Comedian, writer, and Brooklin summer resident John Hodgman will read from his recent book, Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches, at the Blue Hill Public Library on Tuesday, May 29th at 7:00 PM. In the book, which will be newly released in paperback, Hodgman wanders “the hills of Western Massachusetts where he spent much of his youth; the painful beaches of Maine that want to kill him (and some day will); and the metaphoric haunted forest of middle age that connects them.”
Vacationland follows these “real life wanderings, and through them you learn of the horror of freshwater clams, the evolutionary purpose of the mustache, and which animals to keep as pets and which to kill with traps and poison. There is also some advice on how to react when the people of coastal Maine try to sacrifice you to their strange god.”
John Hodgman is the author of three books of fake facts and invented trivia, all of them New York Times Bestsellers, and his writing has also appeared in The Paris Review, This American Life, The New Yorker, and Mad Magazine. After an appearance to promote his books on “The Daily Show,” he was invited to return as a contributor, serving as the show’s “Resident Expert” and “Deranged Millionaire.” He is the host of the popular Judge John Hodgman podcast, where he settles serious disputes, such as “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” He also contributes a weekly column under the same name to The New York Times Magazine.
Books will be available for sale and signing. This event is sponsored by the library and Blue Hill Books, there is no charge, and everyone is welcome. For more information, call the library at 374-5515.
