Life, your weekly look at the Louisiana literary scene. I’m Susan Larson. Today, I’ll be talking with Jason Berry about his new book, “City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300.”

Here’s what’s on tap in the literary life this week:

  • Sally Asher and artist Melissa Vandiver sign “Mermaids of New Orleans, Sunday, November 11from noon to 3p.m. at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas during the Weeki Wachee Mermaids performance. They will also appear Sunday, November 11 at 4 p.m. at Blue Cypress Books during the Po-Boy Festival, and again Thursday, November 15, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Seven Three Distilling, 301 N. Claiborne.
  • The Garden District Book Shop presents Howard Philips Smith and Frank Perez discussing and signing their books “Unveiling the Muse” and “Southern Decadence in New Orleans,” Sunday, November 11, from 4-6 p.m. at the Armeinius Den, 433 N. Broad St. The event also features a preview of Armeinius 2019.
  • Maria Olsen discusses and signs “50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life,” Monday, November 12, at 6 p.m. at Garden District Book Shop.
  • Michael Tisserand signs the paperback edition of “Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White,” Tuesday, November 13, at 6 p.m. at The Treme Coffeehouse, 1501 St. Philip St., just down the street from Herriman’s birthplace.
  • Jason Berry discusses and signs “City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300,” Tuesday, November 13, at 6 p.m. at Garden District Book Shop; Wednesday, November 14, at 6 p.m. at Octavia Books; Thursday, November 15, at 7 p.m. at the East Bank Regional Library in Metairie; and Friday, November 16, at 7:30 at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
  • The UNO Creative Writing Workshop will host a reading by poets Melinda Palacio and Neil Shepard on Wednesday, November 14, at 8 p.m., at the UNO Lakeside Campus, Liberal Arts Building, Room 197.
  • Eugenia Kim signs her novel, “The Kinship of Secrets,” Thursday October 15, at 6 p.m. at Octavia Books.
  • Editorial cartoonist Walt Handelsman discusses and signs his new book, “I’m Drawing as Fast as I Can,” Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. at the New Orleans Advocate Gallery, 840 St. Charles Ave. Free, but registration required at theneworleansadvocate.com/waltnight.
  • Folwell Dunbar signs “He Falls Well: A Memoir of Survival,” Thursday, November 15, at 6 p.m. at the Alvar Branch Library.
  • Wayne Curtis and Sheryl St. Germain appear in the Dogfish Reading Series, Thursday, November 15, at 7 pm. at 2448 N. Villere.
  • Bryan Batt and Katy Danos discuss and sign “Pontchartrain Beach: A Family Affair,” Saturday, November 17, at 11 a.m. at Barnes & Noble/Metairie.
  • This week the big event is Words and Music: A Literary Feast in New Orleans, takes place November 15-18, headquartered at the Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette Hotel. Among the authors appearing are Leah Chase, Justin Nystrom, Jason Berry in conversation with TR Johnson, Kelly Harris DeBerry in conversation with Melissa Weber, DJ Soul Sister; Kim Vaz DeVille, Alison Pelegrin, James Nolan, Peter Cooley, Nicole Cooley, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin. For more information, check out the Facebook page.
  • And get ready for Improvisation: New Orleans’ Gift to the Modern World: A Tricentennial Conference, November 30-December 3, at various locations throughout the city. The conference is an outgrowth of Randy Fertel’s book, “A Taste for Chaos: The Art of Literary Improvisation,” and will gather together writers, musicians, theaters and storytellers for workshops and master classes as well as other performances. For complete info and tickets, go to improvconference nola.com.
The Reading Life in 2010, Susan Larson was the book editor for The New Orleans Times-Picayune from 1988-2009. She has served on the boards of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival and the New Orleans Public Library. She is the founder of the New Orleans chapter of the Women's National Book Association, which presents the annual Diana Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction.. In 2007, she received the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the literary community. She is also the author of The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans. If you run into her in a local bookstore or library, she'll be happy to suggest something you should read. She thinks New Orleans is the best literary town in the world, and she reads about a book a day.