My Last Hundred Bucks: Books, Books, Books, Cigs

by Bennett Madison

Where’d your last hundo go, SEPTEMBER GIRLS author Bennett Madison?

I went to the Brooklyn Book Festival yesterday morning where my friend David Levithan was on a panel talking about his new book, Two Boys Kissing. Also on the panel were Lauren Myracle — who just wrote a book called The Infinite Moment of Us — and the legendary Francesca Lia Block, who wrote the Weetzie Bat books and has a new book out called Love in the Time of Global Warming. She’s one of my heroes and I’d never met her before so I was super-excited.

I brought my own copy of Francesca’s short story collection, Girl Goddess #9, and bought her new book for $16.99, along with a paperback copy of of her book I Was a Teenage Fairy, which was $7. Greenlight Bookstore was selling books at the festival and very kindly did not charge tax. I got Francesca to sign the books and it was kind of thrilling. I tried not to gush too much.

Then I bought a cup of coffee for 1.91 and a pack of gum for a dollar.

After that, David and I drove up to Oblong Books in Rhinebeck where we were doing a reading and signing together with Hollis Seamon and Sara Farizan, who both have new young adult books out. The reading was great and tons of people who I didn’t know bought my book — which is very nice and not necessarily typical of these things. Oblong knows how to throw an event.

I myself bought a copy of Hollis’s book, Someone Up There Hates You, which I read when it was in galleys, and I loved it so much that I wanted to have the hardcover. The bookstore gave me a discount, so that was 14.66.

After the event we went out to dinner in Rhinebeck, which cost $40. I got some kind of fettucine and a glass of wine. It was a little pricey and I thought the meal itself was only okay, but it was a nice time.

I offered David money for gas on the way back but he would not allow it. He dropped me off in Chelsea and I was desperate for a cigarette after the drive so I bought a pack for $14 in the deli, which is obviously the poorest use of my funds imaginable. I swear I am quitting soon. $1.91 — Coffee $1.00 — Gum
$38.65 — Books
$40.00 — Dinner
$14.00 — Cigarettes — — — — — -
$95.56

Bennett Madison is the author of September Girls. Photo by navdeep dihllon

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