MONDAY
Sometime between youthful dreams of baseball fame and the adult accomplishment of becoming a published author, shit got downright peripatetic in the career of David Goodwillie. His varied occupational stopovers are documented in bursting detail in Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, which the author discusses at Politics and Prose tonight at 7 p.m. 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW.

TUESDAY
Democratic operatives by the metric ton bought into his political linguistic theories when his Don’t Think of an Elephant arrived on the scene. Now, with new book Whose Freedom, you have a chance to hear George Lakoff talk about a book that doesn’t mention the “nurturing parent model” every five pages. Politics and Prose, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
Chapters Bookstore is throwing a birthday party for Marcel Proust, and instead of hiring magicians and ponies, they’ve sought out the talents of Robert McNamara and his troupe from SCENA Theatre to perform a special staging of Swann’s Way. Then, it’s off to perform Antonin Artaud’s Le Jet de Sang at a local bar mitzvah. 445 11th Street, NW. 7 p.m.

THURSDAY
Crossword enthusiasts will be going across and down to the Borders at 18th and L streets to meet Matt Gaffney, who’ll be discussing his Gridlock: Crossword Puzzles and the Mad Geniuses Who Create Them. So, suck it, Sudoku lovers. 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY
Two American families, tied together by slavery, are profiled by author Stevie Platt, who’ll be discussing their intriguing interconnections, documented in her book, The Last Servant. Barnes and Noble, 12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive, Fairfax, at 12 p.m.

SUNDAY
James Earl Hardy’s “B-Boy Blues” series has sought to triangulate accessible drama with the political and social concerns of the black gay community. He brings his series to a close with A House Is Not A Home, which he’ll be on hand to read and discuss at Lambda Rising, 1625 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 1 p.m.