Book It: The Five Best Literary Events This Week

Denver's literary scene isn't taking a vacation this Labor Day weekend; performance artists, nationally recognized masters of thrillers and mysteries, the author of a guide to eating right in the modern day, and a bookmobile will be making appearances citywide. As August ends and September starts, here are your best bookish bets for the week:

Dessa, My Own Devices
Tuesday, August 27, 7:30 p.m.
Boulder Book Store
1107 Pearl Street, Boulder
$5
The Boulder Book Store welcomes the debut of an original and deft literary voice. Dessa, it’s said, defies description. She’s “an intellectual with a rap career and an inhaler in her backpack.” She’s also a writer and a riveting music performer, a lover of philosophical musings and the language of heartache. Dessa brings all this to bear in her new memoir, My Own Devices: True Stories From the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love. Admission to the event is $5, and tickets are good for a $5 discount off the purchase of this or any book the day of the reading.

Karin Slaughter, The Last Widow
Wednesday, August 28, 7 p.m.
Tattered Cover
2526 East Colfax Avenue
$27.99
Tattered Cover welcomes New York Times best-selling author Karin Slaughter, author of nineteen novels including the Grant County series, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town. This visit, Slaughter brings her newest Will Trent thriller, The Last Widow, which follows the disappearance of a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. Tickets for the event are $27.99, and include a copy of the book and a spot in the autograph line.

Louise Penny, A Better Man
Thursday, August 29, 7 p.m.
Paramount Theatre
1621 Glenarm Place
$39.50 to $85.50
The Tattered Cover and the historic Paramount Theatre team up to host New York Times best-selling and award-winning author Louise Penny for a reading and presentation of her newest entry in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, A Better Man. Tickets to the event are still available starting at just under $40, and include a signed copy of the book.

Esther Cohen, The Alchemy of Nourishment
Thursday, August 29, 7:30 p.m.
Boulder Book Store
1107 Pearl Street, Boulder
$5
Emerging out of the chaos of misleading dietary information, Esther Cohen’s new book, The Alchemy of Nourishment: The Art, Science, and Magic of Eating, presents a new approach to activating the innate wisdom of the human body’s capacity to thrive as nature intended. Cohen brings this easy-to-follow guide to the Boulder Book Store for an inspirational and appetizing reading and signing. As always, admission to the event is $5, and tickets are good for a $5 discount off the purchase of this or any book the day of the reading.

Mavis Monday!
Monday, September 2, 10 a.m.
BookBar
4280 Tennyson Street
Free
Spend part of your Labor Day at BookBar’s weekly celebration of books, bookmobiles, stories, cookies and joyful reading. Mavis — better known as Mavis the Magical Bookmobile — serves the BookBar community with a great place to read and explore books. And with half-off beverages for parents, moms and dads can caffeine up while letting their kids get a good dose of the literary.

Have a literary event you think should be included on this list? Send details to [email protected].