Written by Jason Linkins
MONDAY
Vertigo Books and the TransAfrica Forum’s Writers Corner are bringing three great authors together for a special reading event: Kwame Dawes (She’s Gone), Helon Habila (Measuring Time) and Dinaw Mengestu (The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears) come together at the Charles Sumner School, 1201 17th Street NW, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY
It’s a father and daughter fest at Politics and Prose tonight, as John McPhee, author of Uncommon Gardens joins Martha McPhee, whoss own novel, L’America drew recent raves from the Washington Post. Mom must be proud. 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
“When the witty and urbane Claire St. John leaves New York City and returns to Austin, Texas, she realizes that all of the good advice she has ever received has been from strangers in the women’s bathroom.” Uhm…okay? We’ll let Jo Barrett, author of The Men’s Guide to the Women’s Bathroom explain. Olsson’s Dupont Circle, 1307 19th St. NW, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Free expression isn’t free. However, sometimes, events hosted by bookstores about authors who write books about free expression ARE free. And tonight, when Christopher Finan speaks about his book, From The Palmer Raids To The Patriot Act, it will be free! Crazy? How about NOT CRAZY ENOUGH? That’s right: for the low low price of FREE, we’re also throwing in Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as well! How does Olsson’s keep the prices so low? (Markups in the café. Shhhh.) At Olsson’s Penn Quarter, 418 7th St., NW, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
This month, Virginia is pulling out all the stops to celebrate Jamestown, but Matthew Sharpe’s got his own wicked brew cooking in his novel, Jamestown, which moves from the birth of a colony to the end of history in a dystopian tale brimming with dark humor. At Politics and Prose, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
William Jelani Cobb spends Saturday afternoon doing what he does best—dissecting contemporary black culture and applying historical perspectives. Oh…and looking good doing so. He comes to Vertigo to discuss his latest, The Devil and Dave Chapelle. 7346 Baltimore Avenue in College Park, 2 p.m. UPDATE: This event has been canceled.
SUNDAY
Hailing from the American College of Physics, Philip Schwehe comes to town to discuss The Grid, that network of infrastructure that powers the nation, and that we often “take for granted.” All you acolytes of Ryan Aventiana are sure to find something fascinating in the life of this life giving system. Politics and Prose, 1 p.m.
