Wednesday December 7th: Reading Through It: A Post-Election Book Club

Join the Seattle Weekly and the Seattle Review of Books as we try to make sense of Donald Trump’s America in a new monthly book club. Tonight, we’ll discuss J.D. Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy. We’ll also be choosing the book for our February club based on your recommendations. Third Place Books Seward Park, 5041 Wilson Ave S, 474-2200, http://thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday December 8th: The Angel of History Reading

Rabih Alameddine is one of the preeminent Arab-American voices in fiction today. His newest novel is about a gay Yemeni-Lebanese expatriate living in America during the AIDS epidemic and the post-9/11 security state. It’s a heartbreaking story of memory, identity, history, and culture, which makes it about as American as it gets. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday December 9th: We Told You So: Comics as Art Panel

To celebrate the release of a giant new book chronicling their first 40 years in the publishing business, Fantagraphics Books kicks off a weekend full of events by convening a star-studded panel of cartoonists (Los Bros Hernandez! Jim Woodring! Ellen Forney! Carol Tyler!) to discuss the high and low points of the greatest comics publisher in the United States. Folio: The Seattle Athenaem, 324 Marion St., 402-4612, folioseattle.org. Free.

Saturday December 10th: Opting Out Early Release Party

See our Literary Event of the Week column for more details. Arundel Books, 209 Occidental Avenue S., 624.4442, http://arundelbooks.com Free. All ages. 5 p.m.

Sunday December 11th: The Journey of Our Names

Seattle poet Aaron Counts teaches a free writing class on the importance of names, from family names to nicknames to adopted names. Every name is a story, and Counts will teach you how to plumb the meaning behind your name for a whole new level of understanding. Beacon Hill Public Library, 2821 Beacon Ave S. http://spl.org. 684-4711. 2 p.m.

Monday December 12th: Countdown to Pearl Harbor Reading

This month marks 75 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor. If your only understanding of Pearl Harbor begins and ends with that awful Ben Affleck movie, you owe it to yourself to attend this reading from Steve Twomey’s new book, which charts the path to America’s involvement in World War II. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday December 13th: Seattle Fiction Federation #8

The eighth edition of this reading series, in which the audience selects one open mic reader to headline the next outing, features Seattle writers Steve Sibra, Anca L. Szilágyi, and Donna Miscolta reading alongside SFF#7 winner Lucy Hitz. If you perform at the post-reading open mic, you might headline the 9th SFF. Hugo House, 1021 Columbia St., 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.