Faith Salie, "Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much." 7 p.m. May 2. Signing. Free with purchase of the book ($29), $10 extra for plus-one. SCADshow, 173 14th St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-253-2740, scadshow.com/events. Comedian Salie, a North Springs High graduate, has written a collection of essays chronicling her lifelong quest for approval.
Independent authors night. 6:30 p.m. May 3. Meet-and-greet, talks, signings. Free. Book Exchange, 2956 Canton Road, Marietta. 770-427-4848, bookexchangemarietta.com. Meet area writers who will speak briefly about their small-press or self-published books across various genres.
Amber Brock, "A Fine Imitation." 7:15 p.m. May 3. Talk, signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285; georgiacenterforthebook.org/events. Also appearing: 6:30 p.m. May 5. Talk, signing. Free. Avid Bookshop, 493 Prince Ave., Athens. 706-352-2060, avidbookshop.com/event. In her debut novel, Atlanta author Brock explores the friendships, illicit romances and social rules that defined women's lives in 1920s Manhattan high society.
George Hodgman, "Bettyville: A Memoir." 8 p.m. May 4. Talk, dessert reception, signing. $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/visit/event. Hodgman, a veteran New York editor, writes of his return home to care for his aging mother in Paris, Missouri.
Katarina Bivald, "The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend." 6:30 p.m. May 5. Signing. Free. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/events. Swedish author Bivald sets her debut in an Iowa farm town whose residents could hardly be called voracious readers. But, once they let a Swedish book lover into their world, all that changes.
Meg Jacobs, "Panic at the Pump." 7 p.m. May 5. Reading, signing. Free. Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. 404-865-7100, acappellabooks.com/event. Jacobs shows how the failure of American politicians to achieve energy independence shaped the world we live in.
Marc Wortman, "1941: Fighting the Shadow War." 8 p.m. May 5. Talk, signing. $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/visit/event. Historian Wortman details America's significant clandestine role in World War II in the years prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Robert Beatty, "Serafina and the Black Cloak." 2 p.m. May 7. Signing. Free. Barnes & Noble Mansell Crossing SC, 7660 Northpoint Parkway, Alpharetta. 770-993-8340, barnesandnoble.com/author/283258. Beatty's young-adult debut is a thriller about an unusual girl living secretly in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate who must solve a dark, dangerous mystery.
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