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1. The Ryan Boudinot reading tonight is totally your best bet. It's the launch party for his new, very good novel, which you'll be hearing a lot about in the days to come.

2. William Gibson reads from his first-ever collection of essays, Distrust That Particular Flavor, at a reading sponsored by University Book Store at the United Methodist Church tonight. Gibson will also be reading at Elliott Bay Book Company tomorrow night.

3. Meanwhile, at Elliott Bay tonight, Adam Johnson will read from his remarkably well-timed novel, The Orphan Master's Son. It's a literary novel by a talented new-ish writer—if short fiction is your bag, you should absolutely read Johnson's short story collection Emporium for its surprising, beautiful brief narratives—about a North Korean man who is forced to make some difficult decisions in the name of the state. He becomes a state-sanctioned kidnapper and is seemingly happy with his job until he falls in love. Eventually, he finds himself in direct conflict with Kim Jong Il in the name of love. If you want to discuss North Korea with someone who has committed himself to years of research in the nation, tonight's your big chance.

4. If you're looking for events, we have the best readings calendar in town, by far.