Steve Almond is reading at Powell's tonight, from his new book Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life (how is it possible that title was still available?). Steve Almond is the very funny author of Candyfreak and the essay collection (Not That You Asked). My favorite piece of writing from him is from that collection—this essay about Kurt Vonnegut, “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt," which might make you teary, if you are a person who feels things, so be careful where you read it.

The Rumpus has an excerpt from Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life; it's funny. (On trying, unsuccessfully, to schedule an interview with Dave Grohl: "My life had become a Beckett play, as adapted for the stage by Chuck Klosterman.")

Almond will be at the downtown Powell's at 7:30 pm—but he's also telling a a story at tomorrow night's Back Fence, PDX. Would you like to win a pair of tickets to Back Fence, Portland's wildly popular storytelling event, as well as a copy of Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life? Okay. Email me by 9 am tomorrow with "Almond" in the subject line, and I'll pick a winner at random first thing in the morning. Check back on Blogtown tomorrow for an interview with another Back Fence storyteller, Jillian Lauren, author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem.