Join Brooklyn women for a rowdy night of something we can all get behind — stories about booze!
On Nov. 17, a dozen authors from the borough and as far as Africa will read their essays on sipping and swilling — straight from the newly released compilation “Make Mine a Double: Why Women Like Us Like to Drink (Or Not).”
“You think you’ve heard it all and then you realize, ‘Oh, my god, I had no idea!’” said the book’s editor Gina Barreca, a feminist humorist and Brooklyn-born professor. “We’re all brought together one way or another by what goes on in the bottle.”
Expect a no-holds-barred look at tippling, as women share tales of bonding with a mother-in-law over wine and a modest proposal for college-aged men — 10 ways not to rape women when they’re drunk.
Sound inappropriate? Trust Barreca — it’s easy to swallow.
“If you can have that in a book and have people laughing at it, you know it’s a good read,” she said.
But don’t think the authors are all lightweights and lushes. The witty, provocative pieces are supposed to open discussion on drinking responsibly.
Louise Crawford — who organized the event as part of the monthly Brooklyn Reading Works series — said the book shines a lot on women’s complicated relationship with spirits.
She’ll share her experience in the front lines of the “Park Slope Stroller Wars,” when hipster-bocce bar Union Hall put a sign banning babies in 2008 and sent the stroller set into a tizzy.
“This is upbeat and feminist rather than a sad, dour down-in-the-dumps look at drinking,” Crawford said. “It’s about women allowing themselves to drink the way we do.”
“Make Mine a Double” at the Old Stone House [336 Third St. between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, (718) 768-3195], Nov. 17, 8 pm. Suggested donation $5 — includes wine. For info, visit www.theoldstonehouse.org.
Reach Kate Briquelet at kbriquelet@cnglocal.com or by calling her at (718) 260-2511.
