WEDNESDAY

Heather Abel “The Optimistic Decade.” 7 p.m. Books Inc., 1491 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www.booksinc.net

Bookswap: Pride Edition Bring a book to give away and go home with a new one. 7 p.m. The Bindery, 1727 Haight St., S.F. www.booksmith.com Rachel Bronson, Philip Yun “Can We Turn Back the Hands of the Doomsday Clock?” 12 p.m. $0-$10. Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, S.F. www.commonwealthclub.org Jacqueline Carey “Starless.” 6 p.m. Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia St., S.F. borderlands-books.com

Diane Ehrensaft, Carvell Wallace “The Gender Creative Child.” 7:30 p.m. $29. Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes St., S.F. 415-392-4400. www.cityarts.net Daniel Gumbiner “The Boatbuilder.” 7 p.m. Book Passage Corte Madera, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. www.bookpassage.com

Brooks Headley “Superiority Burger Cookbook.” 6:30 p.m. Omnivore Books, 3885 Cesar Chavez St., S.F. www.omnivorebooks.com

Jason Heller “Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded.” 6 p.m. Book Passage, One Ferry Building, S.F. www.bookpassage.com

Ken Jennings “Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture.” 6 p.m. Book Passage, 100 Bay St., Sausalito. www.bookpassage.com Jeffrey Thomas Leong “Wild Geese Sorrow: The Chinese Wall Inscriptions at Angel Island.” 7 p.m. Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda. www.booksinc.net

Darnell Moore, Hana Baba, Leila Day “Free in America.” 6:30 p.m. $7-$60. Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, S.F. www.commonwealthclub.org Roman Muradov “On Doing Nothing: Finding Inspiration in Idleness.” 7:30 p.m. Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 Ninth Ave., S.F. www.greenapplebooks.com

Jason Novak “Et Tu, Brute?” 7 p.m. East Bay Booksellers, 5433 College Ave., Oakland. www.ebbooksellers.com

THURSDAY

Gillian Conoley, Paul Hoover Poetry reading. 7:30 p.m. Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. www.moesbooks.com

Michael Eric Dyson “Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America.” 7:30 p.m. $20-$45. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St., Oakland. kpfa.org

William E. Glassley “A Wilder Time: Notes From a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice.” 7 p.m. Books Inc., 1491 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www.booksinc.net

Mark Greenside “(Not Quite) Mastering the Art of French Living.” 7 p.m. Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda. www.booksinc.net

Edward Hallowell “Because I Come from a Crazy Family.” 6 p.m. Book Passage, One Ferry Building, S.F. www.bookpassage.com

Tracy Holczer “Everyting Else in the Universe.” 4:30 p.m. Books Inc., 3515 California St., S.F. www.booksinc.net

Maria Hummel, Sara Houghteling “Still Lives.” 7:30 p.m. Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 Ninth Ave., S.F. www.greenapplebooks.com

Leslie Jonath “Foraged Art: Creating Projects Using Blooms, Branches, Leaves, Stones, and Other Elements Discovered in Nature.” 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley. www.mrsdalloways.com

Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar “The Map of Salt and Stars.” 7 p.m. Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. www.bookpassage.com

Samuel Miller “A Lite Too Brite.” 7 p.m. Books Inc. Van Ness, 601 Van Ness Ave., S.F. www.booksinc.net

Tommy Orange “There There.” 7 p.m. City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Ave., S.F. www.citylights.com

Why There Are Words: Body Language Kelly Alsup, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Jane Rosenberg LaForge, Jan Reid, Jenn Scott, Townsend Walker. 7:15 p.m. $10. Studio 333, 333 Caledonia St., Sausalito. www.whytherearewords.com

Getty Images for Meet the Press Michael Eric Dyson