*WESLEY WEHR

Author and Stranger contributor Rebecca Brown described Wehr's new biography, The Eighth Lively Art: Conversations with Painters, Poets, Musicians, and the Wicked Witch of the West, as "a record of conversations between artists that can help readers understand contexts for work that was produced here in the Northwest a few decades ago.... [Wehr's] book comes from the kind of curiosity and love that inspires groups of artist friends to make art and conversation together." Burke Museum, UW Campus, 634-3400, 6 pm, donation requested.

JACK OLSEN

Olsen reads from and signs his latest work, Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt, a real-as-a-heart-attack legal thriller based on the wrongful conviction of a Vietnam vet/Black Panther and his 27-year struggle to beat the rap. Publishers Weekly called the book "one part Kafka and one part Orwell... a textbook case of abuse of the American criminal justice system for political ends." University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

JOSEPHINE HUMPHREYS

Nowhere Else on Earth is Humphreys' first novel in nearly a decade, which seems like an awfully long time to take to write a book, but it sounds like a pretty good read according to trusty old Publishers Weekly, which called it a "spellbinding story of a largely forgotten remnant of Indians caught between opposing sides in the Civil War." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

JANET LUHRS

Luhrs interviewed a bunch of couples over an eight-year period, then analyzed her data and boiled it down to a list of healthy traits held in common by those folks who exhibited a certain special closeness. These uplifting-but-impossible-to-emulate traits can be found in Luhrs' new help-yourself book, Simple Loving: A Path to Deeper, More Sustainable Relationships. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

*GOVERNOR JESSE VENTURA

Pile-driving, body-slamming Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has stepped into the literary ring with Do I Stand Alone?: Going to the Mat Against Political Pawns and Media Jackals, a book that was written (in this unlikely political hero's own words) "to ask for your help. I need you to help me wake up America." Come witness this most surreal of gubernatorial phenomenas for yourself. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 6 pm, free (numbered tickets to be handed out for book signing).

JACK DUVALL

DuVall's book A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict traces the history of aggressively non-aggressive political movements, from Ghandi to sit-ins to love-ins. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

*KAZ MURPHY

See Bio Box. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

*JANE MENDELSOHN

Author of the acclaimed debut I Was Amelia Earhart returns with Innocence, a modern coming-of-age novel set in New York. "Mendelsohn constructs a twisted world in which innocence has somehow become a disease, and adolescent fantasies spiral into dark realities" --Publishers Weekly. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

JOHN MCFARLAND

Reading by Seattle writer McFarland, a contributor to the new anthology The Isherwood Century: Essays on the Life and Work of Christopher Isherwood. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 3 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

BIG-ASS BOOK SALE

Arrive early for this celebrated annual event, the massive "Friends of the Seattle Public Library Book Sale," where thousands of books, CDs, records, videos, art prints, and posters are available for bargain-basement prices. Sand Point/Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, 523-4053, 9 am-5 pm, free parking available. Also Sun Sept 24, 11 am-4 pm.

MARK SCOTT

Tactile Values is the debut collection of this Colorado poet, whose work was lauded by Alicia Ostriker for its "fresh way of combining informal and formal tones that is utterly engaging." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 3 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

JUDITH A. ENNES

Author of the children's book Kalakala Comes Home: No Dream Is Too Big! reads as part of the "Please Read Me a Story" reading series, sponsored by the University Bookstore and the Museum of History and Industry. MOHAI, 2700 24th Ave E, 324-1126, 2:30 pm, free with museum admission.

TITLEWAVE READING SERIES

Titlewave guest host Ezra Mark presents performances by four poets and a musician: Phoebe Bosche (co-publisher of the journal Raven Chronicles), Joseph Keppler (whose new collection is entitled All the While the Child, Continuing, Contiguing, the Moon in Flight), writer Martha Linehan, and composer/sound artist Susie Kozawa. Titlewave Fine Used Books, 7 Mercer St, 282-7687, 7:30 pm, free.

*SEATTLE'S FAVORITE POEMS: A CELEBRATION WITH TESS GALLAGHER

See Stranger Suggests. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 652-4255, 7:30 pm, free (first come, first served).

*NICK BANTOCK

Bantock, a storyteller, visual artist, and author of the internationally beloved Griffin & Sabine trilogy, will read from his newest book, The Artful Dodger: Images & Reflections, in which he "fashions an elaborately pictorial fairy tale out of the story of his charmed artist's life" --Donna Seaman, Booklist. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

BURL BARER

True-crime writer Barer reads from and signs Murder in the Family, the lurid story of a murderous Northwest sexual psychopath and the FBI profiler who nailed him. (The people who read these books on buses on the way to their jobs downtown are SCARY.) University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

*ALAN CHONG LAU

Lau's new book of poetry, Blues and Greens, is based largely on his experiences as a produce worker in, and inhabitant of, Seattle's Chinatown community. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

ANNE N. MARINO

Marino's book The Collapsible World was praised by Irvine Welsh as "a fresh, vibrant, and subtly powerful debut novel of loss and redemption." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

T. CORAGHESSAN BOYLE

A Friend of the Earth is Boyle's 13th book of satirical, dark, absurdist fiction set in the near future, where things really, really suck. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 12:30 pm, free (a broadcast conversation with KUOW's Steve Scher); also appearing at Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

COL. BRUCE MEYERS

Semper fi! Marine hero reads from and signs his action-packed WW II book, Fortune Favors the Brave. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.