Things are finally back on track after the election, with the author of a popular young adult series reading in town tonight. There are other books being discussed tonight, too, about surfing and gorillas in Uganda and there’s even one titled Who Will Build the Ark? The Architectural Imagination in an Age of Catastrophic Convergence. And then there are the three readings I want to talk about here.

The Hugo House is hosting Cheap Wine and Poetry, a reading series in which wine is available for only a dollar a glass. The thought of alcohol, in this post-Election Day world, still vaguely makes me want to vomit, but I’m sure many people are ready to get their drink on again. Readers at this event include Marya Sea Kaminski, Daemond Arrindel, and the one-man talent storm known as Brian McGuigan, who is just a joy and a pleasure to everyone who knows him. Also, Stranger writer Cienna Madrid will be reading from her work-in-progress novel.

If that wasn’t enough for you, there’s also Jonathan Hodgman at Town Hall. I didn’t realize, when I wrote up this event for our Suggests calendar, that John Roderick and Sean Nelson will also be performing at this event. This is sure to be a good time, and could be the best entertainment option of the evening.

Lastly, at the University Bookstore, Sherry Jones reads from her book, The Jewel of Medina. I wrote about this book in Constant Reader a few months ago:

Random House imprint Ballantine Books paid $100,000 for the rights to The Jewel of Medina and a hypothetical sequel by Spokane author Sherry Jones. Medina is a novel written from the point of view of Muhammad’s wife Aishah, and the book had all the signs of becoming a best seller with the book-club crowd. When Ballantine sent an advance copy of the book to Middle Eastern Studies professor Denise Spellberg in the hopes of a blurb, Spellberg contacted Muslim message boards and alerted them that the book “made fun of Muslims and their history.” Soon, angry Muslims were calling for a boycott and demanding that Random House disassociate from the book.

Of course, Random House did drop Medina, for fear of retribution. Medina has been picked up by another publisher, and now the author is in town, and people who would like to show their solidarity with a publisher that is not a total fucking coward like Random House should attend this reading.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here.