News & Events

Q & A with the New York Times Frugal Traveler

October 20th, 2009

This Q & A between me and Matt Gross, aka the NYT’s Frugal Traveler, covers some of the joys of seeing the world on the cheap: street food, public buses, the hassles and serendipities that ultimately make a trip memorable. If there’d been more space, I would’ve liked to have included one of my experiences where it paid to spend the big dollars: seeing the mountain gorillas of Rwanda in 2007. The permit cost $500 alone — and it was worth every penny. Still, I love the challenge of visiting new countries with a small, fixed budget and then letting the adventures unfold.

ICWT on NPR’s “Morning Edition”

September 13th, 2009

I talked to Steve Inskeep about the history of cheapness and frugality in America, in an interview that aired Sept. 8. Want to know what pop-culture tidbit drew a guffaw from him? Listen in below, or visit the NPR website for the text and audio version.

Morning Edition – In Cheap We Trust

Book Tour!

September 10th, 2009

Friends and readers,

I’ll be visiting Chicago and the West Coast in the next few weeks for a series of readings, and then heading back to New York City and the Northeast for more events. Please try to catch me at one of these great independent bookstores, libraries and literary venues.

Thursday, Sept. 17

WORD Brooklyn

126 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY

7:30 PM

This is the official launch party for ICWT! The evening will feature a short stand-up routine by my father about — what else? — being cheap, along with a clothing swap (bring something, take something; whatever’s left at the end of the night will go to Goodwill).

***

Monday, Sept. 21

Barbara’s Bookstore

1100 Lake Street

Oak Park, IL

7:30 PM — Reading and Q&A

***

Tuesday, Sept. 29

Elliott Bay Book Co.

101 South Main St.

Seattle, WA

7:30 PM – Reading and Q&A

***

Wednesday, Sept. 30

Powell’s Books

1005 W Burnside

Portland, OR

7:30 PM – Reading and Q&A

***

Tuesday, October 6

Green Apple Books and Music

506 Clement Street

San Francisco, CA

7:00 PM – Reading and Q&A

***

Thursday, Oct. 8

Atwater Village Library

3379 Glendale Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

3:30 PM — Reading and Q&A

***

Tuesday, Oct. 13

KGB Bar

85 East 4^th Street

New York, NY

7:00 PM – Reading and book signing (I’ll be doubling up with Rachel Shteir, author of the forthcoming Nation of Thieves, a book about shoplifting)

***

Friday, Oct. 16

RJ Julia Books

768 Boston Post Road

Madison, CT

7:00 PM – Reading and Q&A

***

Saturday, Nov. 7

East Lyme Public Library

39 Society Road

East Lyme, CT

2:00 PM – Reading and Q&A

***

Tuesday, Nov. 17

American Antiquarian Society

185 Salisbury Street

Worcester, MA

7:30 PM – Lecture and Q&A

Launch party for In Cheap We Trust!

August 27th, 2009

Please join me on September 17 for the official launch of In Cheap We Trust, hosted by the wonderful Brooklyn indie bookstore WORD.

A special treat: my father, the inspiration behind every page of ICWT, will be offering a taste of his post-retirement career as a stand-up comic. He’ll do a short comedy routine about — what else? — his famous ability to stretch a dollar til it rips. And in the spirit of the book, there’ll be free treats and a clothing swap after the entertainment, so clean out your closet and bring a few items to trade.

Here are all the details:

September 17, 2009

WORD

126 Franklin Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

7:30 PM

Directions By Subway: Take the G train to the Greenpoint Ave. stop. Exit at the corner of Greenpoint Ave and Manhattan Ave. Walk down Greenpoint Ave towards the East River, away from Starbucks. Make a left at Franklin Street. We are 1 block down at the corner of Franklin and Milton.

My father is being immortalized for rationing our toilet paper

June 29th, 2009

“Marketplace,” the excellent public radio show about business and economics, asked me to write a short tribute to my dad for its Father’s Day broadcast. After it aired, my dad told me he felt the opening was a little harsh,* but he said he appreciated the sentiments at the end. It was all meant with great love. If you’d like to listen to the piece, here it is.

* My father doesn’t remember the heat being as low as 50 degrees in our house. But when I pointed out that my mother and sister back me up on this, he apologized and said he should take us all on a trip to a warm climate. (A friend of mine, on hearing this, said, “Like to the laundry room?”)