So, I just started watching Downton Abbey. Thought you all should know that. Props to my gif-happy friend Kate (and her more Masterpiece Theater-reluctant roomie Brenna) for the screening because after only one episode I’m completely hooked. It’s funny to me that a niche-seeming show could amass such wide appeal (I mean, see Downton Abbeyonce), but Kate made the point: if you make a high-quality, character-driven, intriguing show, people will watch.

Let’s dig into the lit scene this week. There are some great events coming up, including readings by Alan Lightman, Sara Levine, Shalom Auslander, Colson Whitehead and Andre Dubus III.

MONDAY: The book Green Card Stories shares the narratives of fifty immigrants and their journeys to the US. Journalist Saundra Amrhein, photographer Ariana Lindquist and immigration lawyers Laura Danielson and Stephen Yale-Loehr come together to discuss their work on the book. [Bluestockings]

TUESDAY: Alan Lightman (Einstein’s Dreams) will discuss his newest novel, Mr. g, told from the perspective of…well, god. [Center for Fiction]

WEDNESDAY: Sara Levine will read from her book, Treasure Island!!! (an enthusiastic title!), about living one’s life according to the classic novel. Note: There will be rum punch. [WORD]

THURSDAY: I’m so sad to miss this! Shalom Auslander will discuss his newest work, Hope: A Tragedy, with Jessa Crispin (of popular lit site BookSlut). Someone please go and tell me how it is! [McNally Jackson]

FRIDAY: Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog) will talk about his memoir Townie, about growing up in the mill towns of Massachusetts. With John Burnham Schwartz. [McNally Jackson]

SATURDAY: The ever-beloved Colson Whitehead will read from Zone One at the Brooklyn Public Library.