Valley Readings

The following author appearances, readings and book events are planned for the coming week in the Valley.

BROADSIDE BOOKSHOP: Jeanne Birdsall and Jane Dyer present their new book for children, "Lucky and Squash," Saturday, 11 a.m. at the bookstore, 247 Main St., Northampton. 586-4235.

'Bring Up the Bodies' a wonderful, terrible sequel to 'Wolf Hall'

Readers new to British author Hilary Mantel's work through her 2009 novel "Wolf Hall" were introduced to a writer who can turn the oldest of stories into a spellbinding tale. What schoolchild doesn't know the story of King Henry VIII and his six wives? Especially wife number two, the doomed schemer Anne Boleyn? But reading "Wolf Hall," knowing the outcome didn't mean a thing - Mantel's story of Henry's early reign, told through his right-hand-man, chief fixer and henchman Thomas Cromwell, lit up the early 16th century in such a way that for this reader, it was a rude shock to pause and realize that the early 21st was right outside the window.

Weekend Planner - Books

Did you know that zombies hate clowns? They also hate hippies, astronauts, zip-lines, rain, penguins, weddings, re-gifting and kittens (strangely, they don't mind Canadians).

Valley Readings

The following author appearances, readings and book events are planned for the coming week in the Valley.

HINGE: Northampton Poetry Open Mic - Weekly session Tuesdays, 7-10 p.m., 48 Main St., Northampton. 12 open slots. Poets should bring 3-5 minute selection. 727-8561, info@hingeat48.com.

Book Bag

The House of Velvet and Glass

By Katherine Howe

Hyperion Books

www.katherinehowe.com

Katherine Howe had a big hit in 2009 with her debut novel, "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane," a thriller about a doctoral student who discovers disturbing connections between her family's old house in Salem and the 17th-century witch trials that took place in the town. Now Howe has a new book, "The House of Velvet and Glass," set primarily in the wake of the world's most famous shipwreck: the Titanic.

'Presidential Campaign Posters' offers lessons in history

OK, political groupies, travel back through time to the campaigns of yesteryear. You can even wallpaper your bedroom with (long dead) politicians touting their virtues - and sometimes sliming their opponents.

Grateful Dead drummer has book deal

NEW YORK (AP) - Founding Grateful Dead member Bill Kreutzmann has a long, strange story to tell.