Who: George Lakoff

What: Talking about and signing his new book, The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-century Politics With an 18th-century Brain

When: Wednesday, 9 July 2008 at 7 PM

How much: Free -- Reservations are suggested.

Why you should care: Lakoff, one of world's best-known linquists and cognitive scientists, has written a book for anyone who wants to better know their own mind, to understand why so many Americans are willing to vote against their own interests, and to figure out why so many progressive leaders don't make much progress. This passionate, erudite, and groundbreaking book can literally expand our minds as we work for a better world.

Who: Meredith Norton

What: Talking about and signing her new book, Lopsided. How Having Breast Cancer Can Be Really Distracting

When: Friday, 11 July 2008 at 7 PM

How much: Free -- Reservations are suggested.

Why you should care: Laurie Notaro said it best, Lopsided is fantastic. I read it in one sitting, and it completely swallowed me up. For one entire day, a girl I don't know and never met became my best friend, and I have not been able to stop thinking about her since, Lopsided is powerful, funny, courageous, and moving, but most of all, it is human." We are working to with Christe James Jewelers and Pinkies Nail Salons to create a very special evening that you and you friends will love. Please join us.

Who: Jeannie Ralston

What: Talking about and signing her new book, The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming

When: Monday, 14 July 2008 at 7 PM

How much: Free -- Reservations are suggested.

Why you should care:The Unlikely Lavender Queen will resonate with all women who have faced the tough choices that come with “having it all” and secretly (or not so secretly) hoped for great adventure to come along and surprise them. Ralston’s honest, funny, and poignant memoir is a testament to the fact that such adventures await us around every bend in life. We will be serving some lavender-flavored goodies and raffling off a beautiful of lavender products from Hill Country Lavender, the company Jeannie founded.

Who: Michelle Richmond

What: Reading and signing her new novel, No One You Know

When: Thursday, 17 July 2008 at 7 PM

How much: Free -- Reservations are suggested.

Why you should care: A novel about the stories and lies that strangers, lovers and families tell -- and the secrets we keep even from ourselves -- Michelle Richmond's new novel is a work of astonishing depth and beauty, at once heartbreaking, provocative, and impossible to put down. It's going to be a favorite with book groups, mark my words.

Who: Ethan Canin

What: Reading and signing his new novel, America America

When: Monday, 21 July 2008 at 7 PM

How much: Free -- Reservations are suggested.

Why you should care: From Ethan Canin, bestselling author of The Palace Thief, comes a stunning novel, set in a small town during the Nixon era and today, about America and family, politics and tragedy, and the impact of fate on a young man's life. America America is a beautiful novel about America as it was and is, a remarkable exploration of how vanity, greatness, and tragedy combine to change history and fate. Bonus: America America is the July selection of our Signed First Editions Club.

Who: Georgeanne Brennan

What: Talking about and signing her new book, A Pig in Provence

When: Thursday, 31 July 2008 at 7 PM

How much: $20 -- We're serving dinner! Reservations are essential.

Why you should care: A Pig in Provence is the story of how Georgeanne Brennan fell in love with Provence. But it's also the story of making a life beyond the well-trodden path and the story of how food can unite a community. In loving detail, Brennan tells of the herders who maintain a centuries-old grazing route, of the community feast that brings a town to one table, and of the daily rhythms and joys of living by the cycles of food and nature. Sprinkled with recipes that offer samples of Brennan's Provençale cooking, A Pig in Provence is a food memoir that urges you to savor every morsel.