EVENT: Tonight Coney Island historian Charles Denson will be enlightening all about the "Genesis of the Coney Island History Project" at the American Folk Art Museum. He'll be discussing "the fascinating changes Coney Island has undergone" from its amusement park glory days to its struggle to survive. Expect to see some never-before-seen photos. More info here. 6:30pm // American Folk Art Museum [45 W 53rd St] // $10 MUSIC: We highly recommend getting over to......

Jenni Ferrari-Adler has held many jobs—egg-seller, literary agency assistant, reader for The Paris Review—but her latest accomplishment is as the editor of a mouth-watering anthology of essays entitled Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant. Born out of a summer spent subsisting largely on cereal and water while finishing up her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, Ferrari-Adler wanted to explore what comfort food, solo food, meant to her favorite writers. Collected here......

MUSIC: It's been a while since we've heard from Laura Veirs (pictured). Tonight she's back with her backing band, The Saltbreakers. Opening up the show are the always enjoyable Charles Bissell (of The Wrens) and Lake. Related: Want to be a temporary 5th Wren? Listen: Magnetized.mp3 - Laura Viers 7pm // Gramercy Theater [127 East 23rd St] // $16 COMEDY: If you like guessing games, you'll like What's My Line? Live in NYC!: "We'll be......

VINYL SALE: If you're looking for some rare vinyl, you might want to check out this monthly event: Shakey's Record Fair. A meatpacking district locale seems...a little off, but as FreeNYC points out, if you're "looking for that super rare old school funktified 7"...Shakey's Record Fair is probably the only place you'll find it." 8pm // APT [419 W 13th St] // Free THEATER: Rules of the Universe is a new site-specific play performed in......

Because everything is better when conducted under a gorgeous chandelier, head down to the National Arts Club for Literary Debuts: First Books by Two Authors. Reading tonight at the auspicous Gramercy Park location are Edward Schwarzchild and his new book, Responsible Men, alongside Ronna Wineberg's Second Language. The Club is at 15 Gramercy Park and the event is free, and open to the public, starting at 8PM. At Labyrinth Books (536 W. 112th St.) on......

Last year Jonathan Ames and Moby shared a stage at Bowery Ballroom. This year, this month to be exact, the two will join forces again for the Jonathan Ames & Moby Show. What is this show? It will be a "downtown Dick Cavett/Smothers Brothers/Letterman/variety-show explosion." The hosts, Ames and Moby, will perform and "reveal their innermost selves to the audience". Scary. They'll also invite comedians, musicians, burlesque artists, puppet-acts, and magicians to perform. This is......

It's a packed week for the bookish types, with a couple of our favorite love-to-hate-them New York novelists on the readings circuit. Yeah, we're talking about the Jonathans. On Wednesday (2/22) Lethem is hosting a short-story evening at Symphony Space (W. 92nd St. and Broadway), with stories by James Thurber, Italo Calvino, and Jorge Luis Borges read by Malachy McCourt, Maria Tucci and Isaiah Sheffer. The show starts at 8PM and costs $21/25. And not......

Dave Eggers and Paul Auster start a band...it sounds like the beginning of a joke. For better or worse, it's not. Joe Pacheco's documentary, As Smart As They Are: The Author Project documents how the McSweeney's in-house band, One Ring Zero, collaborated with some writers to make Lit Rock. The documentary includes live performances, studio sessions and interviews with the writers and musicians, while exploring relationships between music and literature. The featured players are Dave......

Most of the time, Gothamist is happy to watch TV and our Netflix and be ok with not reading stuff. But when we got our mitts on a book written by a TV writer, it seemed like a decent compromise. Six Feet Under writer and producer Jill Soloway's book Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants is pretty hilarious and she will be doing a couple of book signings and shows this week that Gothamist is very......

Obviously Labor Day is the weekend to kick back and squeeze out the final drops of summer before retiring your Nantucket Reds in favor of muted browns and tweeds. Obviously. And obviously the last thing you ought to do on a weekend such as this is put any effort into anything. However, Gothamist highly recommends you take action as soon as possible to snag the now-on-sale tickets to see Elliot Kalan’s interview with Stephen Colbert......

Mike Daisey, Monologuist...

Lea Thau, Director, The Moth...

David Amsden, Writer...

826NYC has had some good events in the past, and they keep on comin'. Up next... Tin House and McSweeney's team up for an evening of reading and music to benefit 826NYC, with music by David Byrne and David Gates and His Enablers, and readings by Robert Coover, Susan Choi, Dave Eggers, Elissa Schappell, Rick Moody and host Jonathan Ames. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling (718) 499-9884 during business hours. June......