Kevin Kling

As anyone who has listened to humorist Kevin Kling on NPR's All Things Considered will tell you, the man has a knack for making the mundane fantastical, hilarious, and bigger than possible. With The Dog Says How, Kling spins an autobiographical yarn, recounting his childhood, his love of dogs, and his wacky adult life in a series of low-key, conversational vignettes. In "Taxidermy," for example, Kling hilariously recounts his lessons with Mr. Damyanovitch, a man who teaches taxidermy not in terms of process and technology, but "with a method called love." That love for animals, living or embalmed, is evident when, as an adult, he and a bunch of friends drunkenly attempt to save an angry beaver, his friend driving his van into the dark night, a boxed-up beaver in the back seat. Stories are short and sweet, and a fun read.
Thu., Dec. 6, 7 p.m., 2007