Recently in Readings & Lectures Category

Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity explores the absurdities of modern masculinity from Time columnist Joel Stein. The funny and poignant book was provoked by Stein's original faulty notion that he needed to acquire more manly skills and habits to pass on to his newborn son. Tuesday, May 22, at 7 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $10, or $27 for two tickets and a copy of the book. Call 202-408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.

Read Stein's recent Time column I Had a Gay Old Time. Why I'll never spend the night in a straight hotel again.

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Luckily, you don't have to be Jewish to appear at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. In her new book, My Extraordinary Ordinary Life, Spacek offers up details about her personal and professional life, from growing up in small-town Texas to meeting her husband on the set of Badlands to eventually settling in the non-glamorous rural Virginia hills. Sara Nelson, books editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, will interview Spacek. Sunday, May 6, at 3 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Cost is $15 for one ticket to the discussion, $30 for one ticket and one book, or $37 for two tickets and a book. Call 202-408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.

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Local drag sensation Xavier Onassis Bloomgindale hosts a contest on the topic of "Divas: Stories about the temperamental superstar side of things," in which everyday folks tell short stories about the divas in their lives, loosely defined. Holly Bass, Jeffrey Brady and Whitney GucciGoo will judge the contest, which grants the winner $100 in cash. Story League presents a contest at the 14th Street Busboys & Poets every third Wednesday of the month. Wednesday, March 21, at 9 p.m. Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-387-POET or visit busboysandpoets.com or storyleague.org.

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Blackouts and Breakdowns humorously recounts the antics and experiences of a D.C. native who spent the past few years partying and playing his way through gay Manhattan, where he now lives on the slower-paced, sober side of life. Author Mark Brennan Rosenberg stops at the Duplex Diner this Tuesday, in between stops at the University of Maryland, College Park and Towson University. Appearing March 13, at 6:30 p.m at the 18th and U Duplex Diner, 2004 18th St. NW. Call 202-265-9599 or visit duplexdiner.com.

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"Beer activist" Chris O'Brien, author of Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World, leads a "tutored tasting" of beers that have been brewed in ways that support their surrounding communities and the environment. Beers on tap include offerings from DC Brau Brewing Company, Flying Dog Brewery, Port City Brewing and Chocolate City Beer. Thursday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $20 in advance or $23 day-of. Call 202-408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.

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Roger Rosenblatt's Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief and Small Boats is a sequel to the memoir Making Toast, offering moving but unsentimental lessons in facing loss. Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit politics-prose.com.

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Harry Belafonte's Sing Your Song recounts the life of the entertainer and outspoken activist for global civil rights, from his early years of poverty in Harlem and Jamaica to racism in the Navy during World War II to friendships with Martin Luther King Jr., and the Kennedys. Belafonte wrote the memoir with Michael Shnayerson, and it's has been released along with a companion CD and an HBO documentary. Belafonte will not perform or even read or take questions about his book at Politics and Prose; he'll simply autograph copies of his book and CD. Well, that's gotta be worth something, right? Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit politics-prose.com.

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Jared Ball's I Mix What I Like!: A Mixtape Manifesto analyzes the increasing corporate control in the music industry and suggests that popular homemade hip-hop mixtapes are a newfangled tool for helping everyday people have a say in the music they listen to. Ball, an associate professor of communication studies at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, has also been running for U.S. president as the Green Party candidate for the past four years. Wednesday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. Langston Room at Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St. NW. Call 202-387-POET or visit busboysandpoets.com.

Three lesbian authors will entertain as they read from their recent works. D.C.'s Lisa Gitlin reads from her comic memoir I Came Out For This?, Rehoboth Beach's Fay Jacobs reads from her collection of essays For Frying Out Loud -- Rehoboth Beach Diaries and Amy Dawson reads from her latest female-focused action thriller Miles To Go. Sunday, May 8, at 4 p.m. Langston Room at Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St. NW. Call 202-387-POET or visit busboysandpoets.com.

Ira Glass, the host of public radio's This American Life talks about his dalliances with television -- specifically what he and his staff learned and why they stopped producing the short-lived television adaptation of the popular radio show. Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m. Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $40 to $50. Call 202-994-6800 or visit lisner.org.