Readings

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WEDNESDAY 7/21

Akashic Neighborhood Book Store Tim McLoughlin, Chris Niles, Nicole Blackman & three Brooklyn Rail authors read; Tillie's of Brooklyn, 248 Dekalb Ave. (Vanderbilt Ave.), 718-783-6140; 7:30.

Country of Origin: A Novel From Publishers Weekly: "Ploughshares editor [Don] Lee uses the racial homogeneity of Japan as a stark backdrop to this elegant first novel, a follow-up to his short-story collection, Yellow"; Barnes & Noble, 2289 B'way (82nd St.), 212-362-8835; 7:30, FREE.

Fantastic Fiction James P. Blaylock (The Ice, The Old Woman and the Moon) reads; KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St. (betw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.), 212-505-3360; 7.

Gangster City: The History of the New York Author Patrick Downey discusses; Rocky Sullivan's, 129 Lexington Ave. (29th St.), 212-725-3871; 8.

Girl Boy Etc. Michael Weinreb cuts his literary swath; Chelsea Barnes & Noble, 675 6th Ave. (21st St.), 212-727-1227; 7, FREE.

Jim Hightower "has spent the past three decades battling the 'powers that be' on behalf of the 'powers that should be'-consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just plain folks." Tonight he discusses Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush; Astor Place Barnes & Noble, 4 Astor Pl. (betw. B'way & Lafayette St.), 212-420-1322; 7:30, FREE.

Passing Through Colin Channer reads from collection of shorts set in the Caribbean; Barnes & Noble, 106 Court St. (State St.), Bklyn, 718-246-4996; 7, FREE.

Poet Jeet Thayil celebrates his new novel, English, co-published by Penguin Books India; Drink Me Cafe, 620 E. 6th St. (Ave. B), 212-560-7459; 7, FREE. ------

THURSDAY 7/22

Bling Early reviews suggest that rich black women can be just as vapid as rich white women; Astor Place Barnes & Noble, 4 Astor Pl. (betw. B'way & Lafayette St.), 212-420-1322; 7:30, FREE.

Dharma Punx: A Memoir "is the story of a young man who rebels against his parents and the unfulfilled promises of the sixties...Eventually, he comes to embrace the same Buddhist tradition as his father, author Stephen Levine"; Barnes & Noble, 267 7th Ave. (betw. 5th & 6th Sts.), Park Slope, 718-832-9066; 7:30, FREE.

Homeland "The Pulitzer-Prize winning team of writer Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael Williamson" appear; Chelsea Barnes & Noble, 675 6th Ave. (21st St.), 212-727-1227; 7, FREE. ------

FRIDAY 7/23

George McGovern And yes, we're assuming it's that George McGovern, reads from The Essential America; Barnes & Noble, 2289 B'way (82nd St.), 212-362-8835; 7:30, FREE. ------

SATURDAY 7/24

Poet Linda Slendah Hayes reads from her books, Life is a Roller Coaster & (this is just awesome) Life is a Roller Coaster 2ñas part of the 2004 Harlem Book Fair; Harlem Book Fair, W. 135th St. (bet. 5th Ave. & Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.), www.qbr.com; 12-7, FREE. ------

SUNDAY 7/25

Black & White Spoken Word You've got five minutes, baby, how ya gonna use 'em?; Black and White, 86 E. 10th St. (betw. 3rd & 4th Aves.), 212-253-0246; 9, FREE.

Tsaurah Litzky reads from her novella The Motion of the Ocean as part of the "Three the Hard Way" series by Susie Bright; Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery (betw. Bleecker & Houston Sts.), 212-614-0505; 8-10. ------

MONDAY 7/26

The Last Men Out: Life on the Edge at Rescue 2 Firehouse "Brooklyn's Rescue Company No. 2 is the nation's most active emergency organization, employing only the most elite and dedicated members of the New York Fire Department"; Half King, 505 W. 23rd St. (10th Ave.), 212-462-4300; 7, FREE.

Losing America: Confronting A Reckless and Arrogant Presidency West Virginia's democratic senator Robert

Byrd appears; Union Square Barnes & Noble, 33 E. 17th St. (betw. B'way & Park Ave. S.), 212-253-0810; 12:30, FREE.

Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FbI, 1933-34 From Publishers Weekly: "Bryan Burrough, an award-winning financial journalist and Vanity Fair special correspondent, best known for Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, switches gears to produce the definitive account of the 1930s crime wave that brought notorious criminals like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde to America's front pages"; Barnes & Noble, 2289 B'way (82nd St.), 212-362-8835; 7:30, FREE. ------

TUESDAY 7/27

At Home At The End Of The World From Publishers Weekly: "This poignant and absorbing novel, parts of which have already appeared in The New Yorker, is one of a kind: at once a bildungsroman that reveals a remarkable gay sensibility, a serious appraisal of how parents and children relate over the years, and a clear-eyed account of '80s ways of looking and living"; Union Square Barnes & Noble, 33 E. 17th St. (betw. B'way & Park Ave. S.), 212-253-0810; 7, FREE.

The Dog Walker From Publishers Weekly: "As [Leslie] Schnur's titular protagonist is well aware, being dragged at the end of a leash is hard work. Readers will find this labored first novel equally tough going, despite its cute premise and full complement of romantic comedy tropes"; Chelsea Barnes & Noble, 675 6th Ave. (21st St.), 212-727-1227; 7, FREE.

Chuck Klosterman New York Press' favorite punching bag appears to promote his book, Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs; Astor Place Barnes & Noble, 4 Astor Pl. (betw. B'way & Lafayette St.), 212-420-1322; 7:30, FREE.

Women's Poetry Jam & Open Mic feat. readers Karen Malpede & Wendy Wisner; Bluestockings, 172 Allen St. (betw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.), 212-777-6028; 7, $3-$5.