First off, we have three events going on at the Elliott Bay Book Company today. In the early afternoon, Bucky Sinister reads from Get Up: A 12-Step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks and Weirdos. This is a book about recovering from drugs and alcohol, not recovering from being a misfit, freak or weirdo. Then, Stephen Botek reads from Song on My Lips: Jazz Greats Were My Mentors, which is a memoir about being mentored by jazz greats. And then, in the evening, John Keeble reads from his “almost Faulknerian portrait of the Pacific Northwest,” Yellowfish, which has recently been republished. I have not read it, but I think this would be the reading of the night, just in terms of the stories this man has to be able to tell.

And then, at the Fantagraphics store in Georgetown, JimBill Griffith*, who is the creator of Zippy the Pinhead, will be signing his books. I kind of forgot about Zippy the Pinhead. Back when I read the newspaper every day, it was really nice to read, there at the bottom of the comics page, but I’ve never really enjoyed entire books of his stuff. Still and all, you’ve got to respect the guy for holding down his corner of weird for so long in such a sterile environment.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here.

*I could explain how I pulled up Jim Griffith, but it’s a very long story that involves associations with Andy Griffith, a childhood memory, and a not-very-funny story. Apologies to Bill Griffith and to everyone else who read Reading Tonight before I realized my error.