The following events this week are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. This is not a complete listing. For additional events, see Bookshop on our pages or log on tohttp://eg.washingtonpost.com/section/books.
21 Monday
5:30 P.M. I. William Zartman , director of the Conflict Management Program at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), takes part in a forum discussion of his new book, Cowardly Lions: Missed Opportunities to Prevent Deadly Conflict and State Collapse , as part of the "SAIS Faculty Book Series" at SAIS, Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 202-663-5626.
6:30 P.M. Historian Hugh Kennedy discusses and signs When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty at the Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, 5625 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-282-0193.
7 P.M. Suad Amiry discusses and signs Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries (winner of Italy's Viareggio Versilia Prize) at Olsson's-Penn Quarter, 418 Seventh St. NW, 202-638-7610.
7 P.M. California senator Barbara Boxer reads from and signs her new novel of politics, A Time to Run (written with Mary-Rose Hayes), at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-364-1919.
7 P.M. Diana Abu-Jaber , author of the novels Arabian Jazz and Crescent and the memoir The Language of Baklava , presents a lecture and reading at the Park School of Baltimore, which is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its "Cultural Diversity in Literature Reading and Discussion Group." The school is located at 2425 Old Court Rd., Baltimore, Md.; call 410-339-4147 for details and to RSVP.
7:30 P.M. Journalist Charles Peters discusses and signs Five Days in Philadelphia: Wendell Wilkie, Franklin Roosevelt, and the 1940 Election That Saved the Western World at the Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 S. Park Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-656-2797.
22 Tuesday
10:30 A.M. Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni reads from and signs Rosa , her new picture book (illus. by Bryan Collier) on the life of Rosa Parks, at Politics and Prose, 202-364-1919.
7:30 P.M. The "Jazz & Poetry" evenings at Grace Church hosts a reading by Abena Disroe , accompanied by guitarist Donal Leace , at the church in Georgetown, 1041 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Grace Cavalieri will present the performers. A $5 donation is suggested; for details, call 202-333-7100.
25 Friday
1 P.M. Allan Janus discusses and signs Animals Aloft: Photographs from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at the National Air and Space Museum, Sixth St. & Independence Ave. SW, 202-633-1000.
6:30 P.M. Cherlyn Michaels signs her new novel, Counting Raindrops Through a Stained Glass Window , at Karibu Books-Iverson Mall, 3817 Branch Ave., Hillcrest Heights, Md., 301-899-3730. She will also sign on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. at Karibu Books, the Mall at Prince Georges, 3500 East-West Hwy., 301-559-1140.
7 P.M. Jerry Traunfeld , award-winning chef at the Herbfarm restaurant near Seattle, discusses and signs The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor at Borders-Bailey's Crossroads, Route 7 at Columbia Pike, 703-998-0404.
