Tuesday Happenings

Books

-- Sloane Crosley has conquered the literary world from the inside out. She started as a publicist before writing her own book, a collection of nonfiction memories describing her move from suburbia to New York City, dodging bad bosses and poop on her carpet all the way. She's been compared to David Sedaris, and it's not hype. Read Bostonist's interview. Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., Brookline, 7:00 pm. Free. (CR)

-- Republican Party turncoat Kevin Phillips, author of the groundbreaking The Politics of Rich and Poor and Bush-clan-skewering American Dynasty, talks about his latest. The title--Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism--pulls no punches. First Parish Church Meetinghouse, 3 Church St., Cambridge, 7:30 pm. Free. (Presented by Harvard Book Store.) (CR)

-- In Human Smoke, pretend historian Nicholson Baker marshals widely known facts (Churchill was a fascist sympathizer and a warmonger; FDR harbored a patrician antisemitism) to demonstrate the unlikely thesis that World War II's pacifists were right. His obsessive use of "primary" newspaper sources lets Baker suggest his conclusions rather than argue them. Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Cambridge, 7:00pm. Free.

Music
-- He totally wishes he were a novelist, but for the time being, Colin Meloy is "only" an indie darling--but a notably literary one, at that. The Decemberists frontman is promoting his new solo work, Colin Meloy Sings Live!, by doing just that. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, 7:30 pm. $25. (KS)

Caroline Roberts and Kerry Skemp contributed to this post.

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