OLD METAIRIE BOOK CLUB. Old Metairie Library, 2350 Metairie Road, Metairie, 838-4353 -- The book club discusses The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. 11 a.m.

JED HORNE. Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St., 899-7323; www.octaviabooks.com -- The author discusses and signs Desire Street . 1:30 p.m.

TIMOTHY FERRIS. Metairie Park Country Day School, Weinmann Auditorium, 300 Park Road, Metairie, 837-5204; www.mpcds.com -- The author and filmmaker gives a lecture called 'Seeing in the Dark: How to Probe the Depths of Space from Your Own Back Yard' as part of the Leah Goldman Karp lecture series. Free admission. 7 p.m.

JAZZ & POETRY NIGHT. Sweet Lorraine's, 1931 St. Claude Ave., 945-9654 -- Jazz and poetry night every Tuesday. 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday 18

L. STEPHEN COX. Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St., 899-7323; www.octaviabooks.com -- The author discusses and signs The Cedarville Conspiracy . 7 p.m.

CHAMELEONS POETRY NIGHT. Chameleons Day Spa Café & Coffee, 811 S. Clark St. 486-0929 -- Open-mic poetry night hosted by Kenneth Plaisance. 8 p.m.

POETRY FORUM WORKSHOP. 257 Bonnabel Blvd., Metairie, 835-8472 or 467-9034 -- The New Orleans Poetry Forum hosts a weekly workshop every Wednesday. 8 p.m.

TAO POETRY OPEN MIC. Neutral Ground Coffee House, 5110 Danneel St., 891-3381; www.neutralground.org -- Open-mic poetry reading every Wednesday. 9 p.m.

Thursday 19

RONDA RICH. Beaucoup Books, 3951 Magazine St., 895-2663 -- The author reads from and signs What Southern Women Know About Flirting and The Town That Came a Courtin' . 5:30 p.m.

GREAT BOOKS CLUB. East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie, 838-1190 -- The adult book club discusses Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. 7 p.m.

PHILLIP HOOSE. Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, Joe W. Brown Memorial Park, 5601 Read Blvd., 246-5672; www.auduboninstitute.org -- The author gives a lecture on the once-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker and signs his book The Race to Save the Lord God Bird . Free admission. 7 p.m.

17 POETS OPEN MIC. Gold Mine Saloon, 701 Dauphine St., 586-0745; www.goldminesaloon.com -- Weekly series with featured poets Starlyte and Karama Sadaka. Open mic to follow. Poets, storytellers, dancers, musicians, puppeteers and more are invited to share their art. Hosted by Dave Brinks. Free admission. 8 p.m.

Friday 20

MICHAEL LEWIS. Maple Street Book Shop, 7523 Maple St., 866-4916; www.maplestreetbookshop.com -- The author signs Coach . 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday 21

PREPARING MANUSCRIPT QUERIES. East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie, 861-2898 -- Barbara Colley, Laura Joh Rowland and Pamela Ahearn discuss how to prepare synopses and query letters for book manuscripts. 10 a.m. to noon.

OCTAVIA BOOKS BOOK CLUB. Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St., 899-7323; www.octaviabooks.com -- The book club discusses The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway. 10:30 a.m.

JAMES BOLLICH. The National D-Day Museum, 945 Magazine St., 527-6012 ext. 226; www.ddaymuseum.org -- Meet the author of Bataan Diary during 'Armed Forces Day.' 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

KIT WOHL & DAVID SPIELMAN. Garden District Book Shop, The Rink, 2727 Prytania St., 895-2266 -- The authors discuss and sign Arnaud's Cookbook . 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

SHERYL ST. GERMAIN. A Studio in the Woods, 13401 River Road, Algiers, 392-5359; www.astudiointhewoods.org -- The author of poetry, essays and creative nonfiction presents a workshop called 'Conjuring a Sense of Place: A Creative Writing Workshop.' Space is limited. Registration ends May 18. Tickets $45 members, $50 nonmembers. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

JANET FERRAN. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 3721 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 455-5135 -- The author reads from and signs Blind-Sided . 2 p.m.

Sunday 22

MAPLE LEAF READINGS. Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St., 866-9359 -- Maple Leaf Bar hosts the Everett Maddox Memorial Poetry and Prose Reading Series every Sunday, featuring readings by local writers. 3 p.m.

DIVA ENDPAPERS BOOK CLUB. Barnes & Noble, 1601 B Westbank Expwy., Harvey, 263-1146 -- The Diva Endpapers Book Club discusses Trading Up by Candace Bushnell. 7 p.m.