Premium-channel lesbian dramedy “The L Word” exposed me to Buddhist philosopher/psychiatrist Mark Epstein: De facto protagonist/power-lesbian Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) attends Epstein's reading for Open to Desire: The Truth About What The Buddha Taught in the third season, second episode, “Lost Weekend.” In his too-brief cameo, he explains James Joyce's idea of beholding: If held too closely, the subject of desire becomes pornography, but when we distance ourselves too much, it becomes criticism. Epstein contends it's possible to have intense, loving relationships with others and desire itself without attendant grasping and objectification. Epstein now tours with his latest, The Trauma of Everyday Life. This dense scholarly panegyric to transformative potential of trauma finds Epstein taking on psychodrama of trauma in the Buddha's childhood, as well as in his own life and those of his patients. Epstein's thoughts on traumatic memory being stored solely in implicit memory alone are worth the price of admission. Hear him out at Bookworks tonight starting at 7 p.m. (Samantha Anne Carrillo)  Bookworks • Thu Aug 22 • 7 pm • free • ALL-AGES! • View on Alibi calendar

The Widow's Strike

Last week’s art section covered old-school booksellers fighting the good fight in the digital age. The Alibi article written by Robin Brown focuses on local book stores like Bookworks in the North Valley. “Keeping Their Word” shows how our local shops are staying alive in today’s market.

Mexico City can still host a book fair with more than 1 million customers; printed copies of books are not a dead product. When book fairs like this continue to be successful, it is a great sign for the global market for physical books.

At the Zocalo International Book Fair, there were hundreds of publishers exceeding expectations and expanding the market for literature in Central America. The host nation highlighted works from neighboring Guatemalan authors.

In her article, Brown mentions that there are a lot of people in the writing industry that are uncertain about how the market is going to play out over the next few years. Writers are not sure how well their books are going to sell, publishers are freaking out because of the rapidly changing market.

Ten years ago no one could have predicted that tablets as sophisticated as the Kindle would cause sales of physical books to decline. Even with e-books staking their claim in the market, there is no way that real books are going to be forgotten.

There are those among us who have an obsession with walking. Not necessarily to get from Point A to Point B, but simply for the meditative, awe-inspiring and fitness-inducing benefits that can be derived along the way. Fortunately for us, New Mexico is second to none when it comes to the pursuit of trekking. Stephen Ausherman is the author of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque. His book, which details great trails around the Duke City, is being updated and released in its second edition. Ausherman will speak at Bookworks (4022 Rio Grande NW) tonight at 7 p.m.

The Wikkeling

Silver Sparrow, the book that has rapidly gained an indie following and critical praise alike, opens with the line "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist.”

Tayari Jones’ yarn about betrayal, deception and destroyed illusions twists around James Witherspoon and his two families—one public, one secret. The daughters from each family meet and become friends, but only one of them knows they are sisters.

Jones, who was born and mostly raised in Atlanta, Georgia (but spent one year in Nigeria) will speak and sign copies of her book on Monday, July 11.