THURSDAY 7/28

ALAN BURDICK
Apparently, Alan Burdick's Out of Eden "Combin[es] personal meditation, travel narrative, and excellent reportage, [to create] a rich and panoramic view of life on our planet." If this is true, if Out of Eden is all that, then it is surely the last book of history, the book that is all books, the total book. (The ghost of Borges has got the better of me.) Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.

JAY PARKER
Jay Parker suffered something that is in essence the very opposite of painful: sex addition. His book, Sex and Love Addiction, is an honest (and hopefully descriptive) account of his addiction to the most pleasurable thing known to human (and other) kind, sex. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

BRUCE BEASLEY
Bellingham's Bruce Beasely reads from his book Lord Brain, a meditation on the very organ that produces meditations, the brain. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

DAVID NEIWERT
Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community is a book by a person named David Neiwet. Only humans have names. A dog can't even call itself a dog. Ravenna Third Place, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 7:30 pm, free.

FRIDAY 7/29

MARGARET DOYLE
Apparently, Margaret Doyle's novel Fisherman's Quilt is "an epic saga brimming with longing, questioning, and life's celebration." If this is in fact true, if Fisherman's Quilt is all these things that the press release claims it to be, then Doyle's book must be the last book in history. The book that brings all books to a frothing end. (The ghost of Hegel has now got the better of me.) Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.

H CHRISTOPHER SORRENTINO
I don't know who Sorrentino is but I trust the former editor of this paper, Emily White, who has this to say about the novelist: "He is the son of writer Gilbert Sorrentino. His novel is Trance. It is published by FSG and is a re-imagining of the Patty Hearst case. The novel has received great reviews, and is worth recommending." Sorrentinto is in the McSweeney's circle. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

SUNDAY 7/31

TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY
Today, ReAct actors read the play To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, as part of the staged play reading series. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 12 pm, $5 donation.

MONDAY 8/1

MARK HELPRIN
According to Publishers Weekly, a source of credibility and sound judgment in all matters concerning literature, Mark Helprin's new book of stories, The Pacific and Other Stories, contains "tales [that] explore loss, regret, retribution and time's passage, their exotic locations... imbuing them with exuberant life." Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, noon, free.

TUESDAY 8/2

KIM PEARSON
Kim Pearson's book Making History: How to Remember, Record, Interpret and Share the Events of Your Life holds this amazing promise: It will help you "discover your place in history, remember the stories you'd forgotten, and create powerful 'memory vignettes.'" It sounds too good to be true. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

SUSAN VOLLAND
The tension in Susan Volland's novel Cooking for Mr. Right is this: Soon after an Emerald City cook loses her job at a fancy restaurant, she finds out her ex-lover is getting hitched to another woman. Those who desperately want to see this crisis resolved must read the book. University Book Store, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

H GET LIT
Local lights Nick Garrison and Sarah Rudinoff read their work in a wonderful little Capitol Hill bar that I should visit more often. Bus Stop, 508 E Pine St, 322-9123, 9 pm, 21+, free.

WEDNESDAY 8/3

J. A. JANCE
I haven't edited the readings calendar in years, and so it is very comforting to see that J. A. Jance is still at it, still writing detective books, still causing calendar editors to do little write-ups about her. Jance has defeated time. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, time, free.

KAREN HOOPPERT
Karen Hooppert's book Home Fires Burning promises to give the reader a glimpse into to the languid lives of military wives. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

LISA SEE
Lisa See's book is set in 19th-century China, and is about two friends named Lily and Snow Flower. Pretty names always means pretty women. And a book with pretty women in it is certainly a good book, no matter how it is written. University Book Store, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

H RICH MERRITT
Ex-Marine and ex-conservative Christian Rich Merritt reads from a new memoir called Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star. It is said to be a "revealing memoir"—well, one certainly hopes so. Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.

H RUSTY MORRISON, CHRISTINE DEAVEL
The best and most established reading series in town, Subtext, features the experimental writers Rusty Morrison and Christine Deavel. Both writers have published extensively and are unlikely to disappoint an intelligent reader. (However, in our age is there such a thing as a dumb reader?) Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, donations welcome.

POETRY/OPEN MICS

ELLIOTT BAY OPEN MIKE NIGHT—Signup at 7, reading at 7:30 pm. Last Wednesday of the month. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, free.

EPILOGUE BOOKS—2005 NW Market St, PoetsWest features Susan Casey and David Keysor, plus open mic. Saturday July 30th, 6 pm, 682-1268, free.

HOMELAND—Words. So many words. Tuesdays at 7 pm. Caffe Vita, 1005 E -Pike St, 709-4440, free.

POETSWEST—Featured readers and an open mic. Sundays at 7 pm. Penny Cafe, 1707 NW Market St, 682-1268, free.

RED SKY POETRY THEATER—Featured readers and an open mic. Sundays at 7 pm. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave, 547-4585, free.

SCRATCHING POST—--Poetry open mic, all ages. Thursdays at 8 pm, signup at 7:30 pm. Mr. Spots Chai House, 5463 Leary Ave NW, 297-2424, free.

SEATTLE POETRY SLAM—Every Tuesday at 8 pm. Mirabeau Room, 529 Queen Anne Ave N, 650-2869, $4.

STAGE FRIGHT—Youth open mic. Fourth Wednesday of every month at 7 pm. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, free.

TAKE A POEM INTO YOUR HEART—Featured readers. Fourth Friday of every month at 7 pm, signup at 6:45 pm. Bookworm Exchange, 4860 Rainier Ave, 722-6633, free.

SEATTLE SPIT—Featured readers and an open mic. First Thursday of every month at 8:30 pm. The Wild Rose, 1021 E Pike St, free.

TUESDAYS AT THE CABARET—An evening of poetry, comedy, and prose on the second Tuesday of every month. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, $5.