Marriage and Mars, American conspiracies and near-world-shattering apocalypses. Language about language and books about books. These are the literary topics waiting for Colorado readers as the winter sun shines weakly down on Denver. Bundle up, brave the chill and enjoy these five best bookish pleasures in mid-January.

JoAnn Chaney, As Long as We Both Shall Live
Tuesday, January 15, 6 p.m.
BookBar
4280 Tennyson Street
Free
Colorado author JoAnn Chaney brings her new domestic thriller, As Long as We Both Shall Live, to BookBar for a reading, signing…and maybe a word of warning for those whose marriages are on the rocks. After all, the book is publicized as a “masterful examination of what happens when you’re really, truly done making your marriage work.” Which means: murder. Yikes. Bring your spouse…it’ll be a reading to remember. And make sure to buy him or her some good wine and delicious apps, just in case.

Leonard David, Mars
Wednesday, January 16, 7 p.m.
Chautauqua Community House
900 Baseline Road, Boulder
$12 ($9 for members)
Space journalist Leonard David comes to Boulder’s Chautauqua Community House to report on the future of the global space exploration program and his book Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet. David will discuss what the coming decade might hold around the world for the final frontier — from low Earth orbit to Mars and the territories beyond. Tickets and more information available at the Chautauqua website.

Brad Meltzer, The First Conspiracy
Wednesday, January 16, 7 p.m.
Tattered Cover
2526 East Colfax Avenue
$30
New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer comes to the Tattered Cover to discuss and sign his newest book, The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington. It’s a political thriller, but also non-fiction — a previously untold piece of early-American history that reveals important aspects of our first president’s character as well as the secret plot against him that led to America’s first counterintelligence movement. Tickets include a copy of the book and a place in the signing line.