FRIDAY 8/22



TOM GRONEBERG

The book jacket of The Secret Life of Cowboys pairs an image of a rural, copper-toned countryside with an image of a cowboy (hat, boots) in the frozen-food aisle of a grocery store. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, free.

NICK SAGAN

Idlewild, a futuristic novel written by the son of outer-space writer Carl Sagan, is about a teenager whose memory goes blank. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

JERRY WENNSTROM

The Inspired Heart: An Artist's Journey of Transformation is a spiritual book about rejecting the art establishment, finding your own voice, and so on. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

SATURDAY 8/23



GWEN SOUTHERN

The mystery writer signs Death in a Family Way and In the Shadow of Death. (Mystery novels: all death, all the time.) Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free.

ARTHUR EDWARDS

Stuck Outside of Phoenix is Edwards' memoir about being young and in a rock band (the Refreshments) in the early '90s. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 1 pm, free.

JANE KIRKPATRICK

The historical-novel writer reads from A Name of Her Own, about the hardships of American pioneer women. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 3 pm, free.

JOHN WHALEN

Elizabeth McCracken calls Whalen's Caliban (a book of poetry) "mordantly funny, peculiarly moving, and always gorgeous." Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 6 pm, free.

SUNDAY 8/24



JOHN BILLHEIMER

Drybone Hollow is a mystery novel set near a dam. Billheimer's other books include Dismal Mountain. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.

JEFFREY EPSTEIN, EDDIE SHAPIRO

Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks is a guidebook punctuated by exclamations like, "What can we say about Tarzan other than 'Woo-hoo!'" What, indeed. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4:30 pm, free.

MONDAY 8/25



ADAM JOHNSON

Parasites Like Us is a "busy, highly original, largely entertaining, and occasionally maddening take on environmental disaster," says Kirkus Reviews. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

BILL RADKE

Radke talks about and shows slides from Seattle: A Picture Tour of the Emerald City. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

TUESDAY 8/26



JOHN REMBER

Author Tim O'Brien calls Rember's Traplines: Coming Home to Sawtooth Valley "elegant yet tough minded." Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.

JIM HIGHTOWER

Hightower is a columnist, a commentator, a Texan, and a skeptic. He's also the author of Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country--And It's Time to Take It Back. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

WEDNESDAY 8/27

J. A. JANCE

The suspense writer reads from Exit Wounds, in which the murder victims include three women and 17 dogs. Park Place Book Co. , 348 Park Place Center, 828-6546, 7 pm, free.

POETRY/OPEN MICS
POETSWEST--Featuring Lisa Noble, Alixa, and Naima. Sun Aug 24 at 7 pm. Penny Cafe, 1707 NW Market St, 682-1268, free.