Eric Jerome Dickey, "One Night." 7 p.m. April 27. Talk, signing. Free. Eagle Eye Book Shop, 2076 N. Decatur Road, Decatur. 404-486-0307, eagleeyebooks.com/index.html. Also appearing: 6:30 p.m. April 30. Signing. Free. Hammonds House Museum, 503 Peeples St., Atlanta. 404-612-0500, hammondshouse.org/current-month-events.html. An unlikely couple check in to an upscale hotel for a night of con games, erotic interludes, jealousy, violence and murder.
Shannon Miller, "It's Not About Perfect: Competing for My Country and Fighting for My Life." Noon April 27. Luncheon. $20. RSVP required. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/events. Miller, winner of seven Olympic medals and the most decorated U.S. gymnast ever, tells her story, which includes her successful battle with ovarian cancer.
Carapace: Animal. 7:30 p.m. April 28. True storytelling. Free. Manuel's Tavern, 602 N. Highland Ave. Atlanta. 404-525-3447, manuelstavern.com. Bring your five- to seven-minute story crafted around manifestations of the beast within or without.
E. Charles Nelson and David J. Elliott, "The Curious Case of Mister Catesby." 7:15 p.m. April 29. Talk, signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285; georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=773. Nelson and Elliott's new book introduces readers to 18th-century English naturalist Mark Catesby, who catalogued the flora and fauna of the Carolinas, Florida and the Bahamas.
Chana Shapiro and Meta Miller, "Fruitfly Rabbi." 7 p.m. April 29. Talk, reading, signing. Free. Tall Tales Book Shop, 2105 LaVista Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-636-2498, talltalesatlanta.com/events.html. The debut novel by Atlanta authors Shapiro and Miller explores intrigue at a large Midwestern synagogue.
Robert Putnam, "Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis." 8 p.m. April 30. Talk, signing. $10. Reservations required. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/tags/lectures. Putnam demonstrates a lessening of opportunity through the stories of rich and poor kids from across the country.
Scott Kelly, "What I've Learned From You: The Lessons of Life Taught to a Doctor by His Patients." 6:30 p.m. April 30. Talk, signing. Free. Barnes & Noble Buckhead, 2900 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-261-7747, store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4843541. Atlanta native Kelly's patients help him bring compassion and empathy back to medicine.
Bruce Covey, "Change Machine," and Megan Volpert, "Only Ride." 7:15 p.m. April 30. Poetry Atlanta readings. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285; georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=774.
Terra Elan McVoy, "Drive Me Crazy," and Anica Mrose Rissi, "Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split." 6:30 p.m. May 1. Book release party, crafts, talk, signing. Free. Little Shop of Stories, 133A E. Court Square, Decatur. 404-373-6300, littleshopofstories.com/events.php. McVoy's latest is a road-trip story about two rivals-turned-friends. Rissi's new chapter-book series will appeal to fans of Clementine, Ivy and Bean, or dachshunds.
Sandy Tolan, "Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land." 7 p.m. May 1. Talk, signing. Free. First Baptist Church of Decatur, 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. 404-373-1653, georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=779 Tolan focuses on the life of a Palestinian boy whose dream of a music school inspired a remarkable collaboration across the Israeli-Palestinian divide.
Sally Kilpatrick, "The Happy Hour Choir." 2 p.m. May 2. Book launch party. Free. RSVP required. Gabriel's Desserts, 800 Whitlock Ave., Marietta. 770-427-4848, bookexchangemarietta.com/Events.html. In Kilpatrick's debut novel, a honky-tonk pianist finds her way in a quiet Southern town with the help of an unlikely circle of friends.
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