THURSDAY 8/25

Edie Meidav
Meidav's new novel, Crawl Space, sounds worth reading simply for its wholly original take on World War II. It follows a busted French-Nazi collaborator who, decades after fleeing his sentence, travels back to the scene of his crimes as an 84-year-old fugitive, seeking to exact a very strange and troubling revenge. Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne, 238-1668, 7:30 pm

MacKenzie Bezos
MacKenzie Bezos' debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright, is an intense study of a man who becomes estranged from his family in the wake of an earthquake that damages his hand-built home. Bezos also happens to be the wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, for all you mega-corporation buffs out there. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm

SATURDAY 8/27

Debra Magpie Earling
Continuing this month's celebration of a new wing that features Native American literature, plays, poetry, and more, Multnomah Library presents Salish and Kootenai tribes member Debra Magpie Earling, whose novel Perma Red won the American Book Award in 2003. Central Library, 801 SW 10th, 988-5471, 2 pm

Used Book Buyback
Yet again, Powell's opens up its entire warehouse to buy your used books. It's just like selling books at the normal stores, 'cept you can bring 'em in by the truckload instead of the three tattered Safeway bags you used last time. Powell's Warehouse, 2720 NW 29th,, Sat-Sun 9 am-5 pm

Annual PikNuke
Join poetry lovers from across Oregon for this once-yearly informal gathering of poetry readings and free verse in the shadow of one of America's most scenic nuclear cooling towers. Bring food, drink, frisbees, dogs, and doobage. Toxic waste provided courtesy of Trojan Power. Trojan Nuclear Power Plant/Recreational Area, The Columbia River along Hwy 30, noon-6 pm

Magdalen Powers & Frayn Masters
See review this issue. Urban Grind, 2214 NE Oregon, 546-0649, 8 pm

MONDAY 8/29

Thom Hartmann
See My, What A Busy Week!, pg. 15. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm