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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sherman Alexie appearing at public events

Dan Webster

For the seventh year in a row, area readers have the chance to participate in the Spokane Is Reading project.

Co-sponsored by Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library District and Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane Is Reading is an attempt to get people interested in literacy (and literature).

The intent is simple: It is to get everyone in Spokane County to tackle the same book more or less at once. It began in 2002 with Kent Haruf’s novel “Plainsong” and continues this year with Wellpinit-born Sherman Alexie, author of National Book Award-winning novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”

Alexie will make two public appearances on Thursday in support of the book: at 1 p.m. at The Service Station, 9315 N. Nevada St., and at 7 at the Spokane Masonic Center, 1108 W. Riverside Ave.

Both appearances are free and open to the public. Call SPL’s Eva Silverstone at (509) 444-5307 or SCLD’s Beth Gillespie at (509) 893-8205.

Following is a Spokane Is Reading schedule of events for the rest of October:

•Book discussions: 1 p.m. Monday at Medical Lake branch, SCLD, 321 E. Herb St., Medical Lake (509) 893-8330; 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at Shadle branch, SPL, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. (509) 444-5390; 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at South Hill branch, SPL, 3324 S. Perry St. (509) 444-5385; 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at Cheney branch, SCLD, 610 First St., Cheney (509) 893-8280.

•Screenings of “Smoke Signals”: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Airway Heights Branch, SCLD, 1213 S. Lundstrom St. (509) 893-8250; 6 p.m. Wednesday, downtown branch, SPL, 906 W. Main St. (509) 444-5300; 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at Argonne branch, SCLD, 4322 N. Argonne Road (509) 893-8260; 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27, North Spokane branch, SCLD, 44 E. Hawthorne Road (509) 893-8350.

A just war?

Given all the money and lives that have gone into the Iraq War, it’s legitimate to ask, “Is Just War Theory Dead?”

That, at any rate, is the title of a lecture that author George A. Lopez will deliver at 7 p.m. Thursday at Gonzaga Law School’s Barbieri Moot Court Room. The lecture is free and open to the public.

A founding member of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Lopez is author of the 2002 book “Winning Without War: Sensible Security Options for Dealing with Iraq.”

Call GU philosophy Prof. Kirk Besmer at (509) 313-6746.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Book talk

•Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.

•Auntie’s Evening Book Group (“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Inland Northwest Writers Guild, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Auntie’s Youth Book Group (“Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel,” by Michael Scott), 2 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

The reader board

•David Oliver Relin (“Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time”), lecture, 7 p.m. Monday, Cowles Auditorium, Whitworth College. Call (509) 777-4263.

•Kim Barnes (“A Country Called Home”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Brandon Schrand (“The Enders Hotel”), reading, 7 p.m. Thursday, Kimbrough Hall, room 101, Washington State University, Pullman. Call (509) 335-2581.

•Ellie Mathews (“The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir”), reading, 7 p.m. Thursday, East Bonner County Library, 1407 Cedar St., Sandpoint, Idaho. Call (208) 263-6930.

•Lee Gutkind (“Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction”), presentation, 7 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Linda Lael Miller (“Glory, Glory”), signing, 10 a.m. Saturday, Coeur d’Alene Borders Books, 250 Wilbur Ave., Coeur d’Alene. Call (208) 762-4497.

•Denise Kestell (“I’m Their Mom”), signing, 2-6 p.m. Saturday, South Hill Hastings, 2912 E. 29th Ave. Call (509) 535-4342.

Dan Webster can be reached at (509) 459-5483 or by e-mail at danw@spokesman.com.