• Muslim-by-way-of-Portland blogger Laila Lalami celebrates the publication of her first novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, with a reading at the Barnes and Noble on Astor Place tonight. If you re gonna be a Muslim blogger in this country, you might as well be one in Portland. [flavorpill]
• More hot writer-on-writer action at Housing Works Used Book Caf : short story scribe Nathan Englander talks with novelist Myla Goldberg about her latest work, Wickett s Remedy, which chronicles the adventures of a woman during the influenza epidemic of 1918. Timely! [Housing Works]
• Raucous bar band The Hold Steady headlines a show at Webster Hall tonight for self-loathing hipsters. Ben Folds plays Radio City for those looking for something a little easier on the ears and a lot easier on the liver. [Upcoming x2]