Join us at H&H Books on Tuesday, Oct. 14 as we welcome authors Alejandro Varela and Joseph Earl Thomas to celebrate Alejandro's new novel, MIDDLE SPOON. An audience Q&A and book signing will follow their reading and discussion. This event is free, but registration on Eventbrite is highly recommended!
About MIDDLE SPOON:
"Dear Ben, I wouldn't have thought it possible for me at this age and at this otherwise fruitful moment in my life to plumb a new low."
So begins MIDDLE SPOON, a one-sided epistolary novel in which our narrator (happily married, adorable kids, comfortable life in Brooklyn, etc.) has just been unceremoniously, abruptly dumped by his young, hot boyfriend. He spirals into first-time heartbreak and must confront a world still struggling to understand polyamorous relationships.
MIDDLE SPOON skewers the unspoken rules we still live by--from taboos around intimacy to the shortcomings of Oscar season, pop culture, and gluten-free food--offering a surprising perspective on love, loss, and reinvention. Heart-wrenching and uproariously funny, this is a book for anyone who has longed, nursed a broken heart, or grappled with love at its messiest.
About the Authors:
Alejandro Varela’s debut novel, The Town of Babylon, was a finalist for the National Book Award. His short story collection, The People Who Report More Stress, was one of Publishers Weekly’s best works of fiction in 2023, a finalist for the International Latino Book Awards, and longlisted for the Aspen Literary Prize, the Story Prize, and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. Varela is an editor-at-large of Apogee Journal, holds a master’s degree in public health, and is based in New York.
Joseph Earl Thomas is the author of Sink, a memoir, the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, winner of the Center for Fiction first novel prize, and the story collection Leviathan Beach. His work has been published in The Paris Review, The Verge, Vanity Fair, Harper’s, Dilettante Army, The Yale Review & elsewhere. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s MFA program, he also earned his PhD in English at The University of Pennsylvania. He teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Holy Family University’s Low Residency MFA Program, as well as Literature, Black Studies, Anime, and Video Games at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.
Ready to read? MIDDLE SPOON will be available in-store at H&H Books beginning Sept. 9. You can also preorder a copy on our ecommerce site. Joseph's books, SINK: A MEMOIR and GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER (both of which are H&H staff faves) are available now in-store and online. And you can read more about both authors' work on H&H's website.
Registration is highly recommended! Tickets are free, but an attendance count helps us organize our space and plan even more events for our community.
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