Already familiar with the Oxford Art Factory's typical debauched state, the idea of a book reading here conjured thoughts of drunken sea shanty prose being read to a dirty guitar backing; flagon in hand DBC Piere reciting verse to the cheers of the crowd as Gareth Liddiard strummed away... This fantasy faded as faced by the polite queue outside and another polite queue for Shiraz at the bar. The Glebebooks signs set me shuddering back to memories of philosophy readings, the endless talk over Gareth Liddiard's amazing performance set me to despair. I did what anyone despairing in bar does .. order a drink.

Little did I know that this would be the theme of DBC's reading -reasons to drink. He was very engaging. The rapt silence was broken by the cheers of the Whipped Cream Chargers at hearing such eloquent reasons to engage in their favorite pastime. His new book "Lights Out in Wonderland" centers around a character who set on suicide decides to postpone it only to explore every hedonistic urge he can imagine: finding endangered species "a good source of protein",  discovering that eating your coke loaded snot the next day can be a good way to take the edge off a bingeover, and boldly having sex in a tank with octopi. I'm not sure if the sex was with an octopus or in tank filled with octopi because I was too busy laughing as he described the inspiration of the scene as the infamous artwork "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" and the joys of a woman being "vacuumed" by the octopus beak that it depicted.

Surprisingly we were reminded of the separation of an author and his works by his admission that he finds it impossible to write while drinking, and his responsible advice that a person asking a serious question about suicide should talk to a professional. Saving his reputation, the three drinks he had on the table next to him proved that he was quite able to read while drinking.

I thoroughly enjoyed his book Vernon God Little and look forward to reading his latest. Gareth Liddiard was excellent and does not need further praise, just buy The Drones' records and go see the shows, all the good things you've heard are true.

My initial resistance aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Would make a good date night.