Sarah Vowell: not pessimistic enough

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Sarah Vowell can be found many places, including our books section, promoting her new book ‘The Wordy Shipmates.’ Two years ago, she appeared at the Festival of Books and read a piece about how her 2001 expectations for the Bush presidency weren’t nearly bleak enough.

She also answered questions, about L.A. and about writers she likes to read (she starts with Michael Connelly, whose ‘The Brass Verdict’ tops our Bestseller list in fiction this week; Vowell is at #5 in nonfiction).

After the jump: more videos.

Talking about the audio version of ‘The Wordy Shipmates,’ in which actors Campbell Scott and Peter Dinklage voice historical figures John Winthrop and Peter Dinklage.

And on David Letterman, wielding sarcasm.

She honed her considerable storytelling skills in her pieces for ‘This American Life,’ which are often more like essays than they are simple reporting. Of course you’ve heard them before, but in case not, several are in the show’s archives.

-- Carolyn Kellogg