DRESS TO EXPRESS

Don’t put away that costume trunk yet, just because Halloween is over!

Suppose you were asked to dress up as your favorite literary character. Would you choose your actual favorite character? Or would you choose the one with the coolest outfit?

Alice or the Mad Hatter? Harry Potter or Bellatrix LeStrange? Fitz or the Fool?

You’ll get your chance to choose next week, when Bookshop Santa Cruz hosts A Literary Masquerade in honor of visiting author Erin Morgenstern. Highly acclaimed (and justly so) for her enchanting debut novel, The Night Circus, a few years ago, Morgenstern is coming to town with her brand new novel, The Starless Sea.

The BSC event page (featuring starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist . . . well, you get the idea) calls the new book “a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.”

I am so there! No, I haven’t read the new book yet, but I adored The Night Circus beyond all reason.

Among many other aspects, I loved Morgenstern’s canny use of Tarot cards to enhance the story. (You know how I feel about Tarot cards!)  When I found out she had designed her own set, based on fanciful images from her book, I was delighted; even more so when she generously granted me permission to post a couple of them on my blog when I posted my review. 

The BSC event unfolds next Tuesday, November 12, at the DNA Comedy Lab (formerly the Riverfront Cinema, 155 S. River Street, downtown Santa Cruz). Festivities begin at 6 pm, with the Masquerade, for which participants are invited to dress up to express their favorite literary character, for dancing, refreshments, and other activities. 

At 7 pm, Morgenstern will take the stage in conversation with Michael Chemers, Professor of Dramatic Literature in the Department of Theater Arts at UC Santa Cruz. Admission is $37, which includes a copy of The Starless Sea, a number for the book-signing line, an unassigned seat for the book talk, and access to all activities. Visit the BSC website for tickets and other info.

Why are you still sitting there? Get to work on that costume!