Books this week are all about devastation: There are a few about our economy and health care system, oh and one that is a chilling testament to the impossibly tragic early onslaught of ennui that befalls New York City private school kids every year. Plus, it is also the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a terrible American disaster. MORE »

So, here’s the thing: many of last week’s Wrapped Up in Books featured events—like a few things at Politics & Prose, which was basically everything—actually correspond to this week. Calendars, right? Anyway, this is actually terrific news for anyone who regretted missing out on James Wood and Co. the first time, as this is one of those rare instances in which you get a second chance. History is a nightmare from which you can awake! MORE »

The delights of mid-August in Washington D.C. are innumerable, truly. Now add “America’s most controversial Saul Bellow-enthusiast James Wood,” “Helene Cooper,” and “other things” to this ever-growing list of available pleasantries. MORE »

“Quality, not quantity” is an epigram that’s in favor with people who realize that they do not have a sufficient amount of a thing. So, in maybe related news: why, look how many famous authors and Senators from California are in DC this week, peddling everything from memoirs to barely fictionalized romans a clefs about similarly named Senators from California! MORE »

Oh man it is August so soon, and to celebrate, famous socialist bookstore Politics & Prose has declined to schedule any readings this weekend. Less is more, right? Especially when it comes to actual events that usually exist. No worries, there are still weekday goings-on relating to chimerical war criminal Donald Rumsfeld and a special celebrity appearance by a fella who says he works for Joe Biden. MORE »

The week in books: Famous DC authors of disparate political affiliations will be reading from their non-fictions concerning various governmental issues. It’s true! And it’s an adventure starring Gwen Ifill, Henry Waxman, and Albert Camus. MORE »

Mid-July is famous for being consistently and dependably eventful, so it is not surprising in the slightest that this week isn’t an insignificant one, relatively, judging by the offerings of DC’s local bookstores. For one, there’s Busted, the latest example of the popular new genre that is sweeping publishing: the pun-dependent real estate exegesis. And as soon as someone takes screenshots of these books and uploads these photos to a Tumblr, that too can be a book. There’s also Kate Christensen, Slate’s Fred Kaplan, and a 9/11 truth scavenger hunt with a pre-arranged encore Powerpoint. MORE »

There are going to be so many classic literary feuds, literary and otherwise, resolved this week on the DC book tour circuit. MORE »

How are you celebrating Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman’s victory over the aliens? Wonkette recommends indulging in such earthly freedoms as “third parties,” hallucinogens, and atypical products of M.F.A. programs! Ralph Nader will be around to answer your questions, and Reif Larsen will be around, to tactfully evade your advances. There’s also more, so much more. MORE »

Recall last summer: it was the summer of Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland, the most important book liked by people wearing the most important-looking glasses. It seems O’Neill has journeyed from that wire-rimmed menagerie of the psyche to Politics & Prose, where all such odysseys of the soul must, and do, eventually terminate. Plus, David Makovsky is a gentleman who will be arguing that some of the US’s terrible Middle East policies really came about because of “miscommunications.” Obviously this is terrific news, as it is written in the Social Contract that if a problem occurs because of a Miscommunication, alcohol or a lack of cell phone reception, then no party can be held accountable, for anything. Twitter.com/socialcontract (1762), by Rousseau. Look it up. MORE »

Your other editor Sara wrote earlier about how every governor candidate in Virginia has taken a shine to this hilarious & false idea that prison officials closely monitor third-grade test scores to determine how many jails they’ll need for the Dumbs in 15 years. But only Terry McAuliffe went ahead and made it into an insane teevee advertisement! The final product (which your male associate editor wrote about this morning at length for his NBC racketeering gig) proved to be McAuliffe’s most twisted, hilarious failed attempt at pretending to be a real human being yet, in a life and campaign defined by such attempts. “Pre-k now or prison later!” Nice one, sociopath! [NBC Washington]