For this year’s reading of 'Ulysses,' the Wild Geese Players are continuing last year’s approach of following Joyce’s timeline for June 16th, rather than reading the chapters in strict linear order. Chapters 2 (“Nestor”) and 5 (“Lotus-Eaters”) will be interwoven to highlight the parallel journeys of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Daedalus during the novel’s ten o’clock hour. -- The Wild Geese Players have been staging readings of Irish literature, by writers such as James Joyce and W. B. Yeats, in Seattle since 1998.

Author James Longhurst discusses his latest book 'Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road' -- Join avid cyclist and historian James Longhurst as he tackles the question of why most American cities are still so ill-prepared to handle cyclists. Longhurst brings together traditional policy research with unusual and wonderful pop culture references to give a deeper account of cycling and the sharing of the road in America. -- James Longhurst is a historian of urban and environmental policy and an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, with a Ph.D. in history and policy from Carnegie Mellon University. His first book, 'Citizen Environmentalists', describes the rise of local environmental organizing in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.

'The Book of Aron' is a devastating, heartbreaking, sometimes comic, novel of the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation, as seen through the eyes of a street-wise boy. -- Aron’s family is driven from the Polish countryside into Warsaw. Aron and a handful of boys and girls smuggle and trade contraband through the quarantine walls in hopes of keeping their families alive, hunted all the while by blackmailers and by police and the Gestapo. Separated from his family, Aron is rescued by Janusz Korczak, a real-life doctor, an advocate of children's rights, who was put in charge of the Warsaw orphanage. -- "This moving novel bears witness to human complexity with an uncompromising compassion. It is a testament not only to Janusz Korczak and the children in the Warsaw Ghetto but to every child abandoned in war. History must open our hearts to the present and this is Jim Shepard's powerful achievement." --Anne Michaels, author of 'Fugitive Pieces'. -- Jim Shepard is the author of six previous novels and four story collections, including 'Like You'd Understand, Anyway,' which was a finalist for the National Book Award and won The Story Prize. His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, and Granta, among others, and has appeared in 'The Best American Short Stories' and 'The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories.' He teaches at Williams College.

Kallos, the bestselling author of “Broken for You,” spins the stories of a dedicated teacher, his enigmatic son, and a wartime survivor into a tale of love, loss and handwriting. -- High school English teacher Charles Marlow’s wife has left, his daughter is headed for college and he can't communicate with his autistic son. A series of unexpected events forces him to reflect on the lifetime of decisions and indecisions that have brought him to this point. With the help of an ambitious art student, an Italian-speaking nun and the memory of a boy in a white suit whose friendship both saved and condemned him, Charles may finally be able to rewrite the script of his life. -- Stephanie Kallos is the author of the national bestseller “Broken for You,” which was selected by Sue Monk Kidd for The Today Show book club and was adapted for the stage by Book-It Repertory Theatre. She also wrote “Sing Them Home,” one of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Novels of the year.

'Ancient Places: People and Landscape in the Emerging Northwest', presents stories about the interplay between people and landscape. -- Drawing on a range of fresh personal research, both oral and written, Nisbet engages some of the iconic images in Northwest history: from fossil riches to ice age floods; from the Willamette Meteorite to the 1872 Earthquake; from up-and-down mining cycles to steady rounds of tribal food gathering. -- Spokane-based teacher and naturalist Jack Nisbet is the author of several books that explore the human and natural history of the Pacific Northwest. He is the author of the highly regarded “Sources of the River, for which he was awarded the Murray Morgan Prize by the Washington State Historical Society”; “The Collector”; “David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work”; and “Visible Bones,” winner of the 2004 Washington State Book Award.

Michael Perry, who has built a loyal audience with his popular memoirs (including “Truck” and “Coop”), reads from his humorous debut novel “The Jesus Cow.” -- With his eye (and ear) for the comical elements of contemporary rural life, New York Times-bestselling author Michael Perry turns to fiction with “The Jesus Cow,” an affectionately skewed and big-hearted depiction of one miraculous bovine and the chaos it unleashes. -- Life is suddenly full of drama for Wisconsin farmer Harley Jackson when he finds a newborn calf bearing the image of Jesus Christ. Harley attempts to suppress the “miracle,” fails spectacularly, and the Jesus Cow goes viral. His peaceful, hometown is quickly overrun with pilgrims, grifters and clamoring media. Then a Hollywood agent jets in with plans to turn Harley’s farm into a neon-lit cheesehead version of Lourdes. -- Julie Schumacher (author of “Dear Committee Members”) called the novel a “wildly comic and deeply felt examination of faith, combining politics, scandal, farming, love, environmentalism and rural philosophy.” -- Michael Perry is a radio host, songwriter and the New York Times bestselling author of several nonfiction books (including "Truck: A Love Story," "Visiting Tom" and "Coop: A Family, a Farm and the Pursuit of One Good Egg"). Although he performs widely as a humorist, the stylistic elements of Perry’s writing have led to several music-based collaborations, most recently with Justin Vernon of the band Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of The National. A registered nurse by training, Perry lives in northern Wisconsin with his family, where he volunteers with the local rescue service.

Elementary, middle and high school students share their own writing. Introduced by the adult authors they've worked with all year, students share their wonderful poetry, prose, and comics.

Elementary, middle and high school students share their own writing. Introduced by the adult authors they've worked with all year, students share their wonderful poetry, prose, and comics.

Lucas Mann investigates the life and death of his enigmatic older brother who died of a heroin overdose when Lucas was only thirteen years old. -- In 'Lord Fear', the author examines his own complicated feelings about and motives for recovering memories of his brother's life. Through his investigation, he also comes to redefine his own place in a family whose narrative is bisected by the tragic loss.

Book-It Repertory Theatre presents staged readings from 'The Painter' and author Peter Heller joins adapter Bryan Birch, director David Quicksall and cast for post-performance discussion. -- 'The Painter' recounts the story of famous artist Jim Stegner, as he struggles to manage the dark impulses within himself. He lives peacefully in rural Colorado, spending his days painting and fly fishing, until he encounters a brutal act of violence that rips his quiet life wide open.