Tonight we have a class on how to write. At the same time in a different place, two classes about how to write will be reading their work (one on memoir, one on fiction), and then there’s a total sausage-fest in the literary community tonight.

At the Faire Gallery and Cafe, which is always a lovely place to spend some time, David Shields will be reading from his new (well, not-so-new at this point) memoir, The Thing About Life is That One Day You’ll be Dead. Charles reviewed this one back in February and he liked it.

Up at Third Place, Eric Liu reads from The True Patriot, which is a skinny little book on how to be patriotic. The publisher says “the principles of true patriotism — country above self, responsible stewardship, equality, shared sacrifice and service — are inherently progressive.”

At Town Hall, Carl Zimmer reads from Microcosm, which is about E. coli. This doesn’t look like one of those “We’re all gonna die!” books, so if you’re interested in the science of disease but you’re not interested in hypochondriacs, this might be the talk for you.

Also at Town Hall, Richard Florida reads from Who’s Your City?: How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. which seems to be making a bad play on “Who’s your daddy?” in the title. Florida wrote a book a few years ago where he insisted that America is home to a new class of worker, the Creative Class. I say, if you consider being a copywriter that much different from a factory worker—aside from the pay and the quality of life differences, of course—you’re not observing things as closely as you should be.

And at Elliott Bay Book Company, Tim Winton, the Australian who wrote the lovely novel Dirt Music, is reading from his new one, Breath.

Questions can be aimed at the full readings calendar.