Jason Thomas Smith

i live in Iowa City. It's okay, I guess. It has a nice library. Lots of really bad poverty in my neighborhood. I just found out Grant Wood is from here, so there's that. Tom Kakonis used to live here. This one time, I was at Prairie Lights bookstore asking about Sir Richard Francis Burton biographies, and I was asking Paul Ingram, and I asked if they had any Tom Kakonis novels, and then Paul Ingram answered in a way like he knew who Tom Kakonis was, and I got all excited because I'm such a big fan and usually I have to explain to people that Tom Kakonis is who Elmore Leonard wishes he could be... so anyway I'm all excited right, and I'm all like, "so you heard of Tom Kakonis?" and my eyes got all big and i sort of pulled of face so then Paul Ingram sighs and looks really annoyed, and somehow disheartened at the same time, and says in an annoyed and disheartened tone..."Are YOU Tom Kakonis?" That was really funny. Like writers came into his store all the time so that they can be all like...."Well I'm glad you like that novel because I AM Zadie Smith." That's hilarious. If that ever happens again, I'm just gonna pretend I'm Tom Kakonis or whoever. Maybe do something off-putting and weird. So anyway... yeah. Iowa City.