Words

THE BIG READ: The Sacramento Public Library invites the whole community to read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer this month. All 28 library branches will host activities related to the book, including old-fashioned games, book-discussion groups, Mark Twain film nights, cigar-box art workshops and more. Sa, 10/1-M, 10/31.
Free. Various locations, (916) 264-2700, www.saclibrary.org.

ARCHIVE CRAWL: History buffs won’t want to miss Explore History: Sacramento Archives Crawl, an unprecedented chance to peek into the past. Get a passport at one of four host locations and examine artifacts and documents from Sacramento institutions like the Old City Cemetery, Sacramento State University special collections, the Lavender Library and Cultural Exchange, and the California State Railroad Museum. Get your passport stamped at three of the four locales and receive a prize! Sa, 10/1, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Free. Various locations, sacarchivescrawl.blogspot.com .

JONATHAN FRANZEN SPEAKS: The best-selling author of The Corrections will speak “On Autobiography and Fiction Writing.” A Q-and-A with Franzen will follow the lecture. Sa, 10/8, 8 p.m.
$25-$49. Mondavi Center, 1 Shields Ave. in Davis; (530) 754-2787, www.mondaviarts.org.

POETRY CROSS-POLINATION: Spiritual-surrealist poet Frank Andrick, co-host of Luna’s Café & Juice Bar’s Poetry Unplugged series, crosses the Midtown grid to read at Shine cafe’s new Poetry With Legs series. Andrick shares the bill with legendary San Francisco poet Neeli Cherkovski. W, 10/12, 7 p.m.
Free. Shine, 1400 E St.; (916) 551-1400; http://shinesacramento.com.

DINO-MITE CHILDREN’S AUTHOR: Chris Gall, author of Substitute Creacher and Dinotrux, will read from his books and demonstrate how a book gets made in this lively and humorous family event. W, 10/26, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Free. Rancho Cordova Public Library, 9845 Folsom Blvd.; (916) 264-2700; www.saclibrary.org.

STORIES ON STAGE: Valerie Fioravanti’s award-winning monthly series pairs writers and actors for live readings of new works of fiction. October’s performance features Melinda Moustakis, winner of the 2010 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and Leah Griesmann, the Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University. F, 10/28, 7 p.m.
$5. Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th St.; (916) 979-9706; http://valeriefioravanti.com.

HALLOWEEN POE-ETRY: Join poets William O’Daly and Allegra Silberstein, the poet laureate of Davis, for a spooky night of poetry by Edgar Allen Poe and others. M, 10/31, 7 p.m.
Free. Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th St.; (916) 979-9706; www.sacramentopoetrycenter.com.