Mr. George Saunders has a new book (The Braindead Megaphone, a curious cover by Rodrigo Corral) out and he had a reading at the Barnes & Noble at Chelsea tonight. We got there just in time, but not in time for a good view. We were way in the back and I could barely hear him.

When did Saunders get this popular? I’m waiting for him to come up on the David Letterman Show right now and the main guests are him and Jessica Alba. I wonder how many MacArthur Geniuses have been invited to the show.

Saunders always havs something modest and interesting to say. During the Q&A he talked about being critical of your own work. He said something about a folk singer, that he would compare his own lyrics to that of Bob Dylan’s and feel that his own work is terrible. But instead of being discouraged, he’d see it as there being a lot of room for improvement. By the same token, if you’re really happy and satisfied about your own work… well, we hope that you grow out of it quickly.

The meta-picture above: Hand Job: A Catalog of Type by Michael Perry. Lots of hand lettering goodness. More on the book later.