Authorial Intent: Patchett, Sixx, Robison - Strange Bedfellows, Indeed

Ann Patchett, Wednesday, September 26, 6:00 pm, Coolidge Corner (via Brookline Booksmith)
The author of Bel Canto situates her latest book in Boston, and the plot should seem awfully familiar - the head of a political family tries to perpetuate a political dynasty. A Boston mayor steps down and tries to drive two of his adopted sons into politics. In the span of one day, events unfold that might change those plans.

Vincent Lam, Wednesday, September 26, 7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
"ER" and "House" junkies, take note! Lam, a doctor and author from Canada, will be reading from Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures: Stories.

Nikki Sixx, Thursday, September 27, 1:00 pm, Borders Downtown Crossing
Motley Crue bassist Sixx partied so hard that he probably impressed Keith Richards. But he paid the price, overdosed, and hit rock bottom. It's a common celebrity story, but Sixx's version has even more immediacy because he's released the diaries he kept during 1986 and 1987, when he was at the mercy of heroin.

John Robison, Thursday, September 27, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
John Robison has every right to pen a memoir of his famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at things) brother, Augusten Burroughs. Instead Robison's memoir is more personal and addresses his struggles with Asperger's Syndrome, which manifests itself as a difficulty to communicate and interact with others. On his blog, Robison lists his goals for this book: "I hope to show the wider world that Aspergian people, and other autistic people, have feelings just like everyone else. Our thought processes may at times be different, but our underlying emotions are the same."

Ben Kiernan, Friday, September 28, 3:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Given the recent firestorm about the Anti-Defamation League's presence in Watertown and the ADL's refusal to push for legislation declaring the Armenian Genocide a genocide, Kiernan's Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur should be a must-read. And, yes, Kiernan studies the Armenian Genocide--as well as many others--to try to find ways to recognize potential genocides and stop them as soon as possible.

Ann Packer, Friday, September 28, 7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
In Songs Without Words, Packer follows a friendship between two women that has lasted from their teens into their 40s. Yet a suicide attempt by the daughter of one of the women brings back painful memories and opens old wounds.

Katha Pollitt, Monday, October 1, 7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Pollitt is known for what she's written for The Nation, but she will be at Harvard Book Store to read from Learning to Drive, a set of funny stories about her own life. In one of the more discussed stories, "Webstalker," Pollitt fesses up to tracking the behavior of an unfaithful ex online - and having a good time doing it.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
You may not know who Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is, but you've definitely heard the inspirational slogan that she created - well-behaved women seldom make history. Ulrich looks back at why other women took her words to heart and why it is so important for women to stay ill-mannered. Did we mention she's a Pulitzer Prize winner, too?

Is a reading missing? Or suddenly sold out? Leave a message in the comments.