As big parties go, his were bigger than most, with a feast and a band for no reason

Swear to god, you scrape a fingernail on these guys and they just bleed racism all day long.

That third picture is *most of the people in Duluth.*

I've seen it once in NY and once in Chicago, but it's hardly ever produced because of having like 30 characters, most of whom are hard to double-cast (and also because it's weird, but I love it very much.) Anyway, this part is fun:

Have you ever heard/seen the opera adaptation that Shostakovich made from that Gogol story?

Thank you for your books! Cleanness was a revelation for me, and I'm looking forward to digging into Small Rain!

I've never met Garth, but Brandon and I were longtime Twitter mutuals and I had the chance to take him out to dinner when he was in Minneapolis for a book event a couple years back. He's a delight.

And no surprise about that, given that it's Taylor and Greenwell. But it's hitting me in places I did *not* expect. (Also reminding me that both of their new novels are sitting next to my comfy chair at home and need to be read.)