Wednesday January 4th: Reading Through It: A Post-Election Book Club

See our Event of the Week column for details. Third Place Books Seward Park, 5041 Wilson Ave S, 474-2200, http://thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Alternate Wednesday January 4th: Contagious Exchanges

If you’re not attending a book club with the Seattle Review of Books and the Seattle Weekly, you should be at Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s queer literary salon series, which this month features two of the funniest writers in Seattle: poet/essayist Sarah Galvin and essayist/monologuist David Schmader. Hugo House, 1021 Columbia St., 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday January 5th: The Expense of a View Reading

Polly Buckingham has long been a literary force out of eastern Washington — she helped found StringTown Press and she edits at Willow Springs Books. Tonight, she reads from her new story collection with the help of another eastern Washington gem — Spokane poet Nance Van Winckel, whose most recent collection is a “poetically altered encyclopedia,” which sounds fascinating. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday January 6th: This Glittering Republic Reading

Seattle poet Quenton Baker hit it big late last year when he debuted his first collection, This Glittering Republic. His poems look at history and race and intergenerational burdens with a fresh eye. Baker is funny and brilliant and just about the closest thing to a voice of reason you can find in America, 2017. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday January 7th: The End of My Career Reading

Seattle author Corinne Manning, who just stepped down from her leadership role as founder of the James Franco Review, will appear in conversation with memoirist Martha Glover, whose new book is about investigating workers’ comps claims for the state. The world of work is a troubling, complicated one, and Glover provides a unique perspective. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Sunday January 8th: Stories from the Saturday Evening Post

It seems likely that this year will bring with it even more magazine closures, and that’s a goddamn shame. This reading of popular Saturday Evening Post pieces — in which local performers read work by P.G. Wodehouse, Robert Heinlein, and Shirley Jackson — ought to demonstrate what magazines, at their very best, are capable of promoting. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $10-13. All ages. 2 p.m.

Monday January 9th: The Secret Life of Fat Reading

Sylvia Tara is a biochemist, and she’s about to give you a terrific reason to quit your New Year’s resolution before it even begins. The Secret Life of Fat examines the complicated role that fat plays in our lives: we hate it, even though it’s necessary to survive and it’s trying to protect us. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday January 10th: Salon of Shame

We’ve all got some residual shame in us after the godawful mess that was last year. That’s what makes the Salon of Shame so important: it’s like a ritual burning of shame, in which normal Seattleites gather to read their most embarrassing teenage writings. Come — be embarrassed, and then be free. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave, http://brownpapertickets.com . $15. All ages. 8 p.m.