Is Bushwick Book Club a reading group, sing-along, or comedy show? Yes.

The first time I attended the Bushwick Book Club, I had just moved to Brooklyn and was on the only-spend-$6-a-day plan. Prowling for free events, I read a vague post for what sounded a lot like a monthly lit-kid singalong. I hate singalongs (sorry, Bell House), but my curiosity got the best of me.

Stationed at Goodbye Blue Monday in — you guessed it — Bushwick, Susan Hwang and Sweet Soubrette host one of the wackiest and most inspired open mics I’ve seen. The concept is simple: each month, a book or author gets picked, then participants write a song about the subject and perform it at the event. What results is an “hour-long orgy of book-related songs,” as the website calls it, that satisfies the snobbiest affectations of music and prose lovers alike. From accordion odes for Frankenstein to piano diatribes on Nabokov, emotions run high in the dimly lit speakeasy, and performers often leave the stage to both raised eyebrows and thunderous applause. 

The setting is ideal for Thursday’s selection, A Bad Idea I’m About to Do, which details several bad ideas NYC comedian Chris Gethard has had ranging from pimp stints to colonic mishaps. Gethard will be co-hosting the event to discuss his discomfort in person, which should be cathartic for everyone. Songwriters to start your weekend on an awkward note include Buffie Roseanne, Dan&Rachel, Emily Einhorn, Jonathan Mann, Kristin Sedivic, Maria Sonevytsky, Memo Salazar, Nicole Tourtelot, Sarah Pappalardo, Susan Hwang, Sweet Soubrette, and Zane Van Dusen’s Trust Fall. To make the most of the $0 ticket price for this potentially painful experience, knock back a few themed drink specials for an even more painful Friday morning.

Thursday, March 22, 8:30pm, Goodbye Blue Monday, 1087 Broadway, Bushwick.

Follow Kelly: @iamkellymurphy.

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