Where: Elliott Bay Books

What: Remember The Official Preppy Handbook — or Valley Girl’s Guide to Life ? I remember them both like I remember my seventh grade crush, which is to say: with painful and awesome (mass rad?) clarity.

United States of Americana, by Seattle-based KEXP DJ and writer Kurt B. Reighley is a similar exploration of an idiosyncratic but undeniable right-now culture movement. From pre-Prohibition booze to Seattle-made heritage brands, Reighley’s like a wool-shirted, moonshine-sipping uncle tying up trends and connecting the return-to-the-good-olde-days dots from his post on some picturesque porch. It’s a really fun read.

I loved coming across the Seattle sources he quotes (David Nelson, Cybele Phillips); so great knowing this nationally (internationally? they do love their Americana in Japan) distributed book will alert guys in Double RL sweaters and ladies immersed in burlesque training (yes, he covers all that, too) that Americana wouldn’t be Americana without us.

You can hear Reighley read (that will definitely be entertaining) at your favorite and very Americana-feeling local bookstore.

When: Friday, October 1 at 7