Barbara Gowdy
Canadian author Gowdy presents The Romantic, a novel about two adults dealing with memories of a damaged childhood. Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 246-0053, 7:30 pm, free
Gina Ochsner & Marjorie Sandor
Two short story-ists serve it up; Ochsner from her collection The Necessary Grace to Fall and Sandor from Portrait of My Mother, Who Posed Nude in Wartime, a series of interlocking tales surrounding a single family. Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 238-1668, 7:30 pm, free
Canal House
A war correspondent must consider the lives his dirty muckraking effects in this new novel by Mark Lee. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free
* The Book of Spies
Edited by the reclusive Alan Furst, Spies is a collection of espionage fiction from writers like John Steinbeck, Joseph Conrad and Rebecca West. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free
* Tim Sandlin
Twenty-Third Avenue Books has been moving up in the world lately, luring some heavyweights into the store. Tonight it's the critically revered Wyoming darling Tim Sandlin reading from his new one, Honey Don't. Twenty-Third Avenue Books, 1015 NW 23rd Ave, 224-5097, 7:30 pm, free
* Rhizomatica: An Occasional Cabaret
A variety of musicians, multidimensional performers, poets, and general freaks gather to make living poems; fusions of movement, music, and spoken word. Pacific Switchboard, 4637 N Albina, 236-0867, 8 pm, $5 donation
Daniel Pharr
Local boy Pharr shares from his book The Moon & Everyday Living, an exploration of "moon signs" and how they effect daily life. Pharr is a registered pagan. Another Moon, 618 NW Flanders St, 223-9332, 7 pm
* Amber Gayle & Stacy Wakefield
Activists Gayle and Wakefield also publish books under the moniker Evil Twin Publications. Tonight they celebrate their latest project, a re-release of Not For Rent: Conversations With Creative Activists. What's more, they're ACTUALLY twins... Creepy! Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, 274-1449, 7 pm, free
* Stacy Mitchell
The author and activist comes to discuss her book The Home Town Advantage, a lesson on defending your street from evil, evil Taco Bells and other chain stores. Medicine Hat, 1834 NE Alberta, 282-4083, 7 pm, free
Tom Franklin
First-time novelist Franklin presents Hell at the Breech, a story of the deep south and the future name of my metal band. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free
Speakeasy Speak Out
Writers from Speakeasy like David Biespiel and Ursula K. Leguin want to engage YOU in a forum on the relationship between reading, writing, and political dissent. Only question is, do you want to be engaged? Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 284-1726, 7 pm, free
* David Halberstam
One of the most tender sports writers around, Halberstam combines powerful journalistic inquiry with an undying love for the Boston Red Sox. Powell's, at First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free
* Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie blah blah, everyone knows who he is. What's intriguing about this event is the shroud of secrecy surrounding it. 23rd Ave. Books won't release the venue the reading is at, or the ticket prices. To get a ticket you have to call the number listed here and... nobody knows. Nobody's lived to tell the tale. Don't show up at the door without a ticket, though; you won't be allowed in. Twenty-Third Avenue Books, 1015 NW 23rd Ave, 224-5097, 7:30 pm, free