Having spent a great deal of time in large cities Ora Nance has noticed a trend - a tendency to move so quickly from one moment to the next that we often don't allow ourselves to find the deeper meanings in our lives. In DIVING: Poems and Prose for the Fearless Explorer, Ms. Nance asks us to look at those moments, think of the questions that we may not want to ask, and be brave enough to listen to the answers.

Whether you simply need encouragement to embrace a more authentic, wholesome lifestyle or you're looking for guidance on building a greenhouse, chopping firewood, hosting a town event, caring for a flock of chickens, making your own butter, growing a winter salad, or choosing a water filter, MARYJANE’S IDEABOOK, COOKBOOK, LIFEBOOK is practical road map for farmgirls of all stripes. Bring your projects and ideas to share with your fellow do it yourselfers, and expect inspiration to strike.

The stories in THE APPLE’S BRUISE take a smart and unflinching look at love, frailty, and happiness and prove beyond doubt that Lisa (A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That) Glatt is a modern master at blending heartbreak and hilarity. With tenderness, insight, and humor, she casts her gaze simultaneously on the beauty and absurdity of humanity, creating unforgettable portrayals of unusual characters and the complexities of desire and fidelity that compel them.

Mike Magnuson was a self-described lummox with a bike who in three months lost 75 pounds, quit smoking and drinking, and turned into a lean, mean cycling machine, competing in gruelling, one-day races. This irreverent memoir charts the hilarious details of his transformation, from the dread of XXL biking shorts to the miseries of nicotine withdrawal. HEFT ON WHEELS is an unforgettable book about getting from one place to another. This event is cosponsored by BOKOO BIKES, call 312.781.3033 for details.

Robert Klein, a pioneer of observational humor, brings his life to the page in THE AMOROUS BUSBOY OF DECATUR AVENUE. This portrait of the comic as a young man shows us the Bronx of the 50s, the eccentric characters of the Catskills hotels, the Chicago improv scene in the ’60s, and L.A. in the early ’70s. Klein reveals the hilarity of growing up, recounting with wit and poignancy losing his virginity with a prostitute, bringing home a German girlfriend to his Jewish family, and the amorous adventures of the busboy he was.

Steve (Candyfreak) Almond returns with his second short-story collection, THE EVIL B.B. CHOW. These stories are funny, bracing, shocking, and always imaginative: a young editor endures a bizarre blind date; a couple is sure that they have been implanted by aliens; a boy, desperate to please his father through baseball, ends up fatally wounding another boy during a game. With great heart and unmatchable wit, Almond proves he is one of the most original writers of our time.

His bombshell mother entertained radicals and film stars while his enigmatic father used a helicopter to drop Sean at the arcade. "In the beginning we were happy. And we were always excessive. So in the beginning we were happy to excess." Sean Wilsey takes us on an exhilarating tour of life in his strange, grandiose family in OH, THE GLORY OF IT ALL. When his dad leaves home this fairytale of the 80s gains an evil stepmother. Funny, wild and more proof that money can't buy happiness, even if it can buy everything else.