June 22

Wednesday

Grace Reading If you’re going to attend one reading by a debut novelist this year, skip the horse-chokingly thick tour de force by the white-boy wunderkind from Brooklyn and attend this one instead. Narrated by a ghost—“I am dead” is the first line—Natashia Deón’s riveting Grace tells the story of black women in America’s slave trade. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliott baybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT

Collective Legal Resistance Forum Swing by your friendly anarchist bookstore to hear authors Kris Hermes (Crashing the Party: Legacies and Lessons From the RNC 2000) and Dan Berger (The Struggle Within: Prisons, Political Prisoners, and Mass Movements in the United States) discuss effective strategies for radical political activism (or “resistance,” if you like). Left Bank Books, 92 Pike St., 622-0195, left bankbooks.com. Free. All ages. 7:30 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK

June 23

Thursday

Lotic Born in Houston but based in Berlin, Lotic is one of the most boundary-pushing producers in the contemporary electronic-music soundscape, putting the “disco” in “disconcerting” with his glitchy, ominous club experiments. Take the ingenious “Heterocetera,” a clangorous tune that opens with what sounds like a flock of evil robotic seagulls before plunging into a gyrating, eerie industrial salsa. With Reverend Dollars, Howin, Warlokk. Kremwerk, 1809 Minor Ave., kremwerk.com. $10 adv. 21 and over. 8 p.m. KELTON SEARS

Spekulation Album Release Rapper/producer Matt “Spekulation” Watson is perhaps best known to Seattle for his viral “Bout That Action,” which jokingly flipped Marshawn Lynch’s famous soundbite into a hip-hop beat. Spekulation’s new LP, Nine to Fives & Afterlives, is anything but a joke—backed by understated, mature production, Spekulation comes out swinging at racism, capitalism, and the ironies of the war on drugs. With Bad Tenants, Sleeps Steady, Travis Thompson. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, thebarboza.com. $8. 21 and over. 8 p.m. KS

June 24

Friday

Bad Luck I wish all show bills in Seattle were this sonically diverse. Leading the charge on this excellent all-local showcase is Bad Luck, a sax-and-drums duo whose squalling, hyperkinetic take on jazz is a thrill regardless of your musical taste. Instead of a slew of other jazz bands, joining them is Erik Blood with his otherworldly shoegaze landscapes and Prom Queen, whose surfy noir-ish sound is fit for a Tarantino soundtrack. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, thebarboza.com. $8. 21 and over. 7 p.m. KS

Chris Corsano If you stuck a metronome next to Chris Corsano during one of his dizzyingly complex solo drum sets, it would probably erupt in flames. The mad percussionist, who has worked with Björk, Thurston Moore, and Nels Cline, turns his drums (which he often switches up and supplements with random doodads on the fly) into a maelstrom of cascading rhythmic flurries—brace yourself for the incoming stick storm. With Arrington de Dionyso, Wilson Shook, Kate Olson. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave., gallery1412.org. $7. All ages. 7:30 p.m. KS

David Lasky The Seattle-based Eisner Award-winning cartoonist, best known for his work on Carter Family, Don’t Forget This Song, is a master at poetic understatement. If you’re new to the Seattle comic scene, check out one of its elder statesmen at tonight’s show, featuring a number of Lasky’s black and white artworks. The Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., theveraproject.org. Free. All ages. 6–8 p.m. Through July 20. KS

Mary-Louise Parker w/Sherman Alexie Celebrity bios are often disappointments. But talking to booksellers who’ve read advance copies of Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker’s memoir Dear Mr. You, you’ll notice a certain relief creep into their faces. “No,” they’ll say, “it’s actually good! It’s well-written.” Tonight Parker will be grilled onstage by Seattle’s own Sherman Alexie. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 8 p.m. PC

June 25

Saturday

Don’t Look Away Release Seattle cartoonist Seth Goodkind’s artwork has a remarkable stickiness; your eye can’t look away from those inky depths and finely wrought details. Tonight he’s debuting four new small comics, including Don’t Look Away, which collects his handsome, haunting portraits of people of color killed by police officers. Push/Pull, 5484 Shilshole Ave., 789-1710, push pullseattle.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC

Punk Rock Flea Market Do you need a new patch for your denim vest, a bejeweled switchblade knife, or a nipple ring? You can find all that and a hell of a lot more at the Punk Rock Flea Market, a glorious Seattle tradition that gathers the city’s scuzziest merchants in one chaotic room as they hawk “stuff they made, stuff they purchased, stuff they stole.” V2 (the old Value Village), 1525 11th Ave. $1 entry. All ages. Noon–10 p.m. Sat., noon–5 p.m. Sun. KS

June 26

Sunday

Magic and Loss Reading Virginia Heffernan calls the Internet one of “mankind’s great masterpieces.” (Is she aware that YouTube comment sections exist? Unclear.) Her new book imagines it as a work of art, and discusses how our online lives are shaping human thought. Is Heffernan the Marshall McLuhan of our time, or does Reddit render her argument invalid? Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m. PC

June 27

Monday

Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching Reading Mychal Denzel Smith’s new book frankly discusses race in America. It opens with the murder of Trayvon Martin and touches on topics like Black Lives Matter and the challenge of black masculinity. If you think you don’t need to read it because you’ve already read Between the World and Me, you’re part of the problem. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m. PC

Build a Bike Night The Bikery is a community bike shop where regular cyclists learn to fix their own rides. You pay by the hour (or earn credit by volunteering), and in exchange you can use any of the shop tools and get coached by expert mechanics. Bring some beer and a snack and learn how to build and fix the best vehicles in the world. The Bikery, 845 Hiawatha Pl. S., thebikery.org. Free. 7 p.m. CJ

Lauryn Hill Be forewarned: Ms. Hill has an ongoing legacy of showing up late to her performances and cutting them short. Yet even mere moments in her presence are worth the admission price. Though the rapper and R&B crooner has only one solo album out, her name and persona carry the weight of one of the all-time greats. The Showbox, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showboxpresents.com. 8 p.m. $78 adv. All ages. DUSTY HENRY

June 28

Tuesday

Fight Club 2 and The Clasp Elliott Bay Book Company hosts two authors who couldn’t be more aesthetically opposed. At 4 p.m., Chuck Palahniuk signs his Fight Club sequel comic, the inventively titled Fight Club 2. Then at 7 p.m., Sloane Crosley reads from her smart, funny, and smartly funny novel The Clasp. You’re either a Crosley person or a Palahniuk person; which is it? Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 4 & 7 p.m. PC