The Rev. Norman Rates, "May Thy Dear Walls Remain: Memoirs of a College Minister." 4 p.m. March 10. Discussion and signing. Free. Sisters Chapel, Spelman College, 350 Spelman Lane S.W., Atlanta. 404-681-3643, www.afpls.org/events-aarl. Rates, Sisters Chapel dean emeritus, will discuss his 48-year career at Spelman.
Joshilyn Jackson, "A Grown-up Kind of Pretty." 6 p.m. March 11. Book Exchange, 2956 Canton Road, Marietta. 770-427-4848, www.bookexchangemarietta.com. Jackson will discuss her latest novel, a funny, dark whodunit set in rural Mississippi involving three generations of women and their long-buried family secret.
An Evening of Ecology: Leslie Edwards, Katherine Kirkman, Hugh Nourse and Carol Nourse, "The Natural Communities of Georgia." 7:15 p.m. March 11. Talk and signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-8450, Ext. 2225; www.georgiacenterforthebook.org. Georgia's natural beauty and the steps necessary to conserve it are the focus of this hefty (675 pages) landmark reference, which includes 400 photographs (most by botanical photographers Carol and Hugh Nourse). The authors and photographers will be on hand for this illustrated presentation.
Tray Butler, "Moon Atlanta." 7 p.m. March 12. Book launch and signing. Free. Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium, 466 Edgewood Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-522-8275, www.sisterlouisaschurch.com. Longtime Atlanta journalist Butler celebrates a new edition of his outstanding travel guide to the city.
Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, "Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing." 7 p.m. March 12. Lecture and signing. $5-$10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, www.atlantahistorycenter.com. Discover game-changing insights and maximize the odds of success by learning to identify your own competitive style.
Poetry reading: Rebecca Baggett and Diana Pinckney. 8 p.m. March 13. $3-$5. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-5338, www.callanwolde.org/events/index.html. Baggett ("Thalassa") and Pinckney ("Green Daughters") are both recent winners of the Grand Prize for Poetry, the Atlanta Review's international poetry competition.
Michael Shelden, "Young Titan: the Making of Winston Churchill." 7:15 p.m. March 13. Talk and signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-8450, Ext. 2225; www.georgiacenterforthebook.org. Biographer Shelden ("Mark Twain: Man in White") takes on one of the major figures of the 20th century in a fascinating and original exploration of Churchill's life between 1901 and 1915.
Poetry reading: Marilyn Kallet, "The Love That Moves Me." 7:30 p.m. March 14. Free. Troy Moore Library, General Classroom Building, Room 939, Georgia State University, 38 Peachtree Center Ave., Atlanta. 404-413-5800, http://workshop.gsu.edu/events.php. Kallet's upcoming book is a collection of love poems inspired by Dante's "Inferno," as well as by Rimbaud's relationship with Verlaine, and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Tara Laskowski, "Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons: Etiquette for the Dark Side." 7:30 p.m. March 14. Reading and signing. Free. Suggested donation: $5. Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave N.E., Atlanta. 404-524-0304, www.charisbooksandmore.com. Emily Post can tell you how to act at weddings, which table-settings to use, or how to introduce yourself at a party. But life can be so much more complicated. An all-new etiquette manual by Laskowski, senior editor for the online quarterly SmokeLong, explores a variety of challenges — adultery, obesity, dementia, homicide, infertility, insomnia and more — and offers inspired tips.
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