DR. PAULA HOLMES EBER
Dr. Eber talks about Conceptions and Misconceptions of Women in the Middle East. This means there will be NO BELLY DANCING at this talk. Tickets available via University Bookstore, 634-3400. Kane Hall, Room 130, UW campus, 7 pm, free.
* LOS NORTENOS DAY OF THE DEAD READING
Los Nortenos, a Seattle-based group of Latino artists, present an evening of readings to celebrate DÃos de los Muertos. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7 pm, free.
* MICHAEL COLLINS
See Stranger Suggests. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
RIMPOCHE N. GAELEK
One of the last reincarnated llamas to be trained in Tibet, the human Gaelek explains to us exactly what happens when we die in Good Life, Good Death. One also hopes he will tell us what hairy llama sex is like. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
NANCY PAGH & LAURIE RICOU
Veteran sailor Pagh reads and signs At Home Afloat, which is about "seagoing women." Then Laurie Ricou, Professor of English at University of British Columbia, reads and signs The Arbus Madrone Files, which is about saltwater tides. University Bookstore, 4 pm, 634-3400, free.
* LAURIE WINN CARLSON
Carlson presents her new book Cattle: An Informal Social History, in which she explores the complex cultural significance of cows. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1 pm, 624-6600, free.
* MARY POTTER ENGEL
Ex-tenured professor of theology wrote A Woman of Salt, a personal narrative which is somehow infused with the story of Lot's wife, and not, sadly, of his daughters. Congregation Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave NE, 524-0075, 7 pm, free.
JIM WALLIS
The "Church-based activist" and editor at Sojourners magazine will be working on the Sabbath Day, pushing the paperback release of his book, Faith Works. Elliott Bay Book Company, 4 pm, 624-6600, free.
MIRA KAMDAR
Mira is part-American and part-Indian, and her completed book is called Motiba's Tattoos. University Bookstore, 2 pm, 634-3400, free.
MADELINE DeFREES
Poet DeFrees will read from her new anthology, Blue Dusk: New and Selected Poems, 1951-2001. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
MANIC D PRESS AUTHORS
See Stranger Suggests. Tonight they perform at Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, $5. Tomorrow they perform at Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, 233-9873, 8 pm, $6.
* MIKHAIL BULGAKOV
Bulgakov has been dead for a long time, but tonight Leah Brock facilitates a discussion of his masterpiece, The Master and Margarita. There are very few novels that are as funny as The Master and Margarita. Really, truly, honest to God, it is a marvelous book. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, 624-6600, free.
MALACHY McCOURT
Malachy shows up his brother Frank with his own memoirs about sad, drunken Irish people. Sponsored by Elliott Bay Book Company, King County Public Library, and local Irish-heritage organizations. F. X. McRory's, 419 Occidental Ave S, 624 6600, noon, free.
VINCE FLYNN
Flynn's latest political thriller is called Separation of Power. Third Place Books, 7 pm, 366-3333, free.
* CHARLES JOHNSON
Celebrated author of Middle Passage and Oxherding Tale, the UW Pollock Professor of English delivers a lecture as part of the UW's "Scholarly Adventure and Creative Process" lecture series. Kane Hall, Room 220, UW campus, 543-3839, 7 pm, general $45, UWAA members, $35, students $15.
MARILYN SWELL
Marilyn Swell is a lapsed Catholic Unitarian minister who lives in Portland and has compiled Resurrecting Grace: Remembering Catholic Childhoods, an array of real-life catholic accounts by writers such as Anna Quindlen, Frank McCourt, Tobias Wolff, and Muhammad Ali. Obviously, I'm kidding about Frank McCourt. Elliott Bay Book Company, 6 pm, free.
* JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN
Brilliant African American author of Two Cities: A Love Story, The Cattle Killing, and Fever presents his new nonfiction work, Hoop Roots: Basketball, Race, and Love. Co-presented with the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, 624-6600, free.
THE SATELLITE SISTERS
The Satellite Sisters have returned to Earth to promote Satellite Sisters' Uncommon Senses. This book chronicles their work on public radio, and captures the essence of what happens behind the scenes there. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, 624-6600, free.
BRIAN GREENE
Physicist, mathematician, and author of The Elegant Universe, Greene glides through Newtonian physics and string theory on his "quest for the deepest laws of the universe." Part of the Walker-Ames Lecture Series. UW campus, Kane Hall, Room 210, 616-1825, 6 pm, free.
* THE LOST ART OF STORYTELLING
Storytelling will feature tales from the salty sea as told by Keri Healey (director of Cherry Cherry Lemon), local writer Richard Lefebvre, and The Stranger's own Bret Fetzer. Little Theatre, 610 19th Ave E, 675-2055, 7:30 pm, $5 donation.
* SUBTEXT READING
Featuring Bernadette Mayer, a quintessential New York poet who has regularly taught her legendary "Experiments in Poetry Workshop" at the Poetry Project since the '70s. She'll be joined by her partner, poet Phil Good, and local poet C. E. Putnam. Richard Hugo House, 7:30 pm, 322-7030, $5 donation.
* PAUL HODGE
Professor Hodge discusses and signs Higher Than Everest: An Adventurer's Guide to the Solar System, and offers a virtual tour of the solar system, which includes a Martian canyon that rivals the Grand Canyon, the icy cliffs of Uranus' moon Miranda, and Venus' scorching Mt. Maxwell. UW campus, Physics and Astronomy Auditorium, Room A10, 7 pm, free; call 634-3400 for details.
TIMOTHY FREKE
The author of The Jesus Mysteries reads from his latest book, Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians. Third Place Books, 7 pm, 366-3333, free.