Kristy Woodson Harvey, "Slightly South of Simple." In the first novel of an all-new series filled with southern charm, Harvey chronicles the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that could tear them apart.
2 p.m. May 7. Free. Urban Relics (next to Bookmiser), 4651 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 104, Roswell. 770-587-3900, bookmiser.net/happenings2.html
Stacia Pelletier, "The Half Wives." Decatur resident Pelletier ("Accidents of Providence") returns with a complex story of interconnected characters all drawn one day to a cemetery where a collision of lives and secrets leaves no one unaltered.
Talk, signing. 2 p.m. May 7. Free. Tall Tales Bookshop, Toco Hill Shopping Center, 2105 LaVista Road NE, Atlanta. 404-636-2498, talltalesatlanta.com/events.html
Richard O. Prum, "The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—and Us." Prum, an ornithologist and the head curator of vertebrate zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, brings to light Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection: the act of choosing a mate for aesthetic reasons is a valid and independent engine of evolutionary change.
Talk, signing. 7 p.m. May 9. Free. Cecil B. Day Chapel, Carter Presidential Library & Museum, 441 Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta. 404-865-7100, jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events/
Kristi DeMeester, "Beneath." A reporter assigned to cover a story about a snake-handling cult in rural Appalachia rediscovers a world of fundamentalist stricture, repression and abuse that dredges up long-buried memories of her past.
Book launch. 6:30 p.m. May 10. Free. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock, 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/events/
Stephanie Danler, "Sweetbitter." A young woman who begins life in a low-level job at a top New York City restaurant faces grueling hours, a steep culinary learning curve, and the painful lessons of a darkly alluring love triangle.
Talk, signing. 7 p.m. May 10. $10. Margaret Mitchell House, 979 Crescent Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/programs/category/author-programs
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Kate Moore, "The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women." Years after being employed to paint watches, clocks and military dials with radium-based, luminous paint during World War I, young American women began to suffer from mysterious, crippling illnesses. Though their employers denied all responsibility, these courageous women fought for justice; Moore draws on diaries, letters, court transcripts, and interviews to tell their remarkable story.
Talk, signing. 7:15 p.m. May 10. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium. 215 Sycamore St., Decatur, 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285, georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=955
Wendy Wax, "One Good Thing." In the fifth book of Wax's "Ten Beach Road" series, four friends end up embroiled in a battle to regain control of their renovation-turned-reality TV show.
Signing. 7 p.m. May 11. Free. Barnes & Noble Buckhead, 2900 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, 404-261-7747, stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780061856189-0
Poetry Night. Two Georgia poets, Alice Teeter ("Mountain Mother Poems") and Elizabeth Cranford Garcia ("Stunt Double"), will read from their work.
8 p.m. May 11. $5. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta. 404-872-5338 ext. 228, callanwolde.freshtix.com/events/poetry-night-two-guest-poets
Nathaniel Philbrick, "Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution." Evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of Washington and Arnold, Philbrick presents a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation.
Talk, signing. 2 p.m. May 13. $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta. 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/programs/category/author-programs
Tantrum #5: Cars & Trucks & Things That Go. Toddlers' obsessions with trucks are often matched only by their preoccupation with school busses. This month's Tantrum will include live stories of parenting adventures about moving objects from Bill Taft, Patti Callahan Henry and Soniah Kamal. 7 p.m. May 13. Free. Kavarna Bar/Coffeeshop, 707 East Lake Dr., Decatur, 404-371-1113, kavarnadecatur.com/site/#!/calendar/
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