If you live in Washington, please come to my reading this Sunday, Nov. 15, at Politics & Prose. It starts nice and early, at 5 p.m., and I promise to try to make it fun.

Some people have asked: Can I bring my kid? People, I am not putting on a Christmas puppet show here. This book is a frank and honest work of journalism about the joy and heartache of Christmas. It is for grownups. While I might (might) do some funny things during the presentation, I’m not sure it’s going to delight the kiddies. I’m not saying they’ll hate it it, either, but this is your call as parents, not mine. (And if someone asks me if there really is a Santa Claus, the answer ain’t exactly going to be Yes, Virginia.)

Meanwhile, I’m getting butterflies. Politics & Prose is Washington’s big-author, big-seriousness, captial-W writers’ book store. The thought of standing up there by the architecture books, at that elegant little modern lectern of theirs with the skinny microphone, looking out at all those folding chairs — yikes. I’m sweaty all over again. Come put me at ease.

The P&P reading kicks off, gosh, I’ve practically lost count of how many readings I have: Up next is Frisco (Frisco, Texas, not “San Francisco”– I can’t believe I STILL have to explain that to people, but there you go).

Then Plano, then Fort Worth; then Austin and Houston; then the Newseum on Nov. 28 (just added!); then back out west to Oklahoma City, then way out west to Portland, Seattle and Bellingham, Wash. Then back through St. Louis, then to Reston, Va., then New York. There’s a full schedule here. I’ll be blogging the whoolllle way.

Please come!