I guess I’m allowed to talk about this by now: Tomorrow, on the Oprah Winfrey Show, several former cast members of Saturday Night Live will reunite.

Somewhere in the audience, me.

Oprah being very careful to own her own news, I signed something at the taping that said I wouldn’t “report” on my visit. I haven’t. I’m not. Please don’t kill me, Oprah. I love your magazine! All I want to say is, if you like SNL, you should be checking your local listings to watch and/or record the show tomorrow, April 12. Tina Fey is there. And so am I.

You won’t see me, though. I was sitting way up in the seats reserved for people with faces for radio. I don’t mind at all; I didn’t want to see the show taped for 15-minutes-of-fame reasons. I really have grown up with SNL and enjoyed hearing the stories they shared.

Which I can’t tell you about BECAUSE YOU NEED TO GO TO THE SOURCE.

(I’m NOT getting sued by Oprah, y’all. She has an army of lawyers, and if she can take on the beef industry, I’m not calling next.)

***
In other news, I reclaimed my back porch for writing/reading/wine-drinking. Every winter, it turns into a disaster back there, and then every spring I have to dig out the mud and snow boots and throw away all the boxes that tend to accumulate, put our vacuum through its greatest test. Get the Swiffer wets out to try to get three months’ worth of paw prints up. It’s a real project, is what I’m saying. It was gorgeous and summery most of the weekend, so that’s how I spent it.

That and reading. No, I wrote not a single word. But I read like all the libraries of the world were closing down. (And frankly, with the way politics are going these days, who knows?)

17. And Then There Were None– Agatha Christie
I actually read this last weekend, but never told you about it. Keeping secrets! Another good ‘un from Aggie. That gal just does not stop. Well, she did eventually, but not until she’s written more than 80 books. HOW? Aggie, talk to me from beyond the grave and tell me how you did it.

Actually, don’t haunt me. Haunt my friend Meghan. She loves that stuff.

18. Bossypants– Tina Fey
I managed not to pee my pants when I was in the same room with Tina Fey (see above), but I did develop a major crush on her. She’s adorable. And five months pregnant (that’s not giving anything away, Oprah, the press releases already went out!). Bought her book that night for the nook, and love love loved it. I don’t usually like celebrity books of any kind, but the difference? Tina is a writer, not a celebrity, and her book proves it. Interesting thing I learned from the book: Tina used to work at the Y in the town where I now work for Major U. And the stuff she includes on how you learn to improv was really interesting.

19. Mrs. Somebody Somebody– Tracy Winn
Linked short stories about a couple of generations of Maryland mill owners and workers. Really good. The thing I like about linked stories is how the author brings back people, images, and knowledge the reader has from things they’ve already read in the stories as they go along. You meet people a second or third time, get a second chance to see an event from another perspective. Sometimes they’re just little hints, but those are the most satisfying. I recommend this to James. But you have to get your own copy.

On a related note, what linked story collections can you think of? I need a theme for Sticky Notes, and I can only think of Olive Kitteredge (Elizabeth Strout), Later at the Bar (Rebecca Barry), and the mothership itself, Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson). A couple more would be good. Of course, it helps if I’ve read them. Cathy Day, I’m looking at you for this. Which reminds me: I need to read Circus in Winter.

20. No One You Know– Michelle Richmond
I just finished this last night, so I’m having trouble collecting my thoughts on it. I enjoyed it; it pulled me through; I even managed to get through the mathematical portions of the story with the narrator without having to skim. I liked that the book was essentially a story about how stories work. It’s a bit like a literary mystery, although it definitely leans in the literary side and gets away with a few things that I wouldn’t try, like lots of first-person rumination instead of scenes, monologueing from certain characters…still, I liked it. I’m sending this to you, Kim.