It's a spooky time of year, but these author events are serious. From a screening of the presidential debates to a reading by Dennis Lehane (will Matt Damon be there?!) to an appearance by the PC guy (hobo-obsessed John Hodgman), things are hot in the literary world this month. Good thing, too—it’s getting cold outside. All we want is to curl up with a good book. (* = recommended) Wednesday, October 1, 7:00 pm, Porter......

It's official: Harvard Book Store is in new hands. We hope they're good. Frank Kramer sold the store to Jeff Mayersohn and Linda Seamonson of Wellesley today, after 46 years of ownership. The store has been independent for 75 years--take that, B&N. Mayersohn, a Sox fan (surprise), Harvard grad, and longtime Harvard Book Store customer, is thrilled to take over the operation. Kramer will work for a few months as a consultant, and General Manager......

*Monday, September 8th, 6:00pm, Brattle Theatre, $5 Paul Auster, Man in the Dark Tuesday, September 9, 7:00pm, Porter Square Books Carol Band, A Household Word Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00pm, Brookline Booksmith Louis Bayard, The Black Tower Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00pm, Harvard Book Store Frank Wilczek, The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces Wednesday, September 10, 6:00pm, Hotel Marlowe Barbara Helfgott Hyett Wednesday, September 10th, 7:00pm, Harvard Book Store Maureen N.......

Padma Viswanathan, The Toss of a Lemon with Randa Jarrar, A Map of Home Harvard Book Store, 7:00pm The Toss of a Lemon explores the life of Sivakami, an Indian girl married off at ten and widowed by eighteen. Based on the experiences of Viswanathan's own family, the book is a detailed investigation of Indian culture and the consequences of disobeying societal expectations, and is reminiscent of some issues (especially relationships with servants) explored......

It's back to school, and back to the books. September is brimming with book events, from this week's sold-out Junot Diaz production to Dennis Lehane to Billy Collins and more. *Friday, September 5th, 7:00pm, Harvard Book Store Randa Jarrar & Padma Viswanathan, A Map of Home and The Toss of a Lemon *Monday, September 8th, 6:00pm, Brattle Theatre, $5 Paul Auster, Man in the Dark Tuesday, September 9, 7:00pm, Porter Square Books Carol Band, A......

Well, we’ve been slow in posting August book events, but you haven’t actually missed any yet. August is traditionally a slow month for publishers, and Harvard Book Store appears to be taking the month off; its next listed event isn’t until September 3 (but it’s a doozy—Junot Diaz! zomg! apparently he likes to make September appearances here--and the price has tripled since last year... but now you can get a book for it!). Check Porter......

Sunday, July 20, 1pm and 3pm, Spectacle Island Visitor Center Christopher Klein, Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands Monday, July 21, 7pm, Brookline Booksmith @ The Coolidge Corner Theatre Susan Quinn with an introduction by Howard Zinn Furious Improvisations: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times *Tuesday, July 22, 7pm, Porter Square Books Steve Almond Not That You Asked David Blair, Ascension Days Tuesday, July 22, 7pm, Harvard......

It's bibliomania this week, with tons of book events ranging from bigshot Salman Rushdie reading from his latest tomorrow to small press folks visiting Brookline Booksmith on Saturday. Whether you like your authors established or up-and-coming, this week is a great time to head out for a reading. Monday, July 14, 7pm, Memorial Church (1 Harvard Yard, Cambridge), $5 Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence *Monday, July 14, 7pm, Porter Square Books Perri Klass, The......

Monday, July 7, 7pm, Porter Square Books Zoe Ferraris, Finding Nouf Tuesday, July 8, 7pm, Porter Square Books Robin Messing and Joan Silber Wednesday, July 9, 7pm, Porter Square Books Jennifer Haigh, The Condition Wednesday, July 9, 7pm, Brookline Booksmith The Daily Candy Lexicon: Words That Don't Exist But Should Thursday, July 10, 7pm, Porter Square Books Laurie Edwards, Life Disrupted *Thursday, July 10, 7pm, Harvard Book Store Christian Lander, Stuff White People Like: A......

July is upon us. This month, you can celebrate stuff white people like, as we did recently, or try to comfort Salman in the wake of his divorce from Padma. There's also a new Harvard Square Book Circle book discussion group at Harvard Book Store and a wonderful small press night (sponsored by Rose Metal Press) at Brookline Booksmith, plus Andre Dubus III comes to Porter Square Books. Be sure to get your reading glasses......

Gary Marcus Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind Harvard Book Store, 7pm, Thursday, June 19 Event canceled due to illness. Gary Marcus is smart. He understands the workings of the human brain, including evolutionary mechanisms that make us “the only species smart enough to systematically plan for the future—yet dumb enough to ditch our most carefully made plans in favor of short-term gratification.” His new book Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human......

Apparently book events only happen Tuesday through Thursday these days. Clear up your calendar for a little literary love or nonfiction knowledge. We recommend Alison Bass' indictment of Paxil and Prozac, as well as Gary Marcus' exploration of why our brains are so cobbled-together and inefficient. We may have an interview with Marcus later this week, so be on the lookout. Tuesday, June 17th, 7:00pm, Brookline Booksmith Michael Holley, Red Sox Rule Tuesday, June 17th,......

Lewis Black Me of Little Faith Friday, June 6th, 1:00pm, Borders Bookstore Friday, June 6th, 6:00pm, Coolidge Corner, $5 Saturday, June 7th, 7:00pm, First Parish Church Meetinghouse, $5 Everyone's favorite sputtery funnyman, Lewis Black, is in town for not one, not two, but three book readings this weekend! Given that Black's new book, Me of Little Faith, is about religion, that's a suspiciously holy trinity. The only question remains--which appearance is which? Is Harvard Book......

The weather's finally warm and the days are perfect for chilling outside with a book. Check our list of June book events around town to see what you might want to pick up for either frivolous or fierce reading experiences. This week, both Lewis Black and David Sedaris are in town to tickle your funnybones, so get tickets for the titillation while you still can. Later this month readers will tackle topics ranging from pirates......

May winds down with some excellent book events addressing issues from economics to politics to the art of writing. There's even a double-whammy of Wrights reading poetry tomorrow night. Monday, May 26th, 7pm, Brookline Booksmith Franz Wright, God’s Silence C.D. Wright, Rising, Falling, Hovering Tuesday, May 27th, 6pm, Brattle Theatre, $5 sponsored by Harvard Book Store Ted Sorensen, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History Tuesday, May 27, 7pm, Porter Square Books Leif Enger,......

Lewis Black Saturday, June 7, 7:00pm First Parish Church Meetinghouse, Cambridge More information Lewis Black, a frequent guest on the Daily Show, yells a lot and hates religion. Fans in Boston paid more than $80 to see his stand-up routine last month, but you have the opportunity to catch him for a mere $5. Black will read from his new book, Me of Little Faith, Saturday, June 7th at the First Parish Meetinghouse in Cambridge.......

Book your calendar this week with book events involving history, politics, wine, falconing, and poetry. And don't forget that everyone's favorite anchor, Barbara Walters, signs her new book Audition: A Memoir Thursday evening at Brookline Booksmith. We bet it'll be as popular as that Apple Store opening! Maybe? Monday, May 19th, 7pm, Pandemonium Books & Games Daily Show writer Rob Kutner, Apocalypse How: Making the End Times The Best of Times (book signing) *Monday, May......

Preeta Samarasan Evening is the Whole Day with V. V. Ganeshananthan, Love Marriage Today, 7pm, Harvard Book Store Conversation on political identity in literature to follow. The light goes down and the sky reddens, pain grows sharp, light dwindles. Then is evening when jasmine flowers open, the deluded say. But evening is the great brightening dawn when crested cocks crow all through the tall city and evening is the whole day for those without......

Fareed Zakaria’s new book, The Post-American World, deals with “the rise of the rest,” the great successes that traditionally poorer and less powerful nations (particularly India and China) have achieved in the past few decades. Harvard Bookstore brought Zakaria to First Parish Church last night to discuss his book and politics in general with Harvard history prof Niall Ferguson. Bostonist was there to get the Post-American scoop. The evening started with Ferguson asking some broad......

National Poetry Month may be over, but that doesn't mean it's time for you to put away the books. It's dreary out right now, but warmer weather should be just around the corner, enabling you to crack a book in the great outdoors. Our lovely local bookstores are bringing us bunches of great readings in May. Big names like Fareed Zakaria, Mike Gravel, and Howard Zinn will discuss politics, while Brookline native BabaWawa returns to......

Jorie Graham Sea Change Wednesday, April 2nd, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Book Store More Details Poet and Harvard prof Jorie Graham has just come out with a new book of poems, Sea Change, which she'll read from tonight at Harvard Book Store to help launch National Poetry Month. If you miss Graham's smart, refined verse this time around, be sure to catch the Pulitzer winner at Brookline Booksmith on April 28th instead.......

Books Sarah Boxer bravely prowled through the blogosphere to share its treasures with us in Ultimate Blogs. Of course, Go Fug Yourself makes the list. Brattle Theatre (via Harvard Book Store), 6:00 pm, $5. Edit: Event has been moved to Harvard Book Store --If you've been reading Bostonist for a while, you might know how we feel about the potential of wind power. A while ago, we read this barnburner of a book about......

Books Is it possible to be saved by the Sex Pistols? The answer to that is a resounding yes. Michael Patrick MacDonald will be reading from Easter Rising, an account of his youth in the Boston punk scene, at Brookline Booksmith. Bostonist had the opportunity to hear him read from the book when he spoke at UMass-Boston, and we say with great emphasis that this is a must-see, not just for those who love......

Dance Party JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, of the terribly missed Le Tigre, are now working it as a DJ duo known MEN. The new stuff definitely riffs off the best of Le Tigre, which still owns the award for best prom photo/album cover ever. Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, $12, 9:00 pm. Movies When we started writing about this happening, we swore we wouldn't do this, but "ARE YOU TALKIN' TO ME?" Taxi......

Short Cartoons You saw the nominees for the Live Action Short Film Academy Award last night; come back to the ICA for the contenders in the animated category. Formats include traditional 2D animation, CGI, and claymation. Check out the John Lennon interview film "I Met the Walrus." Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, South Boston, 7:00pm. $7/$9. Recover Heal a broken heart with laughter. Ben Karlin has assembled a collection of raucous breakup......

Books --Charles Bock's Beautiful Children isn't as delicate as it sounds. A couple reels after their child vanishes in the Las Vegas desert--only it's so, so much more than that, and it's received a flood of attention. The Globe thought Bock threw too much into his debut, but everyone seems to agree that he's ambitious. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. Speaking of free, he's letting you download the book without dropping a single dime.......

Music Atlas Sound, featuring Bradford Cox going solo during Deerhunter's hiatus, hits the Middle East tonight, riding a wave of praise for his new project. Cox's hometown weekly, Atlanta's Creative Loafing, raves, "Let the Blind contains Cox's most haunting and sad songs to date. It throbs with delirious depression, and is bursting with powerful, barely contained emotions." For those of you who can handle strong emotions in the bleak winter, Cox is your fella.......

Books Susan Choi draws on real-life, high-profile crimes for her literary works. Her last book was American Woman, based on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, and now she's inspired by her father's real-life experience as a former colleague of the Unabomber in her latest, A Person of Interest. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. Movies Child of the Big City and Daydreams are two silent films from the vanguard of pre-revolution Russian cinema. The former......

Dan Ariely Predictably Irrational Harvard Book Store Monday, February 25, 7:00pm Free Ariely's Official Site Dan Ariely is a MIT economist with big ideas. He has spent his 20 year academic career questioning the assumptions that make classical economics work. Classical economists believe that given the choice, most people behave rationally. That is, most people make decisions that give them pleasure and make their lives easier. But of course we don't actually behave that way.......

Movies The MFA calls Les Saignantes "the first science fiction film to come out of Africa," which should be reason enough to see it. But did we mention that it has won comparisons to Russ Meyer? And that it's about a group of women determined to rid their distopian future world of all men? Cameroon director Jean-Pierre Bekolo wins Bostonist's seal of approval. Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, 6:00pm (also screening Sunday). $8/$9......