for Thursday, October 29, 2008

* 7:00 PM: The Burke Museum, rare contributor to our local Lit scene, busts out with Richard Ellis and his non-fiction book Tuna: A Love Story. Ellis is a noted marine artist, as well as the author of over a dozen (really interesting) books, including The Book of Sharks, Imagining Atlantis, and Encyclopedia of the Sea. Presented in conjunction with Elliott Bay Books. [LINK]

* 7:00 PM: Daniel Chirot, UW Sociology professor, co-wrote Why Not Kill Them All?: The Logic and Prevention of Mass Political Murder with Clark R. McCauley. Now he’ll be discussing the book at the University of Washington Club tonight. Genocide, it’s what’s for dinner. [LINK]

* 7:00 PM: On an only slightly less bloodthirsty note, David Wolman will be at the U-District UW Bookstore to discuss and sign his book Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling, a subject near and dear to my heart. Although, technically, there is no such thing as Olde English. There is Middle English, and before that the language wasn’t English at all, it was Anglo-Saxon, thank you very much. A former professor of Middle English was very firm on this point. I’m still scarred. [LINK]

* 7:30 PM: Open Books in Wallingford hosts Chicana poet Lorna Dee Cervantes. [LINK]

* 7:30 PM: A bunch of New York Review of Books heavyweights will be at Town Hall to discuss the war on terror, the occupation of Iraq, and this year’s presidential election, including Tom Powers, Martin Kettle, Jonathan Raban, and Michael Tomasky. Apparently, there was a series of essays published in the Review, The Consequences to Come: American Power After Bush. I confess, I never read the Review. I do read Jonathan Raban, though, whose presence alone makes this Town Hall worth the cover. Well, Raban and the promise that all of the writers featured will have harsh words for our current president and his, er, administration. Just six more days… or too many months, depending on whether your glass is half full or half empty. $5 at the door, or via www.brownpapertickets.com, 800/838-3006. [LINK]