Monday, August 19th: Inland Reading

Téa Obreht was a breakout young novelist with her debut, The Tiger's Wife, about eight years ago. That's a lot of pressure on a writer. Now, after she reportedly threw out well over a thousand pages of fiction, she is returning with a new novel — a western, no less! — that is getting rapturous pre-publication attention. Can she beat the dreaded — choke! — sophomore slump? Find out tonight! Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com, 7 pm, free.

Tuesday, August 20th: What We Were Promised Reading

Lucy Tan's novel is about a Chinese family that moved to America, realized that was kind of a scam, and then moved back to Shanghai. THey've already started over once. Can they start over again?

Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com, 7 pm, free.

Wednesday, August 21st: Word Chaser at Cafe Racer

The new reading series features readers Esther Altshul Helfgott and Ann Teplic, with Bryan Linesberry on saxophone. You will want to show up early so you can sign up for the open mic after. Cafe Racer, 5828 Roosevelt Way NE, 7 pm, free.

Thursday, August 22nd: Writing Motherhood

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org, 7 pm, free.

Friday, August 23rd: Three Poets

Jed Myers, Tina Schumann, and Heidi Seaborn are all Seattle poets. They all have new-ish collections out now, too. Myers is the author of The Marriage of Space and Time, Schumann's Praising the Paradox is out from the excellent Red Hen Press, and Seaborn's Give a Girl Chaos (see what she can do) was published in March of this year. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com, 7 pm, free.

Saturday, August 24th: I Like Totally Know What You Did Last Summer Release Party

Fantagraphics loves to put on a Saturday book debut, and this one for local cartoonists Sarah Romano Diehl and Brandon Lehmann should be a fun afternoon party, with barbecue and beverages. Their new book is reportedly "terrifying." Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 925 E. Pike St., 658-0110, http://fantagraphics.com/flog/bookstore, 3 pm, free.

Sunday, August 25th: One Day on the Gold Line Reading

This is a "memoir-in-essays" by Carla Rachel Sameth about "a lesbian Jewish single mother raising a black son in Los Angeles." Sameth previously read this week on Thursday at Hugo House. Third Place Books Seward Park, 5041 Wilson Ave S, 474-2200, http://thirdplacebooks.com, 7 pm, free.