ANTONIO DAMASIO
Neuroscientist Damasio waxes scientific on some nonsense of the brain's connection to emotions, through the historical lens of philosopher Baruch Spinoza. University of Washington, Kane Hall, Walker-Ames room, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
BEM LE HUNTE
Le Hunte signs The Seduction of Silence, a remarkably ironic title considering this 416-page saga of multigenerational women's suffrage. Get it? Oh, never mind. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
ROGER KING
I realized today that geography, a course that seems a somewhat criterion flagship of the American public school system, somehow never found its way into my book bag. In A Girl from Zanzibar, King discusses the life of a girl from a nation I bet you couldn't find on a map, either. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
JAYNE ANN KRENTZ
I think my favorite part of best-selling author Krentz's latest is the book's title (Shadow in Light)--or rather, how the title is denoted on the book's cover: a line for each word, with "in" playfully italicized for that extra kick of... suspense. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free. Also Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, Sat Feb 2 at 6 pm, free.
AMY TAN
Though she hasn't released anything since last year's Bonesetter's Daughter, Tan's in town to check out ReAct's staging of her novel The Joy Luck Club and to mingle at Elliott Bay. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, free.
FRIDAY 1/31
ROBERT MAILER ANDERSON
San Francisco writer Robert Mailer Anderson reads and signs his debut novel, Boonville. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
SUZANNE PAOLA
In The Lives of the Saints, Paola attempts to sex up the sainthood with verse that weaves such embarrassingly time-sensitive subject matters as sheep cloning and cyberspace with classic parables of saintliness. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.
SATURDAY 2/1
ABBAS MILANI
"Here with two recent books," one of which was originally published nearly seven years ago, Milani breezes through on what I can only assume is a vacation posing as a tax write-off. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
JUDITH SKILLMAN & BARBARA L. THOMAS
Poets from across the pond--you know, Lake Washington--promoting their latest chapbooks: Circe's Island and Lilacs Wilting on Nancy's Bonnet, respectively. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.
SUNDAY 2/2
JIM FIELDER
The subtitle of Fielder's debut, Slow Death, is perhaps the least artful phrase to ever appear on the cover of a mass-market release, which should no doubt say something about the contents: The Sickest Serial Torture-Slayer Ever to Stalk the Southwest. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.
BARRY SCHIEBER & MORITZ
The "pet therapy" team of Schieber and his Bernese mountain dog, Moritz, present Nose to Nose: A Memoir of Healing. I smell a pun coming on! Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.MONDAY 2/3
* WILLIAM GIBSON
The rat bastard who coined the term "cyberspace" and foresaw this whole blasted "Internet" debacle signs Pattern Recognition. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 130, 634-3400, 7 pm, free. Also Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, Tues Feb 4 at 7:30 pm, free.
JAMES GURLEY
Poet Gurley reads from his latest, the T. S. Eliot Prize-winning Human Cartography. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
* JAMES TATE
You know, I was this close to simply reproducing an indulgent, strained excerpt from one of Tate's Pulitzer Prize-winning poems, a decision that forced me to (unlike most things I mock in these pages) actually read some of his work. And I'll be damned if it ain't pretty good. Maybe in the future I'll think twice before I take cheap shots at authors I have no prerequisite knowledge of. Maybe I'll stop hiding behind snide cynicism and actually take stock of how the malice of my ill-informed words can hurt people. Food for thought.... ACT Theatre, 700 Union St, 292-7676, 7:30 pm, $14. [Zac, you have failed to point out that this reading inaugurates Seattle Arts and Lectures' four-part 2003 Poetry Series--a series, furthermore, that has counted the books editor, me, as one of its fans since it started in 2000. I am, however, pleased to learn that you like poetry, James Tate's no less.--Charles Mudede]
TUESDAY 2/4
CANDACE ROBB
Mystery meets history in a no-holds-barred slugging match that will decide once and for all the weight of Robb's paperback payout. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
WEDNESDAY 2/5
JASON GOODWIN
Through the past, darkly: Goodwin discusses Greenback, the history of the dolla' dolla' bill, y'all. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
WAYNE GRYTTING
Seattle resident and Z Magazine columnist signs his debut, American Newspeak: The Mangling of Meaning for Power and Profit. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 11 am, free.
* MARK OWENS, JOHN OLSON
This month, the still-excellent Subtext series plays host to writer Owens and poet, author, and literary critic John Olson. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 728-0933, 7:30 pm, $5.
AHMED RASHID
Pakistani author and journalist Rashid (whose name holds a passing resemblance to lovable sportscaster Ahmad Rashad) comes to Seattle to give us the skinny on the Taliban and Islamic fundamentalism. His books (Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia; Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia) are taken seriously by all sorts of serious people who know lots of things about faraway places like Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (where a sister city of Seattle, Tashkent, is the capital), Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 120, 441-5910, 7 pm, free.
POETRY/OPEN MICS
* CITY CHRONICLES--"Reports from the home front," featuring Mary Lou Sanelli. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 728-0933, Thurs Jan 30 at 7:30 pm, $3-$5.
* ELLIOTT BAY OPEN MIKE NIGHT--Hosted by P. Dawg. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, Wed Feb 5 at 7 pm, free.
HOMELAND--Words. So many words. Tuesdays at 7 pm. Caffe Vita, 1005 E Pike St, 709-4440, free.
OUT OF TUNE--Poetry and music free-for-all hosted by Jon Hogan. Thursdays at 8:30 pm, signup at 8 pm. The 15th, 7515 15th Ave NW, 706-4973, free.
ReBIRTH--All-ages open-mic brouhaha. Sundays at 7 pm. French and European Artistic and Cultural Center, 623 Broadway E, 726-4843, free.
SCRATCHING POST--Poetry open mic, all ages. Thursdays at 8 pm, signup at 7:30 pm. Mr. Spot's Chai House, 5463 Leary Ave NW, 297-2424, free.
SEATTLE POETRY SLAM--Open mic and slam with Karen Finneyfrock. Wednesdays at 8 pm. Sit & Spin, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-9484, $4.
