*Having trouble viewing or listening
to a selection? Recordings of recent readings are provided here as "embedded" Youtube videos and as audio-only files. For earlier readings (Dec. 2013 and before), if you have a slow Internet connection or less powerful PC, or are experiencing difficulty, right-click (or control-click) to download either the audio file or the smaller video file, then open it on your computer with iTunes, Windows Media Player, or the program of your choice.
Readings & Other Events
(Scroll down for video & audio selections from Jim's earlier readings.)
Jim read three pieces. The first was from the opening of his forthcoming novel, The Condor's Shadow. The second was a selection from Soil, Sand, Stories, a family saga in linked short fiction that he's working on. Jim closed with a piece from Chapter 4 of his 2015 novel Problems of Translation ("An insanely amusing adventure"--Gary Shteyngart, "Exceptional, original, deftly crafted from beginning to end"--Midwest Book Review).
(Jim's wonderful co-reader was Matthew Landsburgh, author of the Iowa Short Fiction Award-winning collection Outside Is the Ocean.)
The Condor's Shadow (selection) (7:24)
"Problems of Translation, Chapter 4" (10:50)
Jan. 29 2018
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Jim read a selection from his forthcoming novel (The Condor's Shadow), two pieces ("Shaver Lake" and "Will Remembers") from a collection of linked short stories he's working on, and a short extract from his recently published novel, Problems of Translation. Below are a video of each of these, as well as a complete video (27 minutes) of Jim's entire reading. And for those who might prefer it, an audio-only recording. Wonderful novelist and short story writer Lesley Dormen introduced Jim. Enjoy!
The Condor's Shadow (selection) (6:38)
"Shaver Lake" (10:44)
"Will Remembers" (3:46)
Problems of Translation (selection from Chapter 43, "Only the Pasta Is Real") (4:27)
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from a new short story in progress ("What Goes Around Comes Around"); Jim's recently published comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation ("What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas"); and his just-completed novel, The Condor's Shadow ("Outside Southeast City").
Work-In-Progress: "What Goes Around Comes Around" (6 min)
Problems of Translation, Chapter 30: What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas (9 min)
The Condor's Shadow: Outside Southeast City (9 min)
Also available:
All three pieces
in audio-only format and as a single video (24 min)
May 11, 2016
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from Jim's comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation, and from his upcoming novel, The Condor's Shadow (working title).
(Video and audio selections from this reading will be available in the coming weeks.)
Oct. 6, 2015
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from Jim's recently published comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation, and other new fiction.
Problems of Translation, Chapter 4: Begging the Bear to Talk
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from Jim's soon-to-be-published comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation, and other new fiction. (Videos of Jim's Dec. 10th reading are currently unavailable. Thanks for your patience!)
Scroll down
for video
& audio selections
from Jim's
earlier readings.
May 7, 2014
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from recent fiction, including his comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation, and segments from two short stories. Click the links below for excerpts in video (mp4, m4v) or audio-only (mp3) format.*
In the Shadow of the Condor (excerpt, short fiction)
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from new fiction, including his comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation, and an as yet untitled short story, a work in progress. Click the links below for excerpts in audio (mp3) or video (mp4, m4v) format.*
Problems of Translation: Colloquy at Marburg (excerpt)
(9 minutes) Audio-only (11MB) Video (262MB) Video, smaller format (81MB) Problems of Translation: Looking for a Lifeboat (excerpt)
(13 minutes) Audio-only (14MB) Video (346MB) Video, smaller format (81MB) Untitled Short Story (excerpt, work in progress)
(9 minutes) Audio-only (10MB) Video (251MB) Video, smaller format (70MB)
May 8, 2013
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from new fiction, including his comic adventure novel, Problems of Translation, and an in-progress collection of interrelated stories. Click the links below for excerpts in audio (mp3) or video (mp4) format.*
Problems of Translation: Enter Svetlana (excerpt)
(13 minutes) Audio-only (18MB) Video (340MB) Video, smaller format (81MB) In the Shadow of the Condor (excerpt)
(11 minutes) Audio-only (14MB) Video (293MB) Video, smaller format (70MB)
November 6, 2012
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from current fiction, including Jim's recently completed picaresque novel, Problems of Translation. Click the links below for excerpts in audio (mp3) or video (mp4) format.*
Untitled Short Story In Progress (excerpt) (12 minutes) Audio-only (11MB) Video (342MB) Video, smaller format (81MB) Problems of Translation: Information Overload (12 minutes) Audio-only (11MB) Video (343MB) Video, smaller format (81MB)
March 6, 2012
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from Problems of Translation, Jim's picaresque novel-in-progress, and from "Song for Melody on Avenue C," a short story he has been revising recently. Click the links below for excerpts in audio (mp3) or video (mp4) format.*
Problems of Translation: Dream of Sequoya (10 minutes) Audio-only (10MB) Video (288MB) Video, smaller format (68MB) Song for Melody on Avenue C (excerpt) (5 minutes) Audio-only (5MB) Video (134MB) Video, smaller format (32MB) Problems of Translation: Into the Wind (13 minutes) Audio-only (13MB) Video (333MB) Video, smaller format (79MB)
September 26, 2011
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from Problems of Translation, Jim's picaresque novel-in-progress, and from his recently published short story, "Chasing the Condor." Click the links below for excerpts in audio (mp3) or video (mp4, m4v) format.*
> Problems of Translation: What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas (10 minutes) Audio-only (9.5MB) Video (115MB)
> Problems of Translation: A Locomotive Slips Under the Radar (7 minutes) Audio-only (6.7MB) Video (83MB)
> Chasing the Condor (excerpt) (8 minutes) Audio-only (7MB) Video (90MB)
January 18, 2011
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe:
Selections from Problems of Translation, Jim's picaresque novel-in-progress. Click the links below to listen to an excerpt in audio (mp3) or video (mp4, m4v) format.*
> Problems of Translation: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (12 minutes) Audio-only (11MB) Video (143MB)
> Problems of Translation: Georgetown, the Cayman Islands (9 minutes) Audio-only (8MB) Video (105MB)
> Problems of Translation: Belknap's Agita (8 minutes) Audio-only (7MB) Video (88MB)
October 19, 2010
Reading, Cornelia Street Cafe
Selections from two novels currently in progress. Click below to listen to, watch, or download an excerpt in audio or video format:
> Problems of Translation: China (16 minutes) Audio version (mp3, 14MB) Video version (mp4, 182MB)*
> The Shotgun: Clovis Remembers (4 minutes) Audio-only (mp3, 3.5MB) Video (mp4, 46MB)
> Problems of Translation: India (7 minutes) Audio-only (mp3, 6.5MB) Video (mp4, 82MB)
*If you have a slow Internet connection or a less powerful PC, try the audio version.
