Dollar for dollar

Does the mere thought of dollar store kitsch fill your heart to bursting? Do you like books? Is every day another chance to celebrate the joys of indie culture? If you answered "yes!" to these questions, good news: the Brookline Booksmith's got your number.

Tonight, a caravan of authors from Chicago-based publisher Featherproof bring its quirky Dollar Store Tour to the Coolidge Corner shop. With an irresistible knack for comedy, drama and idiosyncrasy, each writer will share a story inspired by — you guessed it — a dirt-cheap trinket.

Jon Messinger, who co-founded Featherproof in 2005, concocted the project around the same time. Since then, The Dollar Store has been selling out a local bar called Hideout and thriving on word of mouth. It's even been featured on NPR. This summer marks its foray into the great American unknown, and we're thankful.

Some local authors, like Carla Barger, will participate, too — the folks at Featherproof mailed $1 items to literary kin across the country. In other words: Midwest meets east in a homage to creative writing and divinely cheap curios. Sign me up.

Tonight's event is free — appropriately — and starts at 7 p.m.