Authorial Intent: Debuts, Nobels, Pulitzers

Authorial Intent spotlights readings throughout the area. All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Michelle Wildgen, You're Not You, Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith.
In Wildgen's debut novel, which is enjoying glowing reviews, Bec, a drifting college student, takes care of Kate, an older, sophisticated woman dying from ALS. The two grow close, and soon Bec is taking care of business for Kate - such as carrying out a clever little way to get revenge on Kate's ex.

James D. Watson, Avoid Boring People, Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 pm, Memorial Church via Harvard Book Store, $5. More info.
Yes, Watson is that Watson, of Watson & Crick fame. Interesting that the man who discovered the double helix can boil down his life lessons into the helpful phrase "Avoid Boring People." So, can we get a Nobel if we surround ourselves with exciting types, too?

Charlie Savage, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, Thursday, October 4, 6:30 pm, Old South Meeting House. Ford Hall Forum Series.
In TakeoverGlobe reporter and Pulitzer winner Charlie Savage questions President Bush's (mis)interpretation of the Constitution as a bold power grab for the executive branch.

Richard Russo, Bridge of Sighs, Thursday, October 4, 6:00 pm, Coolidge Corner Theatre via Brookline Booksmith, $5.
Russo is following up Empire Falls with another novel about small-town American life. Along with Charlie Savage, Russo makes for two Pulitzer winners reading in Boston in one night. Which will you choose?

Susan Faludi, The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America, Friday, October 5, 7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store. More info.
Faludi analyzes the stories told about women and men after 9/11 and during the war on terror, including how the government shaped and used the story of Jessica Lynch. Unfortunately, when all is said and done, painting men as rescuers and women like Lynch as the rescued doesn't do squat when it comes to fighting terrorism in the real world.

John Bowe, Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy, Monday, October 8, 7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store. More info.
Journalist John Bowe interviews the people who perpetuate slave labor in America and reaches out to the victims. Bowe just did an interview with the Daily Show, and he gave some brief information on what ordinary people can do to help stop the practice. If you can't go, try looking up the CIW Campaign for Fair Food.

Amir Aczel, The Jesuit and the Skull: Teilhard de Chardin, Evolution, and the Search for Peking Man, Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith.
Aczel recounts the story of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who was instrumental in the discovery of Peking Man. Teilhard de Chardin, who helped link human to ape, was also a Jesuit priest, and the Catholic Church clamped down on his attempt to prove that religion and science were not mutually exclusive.

Is a reading missing? Or suddenly sold out? Leave a message in the comments or e-mail caroline@bostonist.com.