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Dennis from Los Angeles is reading Necroscope by Brian Lumley April 5, 2012 - 12:38pm

Hey everyone,

I don't post here nearly enough, but hopefully you know me as one of the guys who helped create this loveable little site.  I live in Los Angeles, but grew up in NY and tend to visit my family there a few times a year.  So while talking to Rob Hart and Josh Chaplinsky about an upcoming trip to NY in July, it occurred to me that we probably have quite a few members who live in the tri-state area.

So I propose we schedule a good ol' fashion LitReactor meet-up!  (Note: it would have to be in the first week of July some time.)

Before we pick a specific date and a venue, let's see how much interest there is in this.  So let me know if you'd be down for this, and if we get enough interest, we'll green-light it.  I'd also appreciate any recommendations for dates and venues.  If we have a small gathering, we can hit up a bar in Manhattan on a weeknight.  If it becomes larger than that, we can choose somewhere bigger to meet.

Have at it!

Rob's picture
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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 5, 2012 - 12:39pm

This will be fun! I promise to drink too much. 

.'s picture
. April 5, 2012 - 12:49pm

I can do New York.

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner April 5, 2012 - 12:50pm

New York is cool. I think I'll stay in the hostel in mid-town. Cheap, lots of cool people ect ect

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 5, 2012 - 12:59pm

Oh, I see Dennis, trying to go all official on our asses! This does sound fun. Damn July? I will be in France.

You guys have fun. And make sure to let Rob drink too much.

Laramore Black's picture
Laramore Black from Joplin, Missouri is reading Mario Kart 8 April 5, 2012 - 1:03pm

I will be in France.

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 5, 2012 - 1:05pm

That dude speaks the language.

XyZy's picture
XyZy from New York City is reading Seveneves and Animal Money April 5, 2012 - 1:44pm

I like meet-ups in New York during the first week of July where Rob drinks too much, too... as well.

What about KGB bar?

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Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin April 5, 2012 - 1:50pm

New York is cool. I have interest but I'd need to know more.

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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 5, 2012 - 2:00pm

@XyZy KGB would be a good option, but only if it's not too crowded and if we have a small group. That also gives us the bar across the street, which I think is called Stillwell now but I still call 4th Street Bar because that's what it was when I went there. 

Though, if there's a lot of people, this might not work. There's a bar in Alphabet City that's up the block from Ace Bar that's pretty good and has a good amount of space. I can't remember the name, ever. 

So many options!

Americantypo's picture
Americantypo from Philadelphia is reading The Bone Clocks April 5, 2012 - 3:09pm

I live in Philly, but depending on the date, I'd be up for a NYC trip. I think I might know a few people there that I could crash with.

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia April 5, 2012 - 4:48pm

I'm possibly interested in new york

NikKorpon's picture
NikKorpon from Baltimore is reading Book and books and books and April 5, 2012 - 4:51pm

I might try to Bolt Bus it up there form Bawlmer. If nothing else, at least for the day. Have to feel it out as the time gets closer.

Bill Tucker's picture
Bill Tucker from Austin, Texas is reading Grimm's Fairy Tales (1st Edition) April 5, 2012 - 5:04pm

I'm totally down for an NYC meet up.  @ Rob, you're thinking of Stillwater which is on 4th and 2nd.  Not a bad place at all for a meet up.  My hockey team does their pre season get togethers there.  Food's not terrible and some nights they have dollar tacos.  Fairly awful dollar tacos, but they help the booze go down.  The other place you mentioned, Ace, is on 5th between A and B.  That's the official bar of my hockey league, so I'm there every Sunday afternoon.  Only problem is it's really dark, to the point where you can hardly see anybody.

Will keep this in mind for other locations as the day gets closer.

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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 5, 2012 - 5:23pm

Ace may be dark, but it also has skeeball. So there's that. Also, who needs good lighting in a bar? If I'm meeting a bunch of strangers off the interwebz, I'm thinking this calls for a low-light environment.

Bill Tucker's picture
Bill Tucker from Austin, Texas is reading Grimm's Fairy Tales (1st Edition) April 5, 2012 - 6:04pm

@ Rob: Fair point. They also have pinball, darts and two pool tables.  Yeah, Ace works perfectly for me.

Covewriter's picture
Covewriter from Nashville, Tennessee is reading & Sons April 5, 2012 - 8:28pm

I go to NY a lot but it's work related so probably wouldn't work out for the same time frame, but maybe.

Covewriter's picture
Covewriter from Nashville, Tennessee is reading & Sons April 5, 2012 - 8:30pm

by the way Lost City of Z is awesome. I read that a while back. loved it.

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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 5, 2012 - 9:21pm

We need to get a petition going so that Mark will come.

.'s picture
. April 6, 2012 - 1:06am

Hmmm I talked him into going to Wordstock in October. Ya never know ;)

 

Stacy Kear's picture
Stacy Kear from Bucyrus, Ohio lives in New Jersey is reading The Art of War April 6, 2012 - 8:55am

I'm near the city, I'd be down if I'm around.

Stacy Kear's picture
Stacy Kear from Bucyrus, Ohio lives in New Jersey is reading The Art of War April 6, 2012 - 9:01am

"I'm thinking this calls for a low-light environment" Soo funny

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 6, 2012 - 10:30am

@Dakota: What? Mark is coming to Wordstock?

R.Moon's picture
R.Moon from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's Digest April 6, 2012 - 3:00pm

I may be down. Working with a July birthday, so maybe someone will pay for my trip. 

_'s picture
_ April 8, 2012 - 3:40pm

I'm down. I'm partial to Brooklyn.

Last Exit: This is my local bar. It's smaller. The bartender on Tuesdays & Fridays is a friend of mine. I've DJ'd there a few times. Could do Tues. easily, Friday possibly. The other bartenders on the other nights are also awesome.

Death By Audio: If there's enough interest to warrant it, and if people don't mind all the smoke. All my friends work here and I used to live there so I could book us a weeknight, no problem. A weekend if there are no bands booked. I could also book us bands for the party.

South 4th Bar: There's a "Short Story Thursdays" event that goes on here every week. People get short stories in their emails and then we show up and talk about them. I know the bartender here, who's also a writer.

Montero's: A cool dive bar on Atlantic. Great karaoke on Fridays, Saturdays. Loads of sailing and Navy pics on the wall to stare at. Jukebox.

As far as Manhattan, I'm down for wherever. If you like boxing, Jimmy's Corner has tons of memorabilia and it's got an old school vibe. I like also like Hog's Pit for its cheap BBQ and classic rock. 

I'll sign a petition to get Mark up here.

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break April 9, 2012 - 6:48am

Would love to do this but will have to play it by ear for now.

Rob's picture
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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 10, 2012 - 9:27am

Glad to see everyone's excited about meeting strangers off the internet.

So here's the plan:

We're going to host an official LitReactor event in Manhattan. If people are planning to visit for a few days or live here and want to schedule side-trips to Brooklyn or New Rochelle, that's fine, but as for the main event, we're going to keep that in Manhattan, somewhere south of Union Square. I'm checking out a few venues to see if I can get us some space, even if for two or three hours. 

It'll probably be a Wednesday or Thursday night, but that could change. It probably won't be on a weekend, though, because everything will be way too crowded to accomodate a group of people. 

More info to come. 

And in the meantime, if people want to hash out places to stay, stuff they want to see, that's cool. And hopefully we'll be able to get closer to firming up a date soon. 

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Kirk from Pingree Grove, IL is reading The Book Of The New Sun April 10, 2012 - 12:40pm

I will probably fly in for this. I've never been to NY and this will be on the tail of my epic route 66 trip but I think i can do 2 or 3 nights. Manhattan hotels are cheap, right? 

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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 10, 2012 - 12:48pm

Well, there are cheap hotels in New York City. Though there's a direct correlation between price and likliehood of getting bed bugs/stabbed/an STD. 

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner April 10, 2012 - 12:51pm

Try the hostel in mid-town. Cheap, it's in the city, clean and lots of cool people

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Kirk from Pingree Grove, IL is reading The Book Of The New Sun April 10, 2012 - 1:06pm

I don't mind a little STD scare. Getting stabbed is low on my list of things to try, though.

.'s picture
. April 10, 2012 - 1:25pm

Probably miss this one if it's just bar hopping. Damn my youthful majestic-ness. 

Rob's picture
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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 13, 2012 - 11:26am

So here's what we have so far: 

I'm eyeing a pub in Tribeca. It may not be the East Village, which is my preference, but it's got three subway lines within a few blocks, and there's a few other solid bars in the 'hood (including my favorite ever, The Patriot). 

We're looking at the first week of July, though we're undecided on July 3 (Tuesday) or July 5 (Thursday). We're leaning toward the 5th--but also wondering if maybe the 4th of July week is going to cause problems for people. 

(From my experience, this is actually a good time to visit New York City. Since no one who lives here is actually from here and they all go home for the holidays, and all the richie-riches are heading out to the shore, it's a lot less crowded [though not nearly as empty as the night before Thanskgiving, when neighborhoods like Park Slope and the East Village are essentially ghost towns].)

And, it seems as though there are some people considering coming from out of town for this shindig. If you're looking for a tour guide, me and some of the other locals here might be able to help you out. 

Anyway. Thoughts, everybody? 

Bill Tucker's picture
Bill Tucker from Austin, Texas is reading Grimm's Fairy Tales (1st Edition) April 13, 2012 - 11:47am

I'm down with Tribeca and I think I've been to the Patriot.  If it's the bar I'm thinking of, it was indeed the shit.  As for July 4th, I usually stay in town for the exact reasons you mention, so I'd be fine with either the 3rd or the 5th.

jaydesummers's picture
jaydesummers from Canada is reading The Secret Garden and City of Glass April 13, 2012 - 2:32pm

As one who isn't a native of NYC and still gets lost on the subway in Toronto, I must respectfully decline. :(

But someone better have a drink on my behalf!

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Kirk from Pingree Grove, IL is reading The Book Of The New Sun April 17, 2012 - 7:43am

I'm a square so I don't really have any plans for those dates and can probably do it.

Joshua Chaplinsky's picture
Joshua Chaplinsky from New York is reading Library Books April 17, 2012 - 4:12pm

I'm in.

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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this April 18, 2012 - 8:19am

Oh, Josh... hey man... um... was kinda hoping you wouldn't see this thread. We uh... had to cancel? So even if you see us planning it and all ready to go out to the bar, yea, we had to cancel. Sorry. 

 

(Psst, everyone, we didn't actually cancel. I just don't want Josh to come. Don't tell him though.)
Joshua Chaplinsky's picture
Joshua Chaplinsky from New York is reading Library Books April 18, 2012 - 8:45am

Oh, okay. I guess let me know when you reschedule.

Covewriter's picture
Covewriter from Nashville, Tennessee is reading & Sons April 22, 2012 - 9:46pm

When are ya'll doing this? I'm up there last week of June, I think.

iBronco's picture
iBronco from New Jersey is reading White Noise April 25, 2012 - 10:14pm

Sweeeeeeet. Sign me up.

Jose F. Diaz's picture
Jose F. Diaz from Boston is reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel April 30, 2012 - 3:11pm

Just give me a time and place and I will be there. Just give me about 2-3 weeks heads up and I can make anything happen.

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forgotmypseudo from Connecticut is reading Tea Leaves May 5, 2012 - 12:16am

Chester - Nooooooo,  don't go to France if this meetup happens.  I want to meet you all in person-y. Finally poke an eyeball through the blinds, jump on this meetup idea a month late and you're already not going to be there.  Fail.  France is nice but,  by July I will have fully recovered from the not-leaving-the-house destroying my brain with all thing Housewives, Kardashian and washed up 80's C-List television shooting stars, phase and perhaps even be writing again, don't you want to postpone a week and witness my emergence from a primordial larval digital ooze?

Well, even without Chester, I'm in, especially if there's low lighting and skee-ball.   -the hermit formerly known as kaetea (kristin)

 

 

 

Rob's picture
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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this May 8, 2012 - 9:17pm

Mark your calendars: July 5, with a venue locked down.

More info to come.

Are you getting excited yet?

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Kirk from Pingree Grove, IL is reading The Book Of The New Sun May 8, 2012 - 9:38pm

Pretty sure I'll be there. Thinking I might come in on the 3rd. Are the fireworks they always show on TV totally lame in real life?

XyZy's picture
XyZy from New York City is reading Seveneves and Animal Money May 8, 2012 - 11:30pm

@Kirk -- No, and yes. They're actually really well-done displays: impressive and beautiful. But dealing with the crowd of other people going to see them is lame, fighting for a good spot to view them from is lame, and cramming with all those people back into the crossstreets and subways on the way home is lame. If you have friends that live in a high rise facing the river I think it would be great (or at least going with someone experienced in the logistics of the whole event, or if you can spring for one of the dinner cruises).

And there is some novelty in walking out onto the westside highway, which is closed off for most of the length of manhattan during the fireworks... especially as someone who drives down it often and only sees it at high speeds in a vehicle.

But really, if you're going to be in the city anyway... yeah, it's a hassle and annoying, but it is an experience. And inconvenience shouldn't really be a deterrent in such an experience, because when are you ever going to be back in New York during the fourth of july? Also, the jersey side is supposedly much less crowded and just as good a view.

That said, I did it two years ago, and it would probably take some cancer kid's last wish to get me out there again. Big crowds are really not my thing and fireworks aren't enough of my thing to make it worth it for me. I'm glad I did it... once.

Rob's picture
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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this May 9, 2012 - 7:33am

So, this is where we're going to be: http://www.lillyobriensbar.com/index.html

We've got the downstairs room all to ourselves. Bring your drinkin' hats. 

There's going to be some sort of official announcement on the main page at some point soon. But since you folks have been here since the beginning, you get the first look. 

July 5, 6:30 p.m.

Joshua Chaplinsky's picture
Joshua Chaplinsky from New York is reading Library Books May 11, 2012 - 10:28am

Nice. Not far from work.

Rob's picture
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Rob from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update this May 11, 2012 - 10:42am

It's right around the corner for my job!

I doubt it's true, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if we worked in the same building...

Joshua Chaplinsky's picture
Joshua Chaplinsky from New York is reading Library Books May 11, 2012 - 11:15am

Nah. You're in the Wallstreet area? I'm Chinatown, Little Italy.

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz May 17, 2012 - 3:24pm

Shit, Kristin is going?

Make this Annual please. That way I can go next year.

Josh can crawl home.