THURS-1
*MATTHEW STADLER--Stadler, Guggenheim grant-winner, author of The Sex Offender, and literary editor of Nest magazine, reads from his newest novel, Allan Stein. Stranger reviewer Bruce Benderson says, "The bleak yet brilliant point of this book is that nothing exists outside of our desire for it. Nothing, then, exists but our feelings. Again and again, Stadler expertly collapses time, place, or season in favor of desire-fueled meditation. Instead of reality, we are given the billowing bursts of this quirky narrative, full of lyrical fragments, emotional ambivalence, voyeurism, idealism, tenderness, and incipient sadism. And in the end we come face to face with the fable of the aesthete, that ambitious lover who tried to embrace cold marble." Kane Hall 220, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
LISA SCOTTOLINE--Scottoline, constantly compared to Grisham, reads from her third and most ambitious thriller, Mistaken Identity. When Bernie Rosato visits her new client, Alice Connolly, in prison, she is shocked to see that they look eerily alike. Connolly claims to be Rosato's birth twin, and also claims that she's been set up for a murder charge. Rosato becomes compelled to discover the truth about Connolly and her complicity in murder and identity. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 8:30 pm, free.
FRI-2
*JACKIE KAY--See Calendar Box. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7:30 pm, free.
MICHAEL PYE--Pye's thriller, Taking Lives, combines an ambitious plotline with ambitious writing, not always to successful effect. A 17-year-old student from Holland travels abroad, using his anonymity to dastardly ends: killing strangers and taking on their identities. Elliott Bay, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
SAT-3
RUTH KIRK--Kirk reads from her beautiful and emotional tribute to Mount Rainier National Park, Sunrise to Paradise. Along with vivid and historical photographs, the book includes personal accounts of the mountain. Elliott Bay, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 4:30 pm, free.
*JACKIE KAY--See Calendar Box. Elliott Bay, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
MON-5
BRENDA WEBSTER & HAZARD ADAMS--It's 1929, and a wealthy Jewish family in New York struggles to deal with changing mores and aspirations in Webster's new novel Paradise Farm. Webster (Sins of the Mothers) paints the family with spare, psychological strokes. Webster reads tonight with UW Emeritus Hazard Adams, whose new book, Many Pretty Toys, describes events at a small Pacific Northwest university on the eve of the bombing of Cambodia. Publisher's Weekly calls Many Pretty Toys "shrewd" and "an engrossing exploration of the ethics of protest." Elliott Bay, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
KAREN RAMSEY--Ramsey promises a path to financial security "without deprivation" in Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 8:30 pm, free.
TUES-6
DUONG VAN MAI ELLIOTT--Mai Elliott's The Sacred Willow is a hugely ambitious book that attempts to chronicle Vietnamese history through the minutiae of four generations of her family. Elliott re-imagines scenes in this dramatic history with an empathetic eye, and when she reaches her own story the narrative grows in scope and interest. Seattle Public Library, Lee Auditorium, 1000 4th Ave, 386-4134, 7 pm, free.
PAMELA PENROSE--Breaking Free is Penrose's story of escape from family violence and her search for her brother's killer. University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
JOHN GIERACH--Fly-fishing philosopher Gierach (Dances With Trout) returns to his favorite subject in Standing In a River Waving a Stick. Elliott Bay, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.
CAROLYN SEE--See's new novel, The Handyman, recounts one summer in the early career of an eventually famous artist. Advertising his expertise (he can figure out anything except wiring) as a fix-it-upper, Bob Hampton finds himself expected to do much more than yardwork when he becomes intimately involved with several L.A. families. The simple story is driven purely by the reader's urge to find out what inspires Hampton to his later inflamesuential painting, but the end result is only mildly interesting. Elliott Bay, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
WED-7
FRED MOODY--Seattle Weekly's managing editor Moody (I Sing the Body Electronic) continues to document his fascination with technology--this time exploring the development and marketing of virtual-reality products in The Visionary Position. Kane Hall 220, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
DOUG THORPE--Questions about the nature of work and its relationship to spirituality drive SPU professor Thorpe's anthology, Work and the Life of the Spirit. The anthology includes pieces from 19th- and 20th-century writers such as Walt Whitman and Gary Snyder. University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
IRVING WARNER--Warner's book, In Memory of Hawks & Other Stories from Alaska, is an evocative collection of meditations about life in small towns in "pre-oil" Alaska. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 8:30 pm, free.
OPEN MIKE
Note to regularly programmed open mikes: The Stranger will list events only if we receive an announcement- regular listings will be dropped unless we are notified that the events are in fact ongoing.
THURS-1
665--Words and music add up to this evening venue, tonight presenting "Kansas." Four Angels, 1400 14th Ave (at Union), 689-8661, 7:30 pm, free.
SUN-4
RED SKY POETRY THEATER--Continuing its 18th season of readings, spotlighting local writers plus an open mike. Tonight featuring Michael Perez-Hureaux. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave (at Pine), 633-5647, 7 pm, free.
MON-5
LIVINGROOM--Every Monday about this time, people read and rant and play music. Tonight, make room for The Notorious Infamous. Habitat Espresso, 222 Broadway E, 689-8661, 7:30 pm, free.
TUES-6
HOMELAND--The homiest of open mikes, tonight featuring Fran Varian, along with espresso chocolate chip cookies. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave (at Pine), 324-8815, 7:30 pm, free.
