THURSDAY 11/17

HAROLD BOWES, KATHRYN RANTALA, JOHN BURGESS
Harold Bowes reads from a novel that at least has a good title, If Nothing Else. Kathryn Rantala reads from a book that also has a decent title, Missing Pieces: A Coroner's Companion. John Burgess reads from a book that has a weak title, Punk Poems: Views, Incidents, and Imperfect Sonnets. Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 6:30 pm, free.

ANDREW LAM
Andrew Lam's new book, Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora, explores the lows and highs of being a Vietnamese national who doesn't live in Vietnam. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

ALEXANDER NEHAMAS
The philosopher who teaches at Princeton delivers a lecture: "Only in the Contemplation of Beauty Is Human Life Worth Living." UW Kane Hall 110, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

PAT A. FREEMAN, D. MERILEE CLUNIS
Lives of Lesbian Elders is based on dozens of interviews. Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.

DOBBY GIBSON, STEVE HEALEY
Poets from Minnesota give Seattle a taste of what that part of the world can do with words. Open Books, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 7:30 pm, free.

recommended JOHN HODGMAN
According to Publishers Weekly, Hodgman's new book, The Areas of My Expertise, "is a treasure trove of twisted absurdist miscellany." Elliott Bay Book Store, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

recommended TYPING EXPLOSION EXPLODED
Celebrate the return of the ladies with typewriters. Plus, there is a new face in the mix. Gallery of the Senses, 14th St and E Pike St, 568-0291, 7:45, free.

FRIDAY 11/18

MARY MAPES
Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power takes a very hard look at journalistic ethics (as if there was ever such a thing). The book also explains the author's role in breaking the story that made her famous (Abu Ghraib), and the story that got her fired (Dubya's draft dodging). Washington Athletic Club, 1325 Sixth Ave, 682-7395, noon, $30–$45.

AN EVENING WITH SAM HAMILL
An expensive dinner with a so-so poet. FareStart, 1902 Second Ave, 443-1233, 6 pm, $50.

KIRK RUSSELL
Dead Game is an eco-thriller. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.

SUSAN VOLLAND
Cooking for Mr. Right is a novel. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.

ALBERT FURTWANGLER
In Bringing Indians to the Book, the historian looks at why and how white Christian missionaries settled in the Northwest. UW Allen Library, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

CAROLYNE WRIGHT, JOAN SWIFT
The local poets read poems from their new collections, Seasons of Mangoes and Brainfire and The Tiger Iris, respectively. Ravenna Third Place, 525-2347, 7:30 pm, free.

PETER KWONG
Kwong will speak about his book Chinese America: A History in the Making. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

SATURDAY 11/19

recommended JOSHUA BECKMAN, MATTHEW ROHRER, JEN BERVIN, DOROTHEA LASKY
Four smart poets read their work in James Turrell's Skyspace, the only temple in this city that's dedicated to the most basic element of life: light. Henry Art Gallery, 15th Ave NE and NE 41st St, 543-2280, info@wavepoetry.com. Two seatings at 3 pm and 4 pm, both reportedly sold out.

JUDY FORD
Painting the Walls Red is a collection of essays about how to deal with the horrors of growing old. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.

recommended SETH KANTNER
According to Barbara Kingsolver, Seth Kantner's novel Ordinary Wolves is as "exotic as a dream." Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

CHARLES CROSS
The author of a new Jimi Hendrix biography, Room Full of Mirrors, discusses Hendrix's strange death and his interest in UFOs.Seattle Museum of the Mysteries, 623 Broadway Ave E, 328-6499, 7 pm.

SUNDAY 11/20

LAWSON FUSAO INADA, KAZUKO NAKANE, ALAN LAU
The poet Lawson Fusao Inada reads new poems that were inspired by the paintings of his departed friend Frank Okada. Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, 386-4636, 3 pm, free.

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN
Doris Kearns Goodwin reads from her latest effort, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 5:30 pm, free. (also 11/21, Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave, 652-4255, 7:30 pm, $5.)

MONDAY 11/21

GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
Fantasy is the stuff of Martin's fourth novel, A Song of Ice and Fire. University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

PATRICIA SMILEY
Cover Your Assets is a mystery. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

TUESDAY 11/22

recommended DAVID LEAVITT
The novelist (While England Sleeps, Martin Bauman, The Lost Language of Cranes) and story writer (his Collected Stories came out last year) reads from his new nonfiction book The Man Who Knew Too Much, about Alan Turing, the math genius who helped crack the Nazis' code, only to be persecuted for his sexuality (gay) and driven to suicide (he dipped an apple in cyanide and ate it). Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway Ave E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.

JOHN DANIEL
Rogue River Journal is an account of living in a cabin in the absolute middle of nowhere. Queen Anne Books, 283-5624, 7 pm, free.

NANCY PEARL
Famous librarian Nancy Pearl continues to lust after books in her latest offering, More Book Lust. University Book Store, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

recommended MATT BRIGGS, STACEY LEVINE
See Stranger Suggests. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

GERALD BALDASTY
How on earth can you fail with a title like this: Vigilante Newspapers: A Tale of Sex, Religion, and Murder in the Northwest. UW Kane Hall 210, 634-3400, 7:30 pm, free.

JOHN M. MARZLUFF, TONY ANGELL
Science and aesthetics (which is the science of feeling) meet In the Company of Crows and Ravens, a book by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.