Went to a reading at Village Voice books in the 6th by Jhumpa Lahiri and Mavis Gallant.  Jhumpa is one of my favorite contemporary writers.  Her short stories are brilliant old-fashioned tales about family, love, loss and longing.  She counts Mavis Gallant as one of her inspirations.  Gallant has lived and worked in Paris for fifty years and she is one of those "writer's writers" whose influence is greater than their sales figures.  

The place was packed to the rafters and full of wealthy, articulate, sophisticated characters who all seemed to know each other.  It felt like we had wandered into a Woody Allen movie!  The reading was wonderful and 87 year-old Mavis in particular had the crowd in stitches with a very funny (and racy) piece she wrote a few years ago.   Jhumpa was very gracious, intelligent, down to earth and self-deprecating and we came away liking her even more.