Edward Espe Brown reads from The Complete Tassajara Cookbook at Third Place Books tonight. This is a vegetarian cookbook from a popular zen retreat nestled in California's Ventana Wilderness. Apparently, zen is famous for delicious lunches. University Book Store hosts another food-based reading. Tod Davies reads from Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking with What You've Got. Unfortunately, my intern Corey Kahler, who has quite a bit of experience working in a kitchen, informs me that this book, which purports to be about cooking without recipes, is not very good. He had high hopes for it, too.

At the Central Library, it's time for Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. Kidd, the self-help author who inflicted The Secret Life of Bees on the world, has co-written a travelogue with Taylor, her daughter. It is titled Traveling with Pomegranates. Have you ever read The Secret Life of Bees? Then perhaps you understand how evil Sue Monk Kidd is.

And Elliott Bay Book Company hosts Tess Gallagher and Fred Marchant. The Man from Kinvara is a short story collection by Gallagher. Marchant is a poet who is "one of the first U.S. Marines to be honorably discharged as a conscientious objector." I am not a fan of Gallagher's stories, which are generally far too stuffy for me.

Unless you are a big fan of zen lunch, today I suggest you stay home and read instead.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here. And if you're planning on staying in and you're looking for personalized book recommendations, feel free to tell me the books you like and ask me what to read next over at Questionland.