We have books about "turning your home into a sustainable green space," a book by the "inspiring" creator of the "Synergistically Complete ® concept," an "inspirational book" by some sort of local TV and radio personality named Tony Ventrella, a children's book about a purple kangaroo, a pulpy crime thriller about a man nicknamed "Shake," a discussion of the influenza epidemic of 1918 and three exciting events tonight.

Robert Fishman reads at Kane Hall tonight. Fishman, an "expert in urban planning," is giving a lecture titled "Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson: The Death and Life of Nature and the City." Jacobs and Carson were geniuses in their respective fields, and I had never before considered putting them together to see the similarities. This seems like a brilliant idea.

Willy Vlautin reads at University Book Store tonight. Way back when, Slog commenter Pop Tart* wrote a review of Vlautin's novel Northline.

Here is my book report on Northline by Willy Vlautin, a gritty realistic American novel that…blah, blah, blah. If you want the adjective-laced drivel about what a great American novel this is, check out Vlautin’s website, but this is a book report for Slog so I’m just going to skip right to the good stuff. Northline has drugs, heavy drinking, a skinhead party in the desert, a gay bashing of a not gay, awful sexual encounters, and Paul Newman.

If you're interested in this reading, you should check out the full book report.

And Debra Durham , Ph.D reads at Seattle Public Library's central branch. The local primatologist will discuss the Great Ape Protection Act and explain why Maria Cantwell should push for it in the Senate. Hooray for the Great Ape!

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.

* As an aside: Man, I miss Pop Tart's comments.