Category: reading

LJ Cohen reads in front of a sizeable audience

On January 31, 2026, I gave a reading from A Familiar Problem as part of the Straw Dog Writers Guild January Showcase. Authors who published a book in 2025 were eligible and a dozen were drawn from a hat. I got to read third.

As I arrived, the traffic in downtown Northampton was terrible. I had left plenty of time because I know that parking can often be hard to find, but just getting to the venue was a challenge. Luckily I found a parking place without difficulty and arrived in good order.

There was a sizeable audience. The Straw Dog Writers Guild tends older, female, and queer. I think there were two other men besides me. But I’ve been involved with Straw Dog long enough that I’m nearly a fixture, so I always feel welcome.

The reading was held in the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Museum in the Forbes Library in Northampton. The wood paneling and large portraits of the former President and his wife made for an elegant backdrop to the reading.

Lindsay Rockwell (pictured to the left) led the organizing for the event and welcomed the audience. I’ve served with Lindsay for several years on the Program Committee and she did a fantastic job bringing everyone together.

Andrea Hairston served as emcee. She introduced each author and brought an enthusiastic energy to the role.

Most of the readings were of poetry or memoir. My offering of my weird speculative fiction was accepted with good humor, although someone always comments how weird my writing is. And I don’t even read any of the REALLY WEIRD bits.

One of the readers, LJ Cohen (pictured at the top), also write speculative fiction. I know her from Mastodon and we’ve met a couple of times at conventions (Arisia and Readercon). I decided to buy a copy of her book and got her to sign it.

After the reading concluded, I was able to pitch my books. I even sold a couple.

After I left, I saw why the traffic had been so congested: there were ice sculptures all over town, beautifully illuminated in the dark. It was a nice way to end the day as I headed home.

Reading nook with an old chair, floor lamp, and large TBR

I’ve been reluctant to admit it, but I’ve been having trouble finishing books. Or, indeed, even starting books. I’d heard of “writer’s block” but is there such a thing as “reader’s block”? It perhaps began even before the pandemic — certainly since then — that I’ve struggled to make myself read whole books. Over the past few months, I’ve checked out perhaps a dozen books from the library and returned them all unfinished — some unopened.

I decided recently that I was going to make myself start reading again. I spent some time thinking about it and realized one problem was that, for various reasons, I didn’t have a place to read anymore. So I set about to create one.

My office had gotten taken over, at one point, as a storage room, and was choked with boxes. Buried in them was an old antique chair, so I extracted the chair and banished enough of the boxes to make a space. Then I went to the store and bought new floor lamp, so I’d have enough light to read by. And I set up a side table to hold my TBR pile and a coffee cup. And then I started to read.

On my last trip to the library, I had checked out Katherine Addison’s The Tomb of Dragons. It was wonderful! I enjoyed reading it a lot. And I finished it. After reading it, however, I realized something else.

I read books differently now that I’ve written books of my own. Rather than becoming purely immersed in the story, I find myself frequently distracted by observations on the craft of the author. Why did they choose to include this detail? Why did they select a conlang term for this item and not that? Why? Why? Why? I think that was part of what was making it hard to read books. Now that I’ve recognized it, I can adapt.

Anyway, I went through the house and collected together my whole TBR pile(s) and, while I have the holiday and intersession before me, I plan to try to make plenty of time to read.

name tag and lanyard

My first appearances of 2026 have been scheduled! Some of these are still preliminary and may change, but I wanted to get them out in time to share in my January newsletter.

At Arisa 2026 (January 16-19), I am scheduled to moderate one panel and serve on four others:

Manga 101: Introduction to Japanese Comics
Kendall Square Saturday, January 17, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Don’t Know Much About Geography–But You Should!
Porter Square A Saturday, January 17, 2026, 5:30 PM EST

Artist, Craftsperson, Maker, Crafter, Hacker – What’s in a Name?
Central Square Saturday, January 17, 2026, 6:45 PM EST

Your Fat Friends
Porter Square A Sunday, January 18, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Isekai 101: Surviving Your Time In Another World (moderator)
Harvard Square Monday, January 19, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

There is still a chance I will get an opportunity to read at Arisia. The schedule is still being finalized.

On January 31, I have been selected to read from A Familiar Problem at the Straw Dog Writers Guild Author Showcase at 4pm at the Forbes Library in Northampton. I will also be bringing copies of my books to sell!

Later in the year, I’m tentatively planning to attend Watch City, the Nebula Conference, and Readercon again. I’m also proposing myself to be a participant at Worldcon. I’ll post further updates as we get closer!