Sorcerer's Stone: Kelly Link at Newtonville Books tomorrow

We’ve never catered to the publishing industry’s mentality that short-story collections are the poor man’s novel. In fact, we often prefer them to bulky bestselling hardcovers, and KELLY LINK’s Magic for Beginners is proof that sometimes a brief glimpse can say more than a 200-page staring contest. Link’s nine tales are a tongue-in-cheek twist on sci-fi genre fiction, and even the New Yorker’s on board with how she skillfully weaves in fantastical snapshots of middle-class America. Zombies and convenience-store clerks both make appearances, and so does Link; she’ll read tomorrow night at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St, Newton | 7:30 pm | free | 617.244.6619.