w00t! Boston, here I come!

As of this writing, there are 79 demands for me to come to Boston, which is certainly over the critical mass of 75.

The next step for me is to contact a couple of places, and see if they can host me for a reading and signing. A lot of people have suggested Porter Square Books, a "fiercely independent" store that’s in Cambridge. That’s close enough to Boston Metro Area, isn’t it? Thats the first place I’ll contact tomorrow morning. If you’re a Bostonian, and you have a connection to, or can suggest a venue, please leave info in comments or e-mail me. I’m wil at wilwheaton dot net.

See you in Boston!

 

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80 thoughts on “w00t! Boston, here I come!”

  1. Wil, have a fantastic time in Montreal, Boston, and parts in between. But please destroy all copies of that photo. For the good of humanity I beg you, it is just far too disturbing to exist – though the look on your face is priceless.

  2. Hey Wil,
    I was actually the one who originally created the Boston demand. I’m super psyched that you’re actually going to head out here! Just to give you a few other options, there is a B&N and a Borders in Chestnut Hill, MA. I’m unsure how large a venue you’re looking for, but there it is. A good reason to consider these is ample free parking. If a lot of people will be driving in, Cambridge isn’t the greatest place for parking.

  4. Dude, Cambridge is the *definition* of the Boston Metro area…Porter Books is a quality independant store. Also consider Newtonville Books, the super snobby Concord Bookstore, and Willow Books. The last 2 are about 30 min outside boston, so probably not the best. As for Cambridge, it is right near public transport, so don’t worry about making people drive.
    Come to Boston! Wikkid pissa

  7. Wil, just reconsider and come to Portland, ME. The Boston folk will make the 90-mile drive and we have a perfect place for you called Space. I’m sure they’d love to book you: http://www.space538.org/
    Portland is a nice alternative. Contemplative and quite peaceful, with a progressive spirit and very little pretention.
    We also have the best ales on the East Coast.

  11. Excellent! I stickered and everything!
    Porter Square Books is indeed a fine venue, a few subway stops from downtown Boston, and a fine indy store with cafe, which does readings on a regular basis. It’s also down the street from my place, so thumbs up! 😉
    But if you’re investigating other options, Pandemonium Books and Games (mentioned above) is the local sci-fi bookstore with a new larger location with more event space; Harvard Book Store does readings on a regular basis; and Brookline Booksmith is another option. They’re all independent bookstores. As far as I know, Quantum Books near MIT doesn’t do readings, which is a shame since that’s where I bought Dancing Barefoot.
    But for the geek crowd I’d lean toward Pandemonium or Porter Square. (Disclaimer, I once worked at Pandy.)

  12. … and for best parking, definitely Porter Square Books, which faces a large lot. But all the stores I mentioned are very close to subway stops, so one can always park at the end of a line and take the T in.

  14. Sweet!
    The guys who run Porter Square Books are fabulous. And as the others said- Brookline Booksmith and Harvard Square Books are all good places.
    If you’re looking for additional venues, I know 3 UU Church spaces in and around Boston I could get you into. They’ve hosted many authors and speakers before.

  15. Let me second (third?) the nomination for Pandemonium. I can talk to Tyler (the owner) and get space/time reserved, if you like. There new digs will also have a huge downstairs area that can accomodate a lot of people at once, if you want to do a reading for the assembled crowd. Oh, and it is also their open gaming space, so if you come, can we get a board game together?

  16. Their. Stupid homonyms. Anyhow, can’t go back and edit my comments. But I did change my typekey setting so you can get my e-mail address. So if you want me to set up the Pandemonium thing, it’d be but a word to me and it would be done.

  17. I’m from the Boston area, but I never thought the demands thing would take you all the way out here, so I never bothered to check it. But I will indeed be showing.

  18. Attention les Montrealais –
    We’re doing pretty well with the demands, but stinky T.O. is beating us. :/
    We must let them know that Wil Wheaton does, in fact, belong to us, and they cannot have him.
    Let’s have a little 514-representage please.

  19. This makes me sad I’m no longer living in Boston. But…oh…wait…I’m in LA, so if I just got the hell out of the office I would probably have a good chance of seeing you.
    ANYway. Porter Square is right on both the T (it’s like the LA Metro, except it actually goes places that people want to go to) and the commuter rail, so anyone who is driving in can park ‘n ride. I used to live near there and I walked to Boston (Fenway Park, actually) often. It’s probably 3 or 4 miles, but it’s doable.
    There’s also a couple of great brewpubs in Cambridge. Cambridge Brewing Company, three T stops away from Porter (i.e ten minutes) has excellent beer, albeit kinda mediocre food. The John Harvard Brew House (one T stop away from Porter in Harvard Square) has better food, good beer, but indifferent service. The first time I went there, they screwed up my order, and I got a voucher for a free entree. For the next three years, I got a voucher for a free entree just about every time I went. Certainly kept me coming back.
    Across the street from John Harvard’s, however, is the jewel in the local restaurant crown – a place called Finale. They specialize in desserts. DO NOT MISS IT. Seriously. No matter what. I have never, EVER found a place like it in any other city (and I’ve travelled a lot); it has simply the best desserts I’ve ever eaten.
    WRT bookstore recommendations: Pandemonium, Porter Square Books and Booksmith (in Brookline) are all good recommendations. Booksmith will probably give you the most exposure outside of the geek world. Also, MIT really likes to have authors speak. That is, if you can get over them stealing the CalTech cannon. 🙂
    If you wanted to make a weekend of it, you could also look into speaking in Providence and Amherst. Getting to Providence from Boston is like getting to Riverside from Pasadena (if there were a regular train that ran between the two), and getting from Boston to Amherst is like getting to Redlands from Venice. Except there’s less of a rush hour, and there’s a lot more to do in Amherst than Redlands. It’s a fun college town.
    The thing to remember about Boston is that it’s only twice the size of Pasadena (48 square miles vs. the 23 of Pasadena – technically Boston is 80-something square miles, but half of that is ocean). The entire Boston metro area isn’t as big as the City of Los Angeles (and I mean, minus Santa Monica and Pasadena and Glendale and Burbank and La Canada-Flintridge and so forth) is. Nothing is far from anything else in the Boston area. Well, except for Jamaica Plain, which seems to be its own principality. (You’ll see when you get there.)

  20. So, I could demand you come to where I live Wil, with enough signatures? All I’m interested in is someone to do some spring cleaning, window cleaning, vaccuuming, dishes etc. kthnx.

  21. Too awesome. I’d even venture to say… hawesome. As a college student of little means but high geekdom, I thank you, sir, for venturing out into our neck of the woods.
    Also, if we’re on the subject of recommending pubs, the Sunset Grill and Tap near Boston University is a must. They have 112 beers on tap and 380 more bottled. This includes, of course, Guinness. The food is mighty tasty to boot.

  25. Sadly, I have to resign my self to the fact that I will never meet my favorite person from TNG in person.
    But I got to say hi online, and that is enough for me.
    Most people never get that much.
    Thanks for having the site Wil. 😉 Now if Only I can finally play you on Pokerstars 😛

  26. Ah! Demand the guy with the scary clown sweater and the totally disgusted look on his face?!?! No way! Why would I? jk
    Man, I wished I near Boston or Montreal. Oh well. : )

  27. There is also the Brookline Booksmith which is also fiercely independent. Brookline is closer to Boston College and Boston University campuses in the southern area of the city while Porter Square is in Cambridge. Even more centralized in Cambridge would be Pandemonium Books & Games which is a SciFi and Fantasy and Gaming store. The PERFECT store for a geek signing. 🙂

  28. Also, there are more traditional booksellers in the downtown area. There’s a Borders in both Downtown Crossing and in the Cambridgeside Galleria (Near the Museum of Science). My boyfriend is a manager at the latter until 10 pm ET today (he’s moving on), so if you hurry, I can get a word in there. Boston is a very bookie town! There’s tons of spots to read!

  29. When the rest of the country will have a long weekend for the Holiday, I will be stuck working all if it 🙁 No road trip up to Boston for me. So why don’t you swing by NYC while you are on the East Coast? Please!!!!

  30. Hawesome!
    I might actually try and drive up to make that! Bostons like a 1/2 day drive if I take the ferry.
    You know though, coming to the east coast and not stopping to at least sight-see in New York City is like… sacrilage… honest… ;o)

  31. Will,
    Porter Square would be a really good venue. You’re one subway stop away from Harvard Square and just a few more from the city. Regardless I’ll try to make it where ever you end up speaking.
    You mentioned you’re a history buff. They recently revamped the walking tour of Boston to include a narration of all the stops via cell phone. The nice thing about that is you go at your own pace, can skip around and its only $5.95 with part of the proceeds going to charity. No I don’t work for them, but Boston is rich in history and has a lot of fun things to do so its flexible and you don’t have to commit to doing the historical stuff all day. Here’s some of the details:
    http://gonewengland.about.com/od/bostonattractions/qt/qttylertour.htm

  32. I’m sure this will become a recurring theme, but Wil I totally think it’s time for the East Coast TOUR! Personally, I would travel to Boston, but that’s a whole day’s drive and Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Toronto or Columbus would be so much more delightful. They are all lovely cities with so much to see. They all have a few demands started and I think that promoting a few of these cities on your blog might help us … wink, wink, nudge, nudge…

  34. hey Canucks (torontonians in particular) lets hook it up…we’re closing in on the magic number for an appearance by Wil!….Wil, ask Cory Doctorow about Bakka Books in Toronto..i think he used to work there back in the day…amazing place…best bookstore in the city…incredibly loyal customers…anyhow, i think this eventful idea is fantastic…Cheers!

  35. There is no way of requesting this on Eventful Demand, so I will have to do it here.
    San Diego Comic-Con. Please. PLEASE!

  36. Couldn’t sign in last night but fired off an email mentioning Havard and Brookline Booksmith. As has been mentioned there are many great places out here. And Porter square would be hawesome as I am moving there next month.

  39. w00t!!!
    It actually worked! So, when do you think you’ll be heading up this way? We’ll be psyched and out in droves to support. I agree with all of the folks that have said that Cambridge is probably the place. Don’t do the Chestnut Hill location, as it’s really a pain in the ass for anyone without a car to get out there.
    Also, I actually work for a lecture bureau based in Cambridge, so if you want some help getting venue info or getting a booking done, I might be able to help you out. Feel free to shoot me an email.
    We can’t wait to have you up here to visit! =)

  41. Hey Wil,
    Can’t you come to Toronto first, before making your way to the cruise out of Montreal? We are almost at critical mass too, and Toronto is a very cool city.

  45. Oh I wish you’d come further out towards Western MA. *lol* But I guess I’ll have to bring dh and kids in tow so I can go. (i don’t like driving anything that may require the Masspike *lol*)
    Oh I can’t wait!!

  46. Welcome to Beantown!
    I’d have to agree with the above posters. Stay away from Chestnut Hill, since it’s too far from the city. Everything else is T accessible and therefore easy to get to. Lots of nice little book stores in the Coolidge Corner area if you’re still searching.
    Finale is HAWSOME. Their hot chocolate concoction is an unholy mixture of wholesome hot chocolate and equally wholesome alcohol.
    Durgen Park, Union Oyster House, the aforementioned Sunset Grill and/or Cantina are all great places to grab food. Oh! And Bartley’s Burgers in Harvard Square, though they’re always crazy crowded. The nearby Games Workshop store often proves tempting, though.

  47. On a totally different subject…
    Are you going to bring the grey jumpsuit out of mothballs and do some time travel for a cameo (or more) in the new Starfleet Academy movie?

  48. Hooray!
    Now, where do the 121 some-odd of us take you for a beer afterward?
    Seriously, though, glad to see and hear you are coming to Boston. I WILL be there.

  49. Hells yeah!
    A bunch of the votes came from the New England Browncoats- a very active Firefly Fan list of 150+ who encouraged all Wil fans to vote for Boston instead of spreading our votes out.
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ne_browncoats
    I love Palladium Books, but it’s not the best for larger groups of people.
    Somewhere accessible by public transportation AND with parking would be ideal since I know a lot of us will drive in for the occassion.

  50. On the bookstore thing, I’d say that the Trident (mentioned above) is worth a visit, but I don’t think it’s laid out well for a reading with more than twenty people in attendance.
    On the history thing, I highly recommend getting the mp3 version of Boston Audissey. (disclosure: I work for the company that does online fulfillment for Audissey Guides)
    On the beer thing, Boston is a city where it’s easier to find Guinness than Coors Light. You’ll be fine.

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