Time to Read

It's low season for the charity ball but high season for book publication parties. In today's column, I write about the party HarperCollins threw for "Tales from the Town of Widows," the literary debut of James Canon. Some bonus party facts: * After a toast, there were generous slices of a chocolate and strawberry cream cake that featured images of the's book's cover. * The author's niece and nephew wore T-shirts with the books' cover (designed by Will Stachle). * The author photo on the back flap was taken in Central Park. * Dewar's passed out MP3 players with its logo. * Party guest Gary Shteyngart is reading tonight at the Tenement Museum. There were two book parties last night, for Michael Musto, who has published a collection of his columns in the Village Voice, and for Patricia Marx, the humorist who showed her talents delivering a purim shpliel at a Jewish Museum gala a couple of years ago. If you're not into books, then it's time to catch up on movies in preparation for intelligent speculation on the Golden Globes and Oscars. Penelope Cruz was delightful on David Letterman last night, talking about her work in Volver (playing at Landmark Sunshine) and her hobby, photography. How different she was in the armchair interview than she is in volver: her character cooks for hundreds on a few hours' notice, cleans up very messy situations, and sings like a lark. For another rendering of a woman with spunk, see Renee Zellweger in "Miss Potter," a movie in which she finally has rivals for her cuteness, in the form of bunnies and ducks. And what do you recommend? Please do add your comments.