Hopefully, its early Wednesday morning and you’re looking out your window to see your city (if you live on the East Coast) blanketed in snow. You will then hit the snooze button 11 times, wake up several hours later and catch up on your MobyLives reading. (I will probably, however, be in the office.) BUT if I did have a snow day, I would spend it on my couch alternating between watching escapist movies and reading escapist fiction. Most likely fiction that takes place in some exotically hot locale (say, Mexico) or some distant, distant period in the past (say, Tudor England). So here’s my “I Wish it were a Snow Day” reading list:

1) 2666 by Roberto Bolaño. Silly me, I bought the 3-part paperback and proceeded to leave the 3rd part at a friend’s house. It was recently returned to me, and so I would dive in and finish it off, now that I’ve gotten past the gruesome parts. Then I would pick up Melville House’s Roberto Bolaño: The Last Interview and skim through it, because it really does make me laugh out loud at parts, and follow that with a quesadilla of some sort (because by then, it would be lunch time).

2) Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Some light afternoon reading to get into the mind of Thomas Cromwell. I devoured most of this book when I first bought it, but between working late, hosting house guests and actually needing to get some sleep, the last quarter of the book has been all but forgotten. And I’ve been itching to get back to it (even though, as goes it with historical fiction, I already know how it ends).

3). The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Now this is really escapist, because while most people assume that as a publicist I must have some sort of magical powers, I don’t. But since Lev joined us at our kick-off Blah Blah Blah event two weeks ago, I’ve had a craving for some “adult Harry Potter,” as I’ve heard it called.

and finally, because I can only read so many books in one snow day…

4). Nothing Serious by Justine Lévy. This is one Melville House book that I’ve had on my “to-read” pile for a while, since I plowed through her new novel (Mauvaise Fille) in the original French. Now to get a taste of what Lévy’s novels are like in English. And there’s nothing like subverted real-life scandal and a Parisian background to catch my eye. I’ll call this my “dessert” read.

So while I’m hoping to put these four books away by the end of today (and you should too if any of them are on that unread shelf of your bookcase), I’m kind of hoping we don’t have a snow day. Why (?!) you ask?

If the snow is not too unbearable tonight, we’ve got a great panel, the 3rd in our Blah Blah Blah series. Barring the terrible weather, come out and see Laura Miller, Jason Boog, Craig Teicher, John Mutter, and Michael Miller (with a possible appearance by Sara Nelson) talk about the future of book reportage. 7:00 PM at the Melville House Bookstore in DUMBO. There will be wine to keep you warm.

Update: This event is being canceled because of snow in New York. We will re-schedule. Check back for the new date and details.