rob roberge's blog

Tod Goldberg is reading tonight in Westwood from his new collection Simplify, which you should go and buy. And, if you get the chance, ask Tod about genital or anal fisting. He loves those Q's...

This (below) is from Tod's blog.....

Sunday, 7pm, Borders Books & Music in Westwood (1360 Westwood Blvd, just south of Wilshire): The First Official Tod Goldberg Reads His Work In Los Angeles Event. No actors at this one, just me, my god, my country, and my undying faith in the sales power of Borders Books.

What You Can Expect At This Event: 1. Me, reading a story. I've not decided yet what I'm going to read, so if anyone has any suggestions, get them in soon. I'm edging towards "The Last Time We Never Met" but could be persuaded to read "Rise John Wayne & Rebuke Them" but not "Simplify" because, well, it takes about 40 minutes to read that story and even I get bored of that.

2. Some banter. I'm hoping for a good sized crowd and a good sized crowd always means I get to banter. I may even decide to have someone come up and banter with me. If you have any suggestions, or would like to be the one, do let me know.

3. My family. Here's your chance to witness first hand the Partridge Family of publishing. Talk to Lee about fan fiction, crime fiction and TV. Talk to Linda and Karen about art and journaling and travel and inspiration (not of the god variety, but of the creative, though Karen knows some god stuff, too).

4. Me wearing my official "tour outfit." It's pressed. It's clean. It's ready to go. I've tried it out at several events in the Midwest and Bay Area and it's a keeper. Classy, yet sexy. Professional, yet whimsical. Masculine, but tastefully done.

5. Michael Silverblatt. Or, at least, an imitation of him done personally for you, face to face. It's a thing of lasting beauty, I assure you.

What You Will Not Experience: Air quotes, vis-a-vis, motif, theme, a discussion on the latest book by Salman Rushdie (I have lied to people recently and said how much I loved it, but, alas, haven't actually read it), air kisses (If you wanna air kiss me, cool, no problem, but I'm going for the mouth and my tongue is coming with me), me pestering you about whether or not you're writing (this is for scared former students who think I'll badger them about their books...I'll just email you later), mentions of Hurricane Katrina as "our tsunami" or 9/11 as "our Pearl Harbor" or George W. Bush as "our President," any conversations that begin, "Yesterday, when I was re-reading The DaVinci Code..." and fucktards. I swear, all of my events are fucktard free.

So come by Sunday night. Even if you don't want to buy a book and just want to see what I look like in real life, I'd be happy to see you. (And by you, I mean, Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. ) And the rest of you should come, too.

# posted by Rob Roberge @ 9:43 AM