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Listings for Thursday, August 14, through Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Marcus Sakey "You find a chest of gold, you better know there's a monster guarding it," says Jack Witkowski, the monster in Marcus Sakey's third crime thriller, Good People (Dutton). The good people he's explaining the facts of life to are Tom and Anna Reed, a couple of "taxpayers," as a cop calls them, Lincoln Square home owners living at the limit of their paychecks and credit but doing OK. Then they happen upon the cash Witkowski and his gang ripped off in a practically victimless crime--robbing a high-end drug dealer and the smarmy Hollywood star he's selling toÑand they take it. The coils begin to tighten as armed robbers, drug dealers, and police circle the hapless duo to take it back. Sakey's real skill is in plotting, as he demonstrates with the dollar amount he chose for his MacGuffin. Four hundred grand is enough to keep the Reeds in the lifestyle to which they're accustomed without worry, so it's worth fighting for. But it's not nearly enough to allow them to disappear off the grid entirely, so fight they must if they want to keep it. Sakey's not as good at drawing characters--Witkowski is somewhat complex and therefore attractive, but the Reeds are utterly generic and banal. Though maybe that's the point--they're John and Jane Q. Public learning to fight back against the predators. As Anna says to Tom as they plot against Witkowski, "We're not evil people, baby. We're just in over our head." -->  Thu 8/14, 7 PM, Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln, 773-293-2665. --Patrick Daily

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Critics' Choice: Marcus Sakey. Highly Recommended: Stephanie Kuehnert

Readings and lectures are compiled by Jerome Ludwig from information received by Monday. Please submit events (include phone numbers) to readings@chicagoreader.com or Readings Listings, Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago 60611. Admission is free unless otherwise noted.

ANNALEMMA Release party for issue number three of the lit/arts magazine with readings by Jill Summers, Zach Plague)Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring), and Chris Bower. Sat 8/16, 8 PM, Chinaski's, 1935 N. Damen, annalemma.net, 21+. "Free drinks for the first 50 people."

DAN BRERETON (nocturnals.com) signs his comics (Nocturnals et al). Sat 8/16, 7-10 PM, Challengers Comics, 1845 N. Western, 773-278-0155, 21+. "All attendees will get a free bottle of NocturnAle."

WILL BYINGTON (wearecubsfans.com) promotes his new photo collection, We Are Cubs Fans, at a release party. Fri 8/15, 7:30 PM, Harry Caray's Tavern, 3551 N. Sheffield, 312-498-6444 or wearecubsfans@gmail.com, RSVP requested.

TOMMY CHONG "America's favorite stoner comedian" signs Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography. Mon 8/18, 7:30 PM, Borders, 2817 N. Clark, 773-935-3909.

RSTEPHANIE KUEHNERT reads from her exuberant debut novel, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone. Kuehnert's heroine, Emily Black, starts off a rebellious teen growing up in the nothing-ever-happens-here town of Carlisle, Wisconsin, where the only escapes are sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. But for Emily the sex is empty, the drugs just make her head pound, and rocking out is the only thing that comes close to filling the void left by her mother, Louisa, who split when Emily was an infant to "follow the music." Sat 8/16, 7 PM (open mike follows), Tamale Hut Cafe, 8300 W. Cermak, North Riverside, 708-442-0948, Tue 8/19, 7 PM, Quimby's, 1854 W. North, 773-342-0910.

CAROL LACHAPELLE talks about Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Stories: 167 Ways to Write Your Life Stories. Thu 8/14, 7 PM, Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park, 708-383-8200.

LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT This edition features JoAnn Fastoff (The Pact), Katie Wadell (Berkeley Bohemia: Artists and Visionaries of the Early 20th Century), Clinton Sivert (Death & Circumstance), and June Skinner Sawyers (Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter). Wed 8/20, 7 PM, Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln, 773-293-2665.

SANDRA TSING LOH (A Year in Van Nuys) presents Mother on Fire: A True Motherf%#$@ Story About Parenting! Fri 8/15, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299.

DANICA MCKELLAR (Math Doesn't Suck) plugs Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss. Mon 8/18, 7:30 PM, Barnes & Noble, 55 Old Orchard Center, Skokie, 847-676-2230.

MARK PAULSON signs his "memoir/work-of-narrative-non-fiction," 9/11 and Home. Thu 8/14, 6 PM, All-Stars Bar and Grill, Presidential Towers, 555 W. Madison, 312-277-0500.

POWELL'S NORTH READING SERIES Poet Gabriel Gudding (Rhode Island Notebook) is the featured reader. Fri 8/15, 7 PM, Powell's Bookstore, 2850 N. Lincoln, 773-248-1444.

DOMNICA RADULESCU reads from her debut novel, Train to Trieste, which is set partly in Chicago. Wed 8/20, 6 PM, 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th, 773-684-1300.

critic choiceMARCUS SAKEY Thu 8/14, 7 PM, Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln, 773-293-2665.

SAPPHO'S SALON "A provocative night of lesbian diversions." Featured are memoirist Andrea Askowitz (My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy), novelist Fiona Zedde (Hungry for It), and editor Jolie Du Pre (Iridescence: Sensuous Shades of Lesbian Erotica). Sat 8/16, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, $7-$10 includes refreshments.

STUART SHEA AND ROBERT RODGRIGUEZ present Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles . . and More! Tue 8/19, 7 PM, Northtown branch library, 6435 N. California, 312-744-2292.

ANN SLAVICK shares tips from Hour Chicago: Twenty-five 60-Minute Self-guided Tours of Chicago's Great Architecture and Art. Thu 8/14, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299.

NEIL STEINBERG The Sun-Times columnist signs his memoir, Drunkard: A Hard-Drinking Life. Drunkard isn't mawkish. It isn't false. It doesn't try to charm its readers into forgiving the author's flaws. Steinberg expects us to like him no more than he likes himself, and based on the evidence of this book, that relationship blows hot and cold. --Michael Miner Thu 8/14, 7:30 PM, Book Market, 1950 Tower, Glenview, 847-904-7304.

TWILIGHT TALES Open-mike night. Theme: A Comedy Tonight! Mon 8/18, 7:30 PM, Mystic Celt, 3443 N. Southport, twilighttales.com, $4 suggested donation.

CLARK WEBER promotes Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975. Thu 8/14, noon-2 PM, Barnes & Noble, DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson, 312-362-8792.

@list CATEGORY 2:Other

COLLEGE OF COMPLEXES Mike Witort holds forth on "Medical Terrorism and Perpetuating the Fraud." Sat 8/16, 8 PM, Lincoln Restaurant, 4008 N. Lincoln, 312-327-6611 or 312-842-5036, $3 plus a $5 food/drink purchase.

CREATIVE LIVING IN THE CITY Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association (melaweb.org) president Mike Nowak's topic is "What the Heck Are You Doing to My Yard?" Thu 8/14, 12:15 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630.
 
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