Long-time NPR correspondent and self-described grouch Eric Weiner spent a year traveling to ten places—Switzerland, Iceland, India, Moldovia—all to ask: why are these people happy? (Or, in Moldovia’s case, not.) The result is The Geography of Bliss, a witty, well-written treatise on how “subjective well-being” is related to our environment. But if you’re looking for hard facts, look the other way; Weiner tells his story through choice quotes and emblematic scenes—think Theroux channeling Stumbling on Happiness scribe Daniel Gilbert. This lack of hard science and overabundance of quotes might be maddening, but such chattiness should lend itself perfectly to a talk. And, one hopes on account of Weiner’s self-professed continued grouchiness, a group hug. Elliott Bay Book Co., 101 S. Main St., 624-6600, www.elliottbaybook.com. 7:30 p.m. KARLA STARR

Fri., Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m., 2008