Reading Room

Thursday March 11

Leslie Glass, best selling author of the psychological suspense novels featuring NYPD Sergeant April Woo, will speak about police women in fiction. The event, co-sponsored by the Museum of Chinese in the Americas, is part of the Police Museum’s celebration of Women’s History Month. Glass will discuss her most recent book, “The Killing Gift,” as well as the seven other titles in the popular series. 6 p.m., the New York City Police Museum. $5 suggested donation, $3 for seniors, $2 for children.

Aaron Hamburger will read from his debut book, “The View from Stalin’s Head,” A collection of ten stories which take place in the crumbling, post-Communist Prague and typically feature young, Jewish, gay characters who are living abroad. In “A Man of the Country,” the protagonist endures a yearlong semi-flirtation with handsome Jirka, growing ever more frustrated, but is never quite willing to take the initiative. 7 p.m., Creative Visions Bookstore.

Friday March 12

Gregory Maguire will be on hand to sign copies of his 1995 novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Joining him are Stephen Schwartz, the composer who wrote to the score for the hit Broadway production “Wicked” based on the book, and cast members from the show. They will all sign copies of the book and the CD soundtrack to the show, which imagines the history of Oz before Dorothy Gale and Toto ever arrived. 5 p.m., Borders Columbus Circle.

Saturday March 13

Hilary Wainwright will read from her books, “Reclaim the State: Experiments in Popular Culture.” The anti-capitalist protests in Seattle and Genoa are symbols of growing anger about the globalizing power of multinational corporations. But there is more to anti-capitalism than demonstrations: concepts like participatory democracy and economic solidarity form the heart of alternative but equally compelling visions. Wainwright explores how people are putting such concepts into practice locally and taking control over public power. Tom Mertes will also read from his book, “A Movement of Movements: Is Another World Really Possible?” In this collection of pieces written by leading theorists and activists – the Zapatistas’ Subcomandante Marcos, Chittraroopa Palit from the Indian Narmada Valley Dam protests, Soweto anti-privatization campaigner Trevor Ngwane, Brazilian Sem Terra leader João Pedro Stedile and many others- discuss personal formation as radicals, the history of their movements, their analyses of globalization and mobilizing against a U.S.-dominated world system. 7 p.m., Bluestockings Bookstore.

Sunday March 14

Aaron Hamburger will read from his debut book, “The View from Stalin’s Head,” A collection of ten stories which take place in the crumbling, post-Communist Prague and typically feature young, Jewish, gay characters who are living abroad. Kate Christensen will also read from her books, “In the Drink” and “The Epicure’s Lament,” is the story of a former gigolo, turned chain-smoking literature-reading hermit who lives alone in his wealthy family’s run down mansion over looking the Hudson River. 7 p.m., KGB.

Monday March 15

Brian Greene will discuss and sign copies of his latest book, “The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality.” In this book, Greene, one of the world’s foremost string theorists, reveals the strange and stunning layers of reality modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of the everyday world, suggesting that ours may be one of many island universes floating in a grand, multidimensional spatial expanse. Greene uses wit, and humor as well as analogy and characters from popular culture, to help his reader understand the new physical realities of the world regardless of scientific background. 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Union Square.

Wednesday March 17

Wil Shortz will discuss his work as The New York Times crossword puzzle editor. For years, people have been educated, challenged, and enormously fulfilled by Shortz’ crossword puzzles in the Times. Now, you can have words with the man behind the puzzles, as he discusses his new collection, “The New York Times Sunday Favorites.” Shortz will also bring a never-before seen crossword puzzle to the event, and the first five people to finish the puzzle successfully will receive a signed book for free. 6:30 p.m. at Borders Columbus Circle.