Monday Happenings

BBQ and Bikes

Redbones is holding its 12th annual Bike Party and Benefit. There's a raffle and loads of swag, not to mention uber-fancy "bicycle valet parking." If that's not enough to hold your interest, check out Bostonist's Bike Week news. 55 Chester Street, Somerville, 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. $15. (CR)

Books

Simon Winchester, whose book about the Oxford English Dictionary has long held Bostonist's admiration, looks at China through the eyes of Joseph Needham, a professor who fell in love with the country and produced the exhaustive, 17-volume Science and Civilization in China. Somehow, Winchester's title, The Man Who Loved China, seems to be an understatement. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm. Free. (CR)

Movies

Speaking of perspectives on China in light of the horrifying earthquake, the Olympics, and the movement to free Tibet, the MFA is showing the documentary Up the Yangtze, a look at the building of the Three Gorges Dam and the number of people displaced by the massive project. Director Yung Chang will be there. MFA, Remis Auditorium, 7:00 pm. You need to be a member of the Friends of Film for admission. (CR)

--If you're in the mood for something on the lighter side, you can always take in the Gathering of Coens retrospective running at the Brattle. Tonight marks the theatre's celebration of the Coen's silly side with screenings of Raising Arizona at 8:00 and The Big Lebowski at 10:00. $9.50. (CR)

Caroline Roberts contributed to this post.