Read These Lips

So what’s the verdict on that falling-tree-in-the-woods riddle? Philosophers worldwide might be unsure if said timber makes a noise if no one hears it tip over. But we’re pretty sure that if someone strays from the beaten path and no one hears about it, it can’t change the world. So we’re thanking our lucky stars for Lip Service, a quarterly event where writers and nonwriters alike perform true-story readings at Books & Books.

“These aren’t just ‘listen what happened to me’ stories; these have another layer to them,” says Andrea Askowitz, the event’s coproducer and author of My Miserable, Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy. “They’re stories where the narrator learns something or changes somehow.” Imagine your neighbor finally telling the tale of the scar that wraps around her neck, or your co-worker revealing what gives him the steely resolve to get to the office early and stay late. Expect to find eight people relating their stories in eight minutes, and this is no clumsy open mike — each account has been edited and polished to literary perfection. The storytelling session begins at 7 p.m.
Sat., May 10, 7 p.m., 2008