Thank you so much, Patrick.
That's basically the kind of introduction you dream of when
you're in your bed late at night thinking, one day,
I'm going to finish this book.
[LAUGHTER]
Someone's going to read it, someone smart
and wearing a cool suit.
[LAUGHTER]
Thank you.
And just as a bonus, he's the fiancé of my former student
Barbara, so everything is awesome.
So thank you so much.
And thank you so much, Ander, and Aurelie, and Kate.
And I'm really excited to read with one
of my oldest and dearest friends, Lydia, tonight.
I'm also very nervous because I'm
going to read for the first time from my new novel
that I've never read from before.
So I hope everyone is feeling, get a little drunk,
a little generous.
[LAUGHTER]
If you're feeling pity, you can just kind of
hide it in some kind of way.
[LAUGHTER]
But I'm not brave enough to only read from it.
So I'm going to read a little bit from Dept. of Speculation
first, if that's OK with you guys.