Readings and Signings for the Week of March 14, 2011

The local branch of The Bushwick Book Club expand their horizons this week by taking Where the Sidewalk Ends to three separate events. Catch local musicians playing songs inspired by Shel Silverstein at Town Hall, as well as an evening performance at The Can Can. Also, Seattle Tilth’s Lisa Taylor presents her newest book about food, this one focused on urban farming.

3/14/2011 6 p.m. Pilot Books
Writer’s Group
New exercises every week. Come prepared to write and discuss. Aye, Cap’n!

3/14/2011 6:30 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Markus Zusak
I Am the Messenger
Young Adult Book Group

3/14/2011 7 p.m. UW Bookstore
Danika Dinsmore
Brigitta of the White Forest
A YA fantasy about “a Water Faerie going through a life change.” Probably not a messy divorce, huh?

3/14/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Jon Michaud
When Tito Loved Clara
“Jon Michaud’s openhearted, soulful novel is a love story … but that’s not all it is: it’s also a multigenerational portrait of family and the community around it … and a collection of delicately paced, astutely observed scenes that illuminate the way that people hide and reveal, hurt and heal.” – Ben Greenman

3/14/2011 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
James Gleick
The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood
“[A] tour de force … This is intellectual history of tremendous verve, insight, and significance. Unfailingly spirited, often poetic, Gleick recharges our astonishment over the complexity and resonance of the digital sphere and ponders our hunger for connectedness.” – Donna Seaman

3/15/2011 6 p.m. West Seattle Branch Library
Poetry Workshop
Get feedback on your writing from a panel of poets.

3/15/2011 7 p.m. UW Bookstore
Audre Dubus III
Townie
The author of House of Sand and Fog presents his newest.

3/15/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Lisa Taylor
Your Farm in the City: An Urban Dweller’s Guide to Raising Food and Raising Animals
“Seattle’s Lisa Taylor is the education program manager for Seattle Tilth, a nationally recognized non-profit group that fosters education on organic food, local food culture, and sustainable practices.” – EBBC

3/15/2011 7 p.m. Secret Garden Books
Mark Teague
LaRue Across America: Postcards From the Vacation
The children’s author presents his sly and clever new book.

3/15/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Walter John Williams
This is Not a Game
SFF Book Group

3/15/2011 7:30 p.m. Benaroya Hall
Marie Howe
SAL Poetry Series
“Marie Howe’s poetry is luminous, intense, and eloquent, rooted in an abundant inner life. Her long, deep-breathing lines address the mysteries of flesh and spirit, in terms accessible only to a woman who is very much of our time and yet still in touch with the sacred. Whether she is confronting the joys or terrors of existence, the light that falls on the page is suffused with grace and charity. In essence, she is a religious poet, that rarity among writers of her generation.” — Stanley Kunitz

3/15/2011 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Sara Wheeler
The Magnetic North
The author speaks about the Arctic with Jonathan Raban. (Whee!)\

3/15/2011 8:30 p.m. Rebar
Seattle Slam
Poetry Reading
Competitive poetry open mic.

3/16/2011 6 p.m. Richard Hugo House
Write Time
Weekly Series
A drop-in writing circle for teens, facilitated by the Hugo House writer-in-residence, Karen Finneyfrock.

3/16/2011 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble U-Village
Ben Thompson
Badass: The Birth of a Legend
“From sex-crazed gods to ravenous monsters, author Ben Thompson brings legendary titans to life in tales of adventure, bloodlust and unrelenting badassitude with his unique over-the-top storytelling.” – Borders

3/16/2011 7 p.m. UW Bookstore
Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson
Hellhole
I’m not a fan of the newer Dune novels; it’ll be interesting to see what Mr Herbert does outside of his father’s legacy.

3/16/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Tea Obreht
The Tiger’s Wife
“A novel of surpassing beauty, exquisitely wrought, and magical. Téa Obreht is a towering new talent.” – T.C. Boyle

3/16/2011 7:30 p.m. Open Books Poem Emporium
Timothy Donnelly
The Cloud Corporation
“When loathing’s narwhal thrusts its little tusk deep into the not-for-profit of my thought and anchors in the planks across which I have stomped unfathomable hours, and thanklessly”

3/17/2011 12 p.m. Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Love You More
Lisa Gardner
Book six in the D.D. Warren series.

3/17/2011 6:30 p.m. Secret Garden Books
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
The one year anniversary of Secret Garden’s book club.

3/18/2011 7 p.m. Secret Garden Books
Carmela & Steven D’Amico
Suki, The Very Loud Bunny
The West Seattle residents introduce their new character.

3/18/2011 7:30 p.m. Richard Hugo House
Debra Magpie Earling, Alan Chong Lau, Victor LaValle, & Khingz
Born in the U.S.A.
The final installment of Hugo House’s Literary Series wraps up with new work from artists born in the U.S.A.

3/18/2011 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Ha-Joon Chang
23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism
Chang explains why unregulated trade does squat for economic development, in case you hadn’t already got the memo.

3/19/2011 1 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Bushwick Book Club
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Music inspired by the poet.

3/19/2011 11 a.m. Town Hall Seattle
Bushwick Book Club
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Music inspired by the poet.

3/19/2011 2 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Gary Vaynerchuk
The Thank You Economy
“Gary Vaynerchuck has seen the future of marketing. The Thank You Economy shows how it’s built on both the time-honored techniques of listening to and appreciating customers and newer services like Twitter that allow you to engage directly with customers at unprecedented scale and speed. The book, like Gary, is also a lot of fun and full of passion.” – Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter

3/19/2011 2 p.m. Douglass-Truth Branch Library
Tomas Gayton & Laura Piece Kelly
Poetry Reading
“Seattle native Tomás Gayton returns from his southern California base, here today to read from his newest book of prose and poems, Vientos de Cambiko/Winds of Change (Poetic Matrix). He has three previous books out, and has published in numerous journals and magazines. He’s also long been active in literary organizing. For this afternoon’s program at Douglass-Truth, he’ll be joined by internationally-recognized Seattle spoken word poet, hip hop artists, singer/songwriter Laura Piece Kelly. Recently featured in Chase Jarvis’ Seattle 100, she has also performed in HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and appears in the documentary film, Underground Poets Railroad.” – EBBC

3/19/2011 3 p.m. Beacon Hill Branch
Sherri Smith
Flygirl
Explore careers in aviation with a group of professionals.

3/19/2011 4 p.m. Green Lake Branch
PoetsWest
Open Mic
Open mics the first three Saturdays in March.

3/19/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Martha Silano & Derek Mong
& Other Romes
Two poets from Saturnalia Books read. Silano is from Seattle; Mong hails from Portland.

3/19/2011 7 p.m. Pilot Books
Seattle Small Press Festival
Group Readings
Runs through April 16th

3/19/2011 9:30 a.m. SAAM
Alma Kunanbaeva
“Central Asian Nomads Today: Musical Storytelling”
Saturday University World Little Known: Central Asia, Its Histories and Place in Today’s World Lecture Series

3/20/2011 2 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Outsider’s Inn Collective
Marrakesh
A staged reading as part of the ACT Young Playwright’s Festival.

3/20/2011 2 p.m. Pilot Books
Size Matters: Technologies of the Small
Discussions and readings.

3/20/2011 5 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Rain City Projects
Vivid Impact
“Rain City Projects, a Seattle-based non-profit organization that does much to foster playwrights and new playwriting, celebrates the publication of volume 2 of its Manifesto Series, Vivid Impact. Edited by Steven Dietz, this anthology of six plays features new work by Holly Arsenault, Louis Broome, Allison Gregory, Brendan Healy, Laura Schelhardt, and Stephanie Timm.” – EBBC

3/20/2011 9 p.m. The Can Can
Bushwick Book Club
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Music inspired by the poet.