Books
Susan Choi draws on real-life, high-profile crimes for her literary works. Her last book was American Woman, based on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, and now she's inspired by her father's real-life experience as a former colleague of the Unabomber in her latest, A Person of Interest. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free.

Movies
Child of the Big City and Daydreams are two silent films from the vanguard of pre-revolution Russian cinema. The former features a tangoing femme fatale; the latter is an ancestor of Hitchcock's Vertigo, set in Bruges. Yevgenii Bauer (1867-1917; known for some early, creative use of dolly shots) directed both. Live piano accompaniment! Harvard Film Archive, 7:00 pm, $10.

Irrationality
MIT prof Dan Ariely is one of those economists with surprising conclusions about human behavior. He introduces his new book Predictably Irrational tonight. He spoke to Bostonist earlier in the week--check out the podcast. Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 7:00 pm, Free.

Conflicts of Interest
Bostonist DJ Vix will be spinning indie rock at River Gods tonight. Ask her about her Jonathan Papelbon pendant. River Gods, 125 River Street, Cambridge, free.

C. Fernsebner and Rick Sawyer contributed to this post.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Bostonist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.