There's only one reading worth attending tonight: Maile Meloy reads at Elliott Bay Book Company. The awesome author, who should hopefully never have to hear the words "sister of The Decemberists' Colin Meloy" ever again, will read from her new-in-paperback short story collection, Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It. Meloy is at her best when, Annie Proulx-style, she writes about the lonely, desirous citizens of western states.

While I really enjoyed the unlikely love story of "Travis, B," the standout story to me involved a young woman raffling herself off to the employees of a nuclear power plant in an attempt to get out of town. I'm not going to tell you the name or the page number; you should go digging for it yourself. You might find your own favorite story in the book differs from mine.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here. And if you're planning on staying in and you're looking for personalized book recommendations, feel free to tell me the books you like and ask me what to read next over at Questionland.