THURSDAY 3/20

SUSAN ANDERSEN

Local mystery writer signs her latest romantic suspense novel, Getting Lucky. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free.

CHARLES CROSS

Pilfering a few more dollars off the corpse of everybody’s favorite dead Aberdeenian, Cross, the former editor of the late great music biweekly the Rocket, returns to hawk the paperback version of last year’s best-selling biography Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain. Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 7 pm, free.

TIRZAH FIRESTONE

A celebration of the sacred Jewess: rabbi and Jungian psychotherapist Firestone explores the fairer side of Judaism in The Receiving. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

L. A. HEBERLEIN, CARRINGTON MacDUFFIE

The publishers of the new local lit journal Square Lake discuss their respective works, including Heberlein’s Every Man Must Build a Home and MacDuffie’s On the Dreaming Earth. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, free.

PETER HOWE

Just because they call it “shooting,” that doesn’t give you the right to go parading around on a battlefield: Frontline photographer Howe signs Shooting Under Siege, a book of photos and words from combat photographers. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

FRANZ METCALF

The author of What Would Buddha Do? and What Would Buddha Do at Work? offers his latest nugget of enlightenment, Buddha in Your Backpack, a Buddhist guide for teens written in their terms–like skin tips from Siddhartha, and the unforgettable chapter “What’s Going On Down There, Buddha?” Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

FRIDAY 3/21

STEPHEN CHERNISKE

Slowing the aging process to a crippling pace, DHEA Breakthrough author Cherniske offers his latest callous attempt to prey on the perpetually mounting fears of gerascophobes the world over with The Metabolic Plan. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.

ZZ PACKER

Packer, another of those up-and-coming twentysomething wordsmiths who make you feel so bad about yourself, comes packing her debut collection, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

RUPERT SHELDRAKE

With a suitcase full of terms like “morphogenetic fields” and “morphic resonance,” Sheldrake proposes a potential explanation for the uncanny in The Sense of Being Stared At. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

SATURDAY 3/22

EARL EMERSON

A self-described “novel of suspense,” Emerson’s Into the Inferno sounds destined for mass consumption as some straight-to-video Lorenzo Lamas vehicle: A firefighter has seven days to find the antidote for a poisonous chemical he has imbibed, or… fuck, who cares? File under: “Race against Time,” “Hi-octane,” and “zzzzzzzz.” Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6 pm, free.

DAVID LOFTUS

Portland journalist Loftus goes the extra mile to justify the male relationship with porn; in the process, he spent recent weeks stalking our books editor with the dialing finger of his ever-questionable hands. Mr. Mudede has been conveniently “out of town” for the duration of this time. But I’m sure that when he returns he’ll be interested to learn that Loftus will be reading from his new book, titled Watching Sex: How Men Really Respond to Pornography. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.

NANCY RAWLES

The familial food focus of Seattle author Rawles’ Broussard family in Love Like Gumbo is extended with the release of a companion novel, the recently published Crawfish Dreams. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.

DONNA STONECIPHER

Seattle-based poet Stonecipher and her ethereal netherworld are bound in her debut collection, The Reservoir. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.SUNDAY 3/23

JENNY DAVIDSON

Drawing its author comparisons to writers from A. S. Byatt to Susanna Kaysen, Davidson’s dark debut, Heredity, is the stuff of biology, love, and self-destruction–you know, like all the good books. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.

MONDAY 3/24

WILLIAM DIETRICH

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Seattle Times contributor provides yet another captivating salute to the universal beauty of the Pacific Northwest in his latest, Natural Grace. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

* GALWAY KINNELL

In the conclusion of this season’s Seattle Arts & Lectures poetry series, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Kinnell reads his thoughtful, markedly American verse. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 621-2230, 7:30 pm, $14.

TUESDAY 3/25

T. C. BOYLE

Celebrated author Boyle returns to Elliott Bay with his latest, a novel about the social constructs of a failing hippie commune called Drop City. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

DAN BROWN

“A conspiracy 2000 years in the making,” Brown’s The Da Vinci Code couples art history, intrigue, and (mwahahaha!)… MURRR-der! Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

TROY DENNING

If you’re one of the half-dozen or so people in this world who still have some investment in the whole Star Wars phenomenon, you probably already know about this reading. Denning signs Tatooine Ghost, his latest in an endless series about a horse that just won’t die. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

MARION NESTLE

In Safe Food, a “provocative work [that] will cause quite a stir in food industry circles,” Nestle calls out the corporate powers that manipulate the most underappreciated faction of the government ogre, U.S. “food policy.” University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 130, 7 pm, free.

WEDNESDAY 3/26

DAVID LISS

Liss follows his sweeping period debut (A Conspiracy of Paper) with The Coffee Trader, his more constricted sophomore work, about a Jewish immigrant in Amsterdam in the 17th century. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

BHARATI MUKHERJEE

The prolific Mukherjee presents her latest novel, Desirable Daughters, a story of family and Brahmin ancestry told through the perspective of a modern woman. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

POETRY/OPEN MICS
ELLIOTT BAY OPEN MIKE–Hosted by P. Dawg. Wed March 26 at 7 pm. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, free.

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

LITTLE METAL MEN–Hosted by Vanessa Sooy. Tuesdays at 7 pm. Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 861-8233, 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.

RED SKY POETRY THEATRE–Featuring David Thornbrugh. Sun March 23 at 7:30 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. 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. Bad Juju Lounge, 1518 11th Ave, 709-9951, $4.

STAGEFRIGHT–All-ages alliteration. Wed March 26 at 7 pm. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, free.

WORDS AND ART FROM THE HEART–Featuring Scott Galasso. Tues March 25 at 7 pm. Otis Cafe, 1005 Boren Ave, 342-9866, $3.