The Painted DrumSaw Louise Erdrich tonight in Cambridge. She’s on a book tour for her latest novel The Painted Drum. She did an amazing reading from the novel: a bit about wolves and Native Americans and how the two are similar. There was even something about ravens.

Trouble is: I fell asleep! We were in a nice warm church and it was the first really chilly night of the season — the kind that says that sunlit days are just there to taunt you; winter approaches — and t’was Friday after a long work week and raven hadn’t had his evening nap and the interesting bit about wolves and ravens was over and Ms. Erdrich was talking about the existential angst of a boy and his alcoholic father.

The wife, sweetheart that she is, just smiled and ignored me. She is, after all, experienced in such matters. There was the scandalous affair of Joyce Carol Oates and a reading from The Falls at the Boston public library. Light snoring was alleged.