This highlights one of the ongoing challenges with literature and the fetish thereof that exists: it's not social.

I like to read, and do a lot. But part of the allure of spending my entertainment energy into TV and Movies and Music is that it is largely social; I can talk about it with others.

Outside of the oft-talked about but rarely executed well book club, talking about books with others is usually a 1-way street. Few people are reading the same books within the same time frame.

So, going to the Sorrento to sit near others who are reading, but reading different things, is an interesting exercise, which I may partake in, but which is socially awkward, no?

Actually, it's not -- it's a social event where you are not required to make awkward small talk. In fact, small talk is discouraged, because everyone is there to just hang out and drink and eat snacks and read. The pressure is off. It bizarrely kinda makes you want to make small talk.

Plus, watching people read is sexy.

Could we HAVE a little more warning time? :) I have plans tonight and really want to go to one of these to read on my Kindle iPhone application!!

@2…now, that I get. The ruse of it all… ;-)

I would do this in a heartbeat if I were in Seattle. Especially since that picture is oddly alluring. Makes me want to sit in a comfy chair and drink old-fashioneds.

@ 3 -- It's every other Wednesday, like I been sayin! In other words, the next one is April 7. The one after that is April 21.

The temptation to sneak peeks and ask "so, what's yours?" would be unbearable, I'm afraid. I'd probably end up winking and smirking and twitching and eye-rolling like a bad Woody Allen parody, and be asked to leave.

They have to do something about that rug!!

Fnarf, I sympathize. Whenever I'm sitting at the breakfast table with my boyfriend and we're both flipping through the newspaper, I last a maximum of 10 minutes before deciding either that the story he's reading is way better than mine and I need to read it over his shoulder, or that my story is so goddamn fascinating I need to read it out loud to him.