A list of book-related events in New York City.

· Cantankerous television curmudgeon Andy Rooney discusses his new collection of vintage rants, Years of Minutes, at the UWS B&N, 82nd & Broadway. 7:30pm.

· Acclaimed short-story stylist Richard Bausch reads selections from The Stories of Richard Bausch at the Astor Place B&N. 7:30pm.

· Gay lit icon Edmund White reads from his historical novel Fanny at Three Lives & Company, 154 West 10th. 7pm.

· Former MTV Poet Laureate Maggie Estep does her thing at KGB, 85 East 4th. 7:30pm.

· Famed party documentarian Patrick McMullan presents his new photography collection, so8os: A Photographic Diary of a Decade, at the Chelsea B&N, Sixth Ave & 22nd. 7pm.

· Pascal Khoo Thwe managed to escape from Burma just as it was becoming a brutal military dictatorship. His passion for the works of Joyce played a significant role in this twist of fate. He recounts the whole story in From the Land of Green Ghosts. Get a taste at the 8th Street B&N. 7:30pm.

· It's also World AIDS Day, and there's a large amount of poetry happening at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the occasion. Daniel Nester, Frank Bidart, Steven Cordova, Tory Dent, Patrick Donnelly, Charles Flowers, Lisa Freedman, David Groff, Walter Holland, Richard Howard, Marie Howe, Michael Klein, Phillis Levin, Dante Micheaux, Ron Mohring, Martha Rhodes, Tom Sleigh, Patricia Spears Jones, Richard Tayson and Goran Tomcic read in observance, Amsterdam & 112th. 8-10pm.

· Former Clinton advisor and Louisiana native James Carville discusses his timely new book, Had Enough? A Handbook for Fighting Back, at the Union Square B&N. 7pm.

· "Strange Gifts From Far-Off Lands" is the theme for tonight's Little Gray Book Lecture at Galapagos, 70 North Sixth Street in Williamsburg. 8pm. Practically guaranteed to be interesting.

· Kathryn Harrison reads from her extreme Spanish travelogue, The Road to Santiago, at the Park Slope B&N. 7:30pm.

· André Bernard discusses his new collection of useful literary anecdotes, Madame Bovary, C'est Moi: The Great Characters of Literature and Where They Come From, at the UWS B&N, 82nd & Broadway. 7:30pm.

· City Lights Books is thoughtfully celebrating its 50th anniversary in New York, with black sheep Karen Finley, lady Beat Anne Waldman, novelist Mark Swartz, horizon expander Ammiel Alcalay, Israeli refusenik Oz Shelach and unrepentant psychedelic adventurer Bob Rosenthal, at St. Marks Poetry Project, Second Ave & East 10th. 8pm.

· A reading for the elegant new poetry journal Heliotrope is happening at the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, which is located on the 7th floor of 5 Union Square West, at 7:30pm in the evening.

· Feminine cultural explorer Helen Benedict, novelist Beth Bosworth and freelance writer Alec Appelbaum do Amanda Stern's Happy Ending Reading Series, 302 Broome at Forsyth. 8pm.

· And it's the Battle of the MFA Programs at Bowery Poetry Club, as New School grad students face off against NYUers. Catch the action at 308 Bowery, across from CBGB, near Joey Ramone Place. 9:30pm.

· McSweeney's hosts a reading at Barbès, with self-assured new storytellers Nelly Reifler (See Through) and Steve Almond (My Life in Heavy Metal). Ninth Street & Sixth Ave in Park Slope. 7:30pm.

· White Trash Debutante Jennifer Blowdryer, Orthodox DJ Handler, spiritual essayist Jay Michaelson, Kabbalistic fiction developer Noam Mor and other like-minded individuals celebrate the latest issue of Zeek magazine, a newish Jewish journal of thought and culture, at Galapagos, 70 North Sixth Street in Williamsburg. 7pm.

· Bestselling author Ursula Hegi discusses her new Bronx tale, Sacred Time, at the Lincoln Center B&N. 7pm.

· David Flusfeder reads from his British farce, The Gift, at the 8th Street B&N. 7:30pm.

· Jonathan Lethem returns to the old neighborhood he immortalized in his acclaimed novel The Fortress of Solitude tonight at Halcyon, 227 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, USA. 7:30pm.

· David Remnick and other New Yorker personnel promote the new seasonal brew Christmas at the New Yorker: Stories, Poems, Humor and Art at the UWS B&N, 82nd & Broadway. 7:30pm.

· Professional storyteller Diane Wolkstein connects the dots in the Jewish calendar with her new collection of remixed biblical stories, Treasures of the Heart: Holiday Stories that Reveal the Heart of Judaism. Catch her at the 8th Street B&N. 1pm.

· Russian immigrant writer Lara Vapnyar, who was featured in The New Yorker's First Fiction issue this past summer, reads selections from her new short-story collection, There Are Jews in My House, at KGB, 85 East 4th. 7pm.

· Poetic types Dara Wier and Jordan Davis stick words together at Soft Skull Shortwave, 71 Bond Street in Boerum Hill, BK. 2pm.

· It's an all-out blowout at the New School with readings, interviews and earnest banjo strumming. Music critic and VH1 consultant Touré interviews a surprise guest; Believer editor Heidi Julavits talks with novelists Jennifer Egan, Susan Choi and Stephen Elliot about political fiction in the post-9/11 universe; bad-ass graphic designer Chip Kidd interviews elder bad-ass graphic designer Milton Glaser; traveling historian Tony Perrottet talks about how readings contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire; and author Tom Bissell plays the banjo -- all emceed by John Hodg-man, of The Little Gray Book Lecture Series fame. Tishman Auditorium is the place, 66 West 12th, and it's 5 bucks, just like the old Fugazi shows. 7pm. Box office: 212-229-5488.

· Careful word-arrangers Samuel Menashe, Brendan Lorber and Jennifer Knox vocalize for the Reading Between A & B Series at 11th Street Bar, 510 East 11th. 8pm.

· Novelist and former comedian Amanda Stern and One Story editor Hannah Tinti read at Junno's, 64 Downing Street between Bedford & Varick in the West Village. 7:30pm.

· Big Lebowski Jeff Bridges signs copies of his new, aptly titled photography collection, Pictures, at the Rockefeller Center B&N, Fifth Ave & 48th. 1pm.

· Inventor Samuel Morse, who revolutionized human communication, considered himself a failure. Pulitzer-winning historian Kenneth Silverman discusses his new biography, Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel Morse, at the New York Historical Society, 77th & Central Park West. 6:30pm, 7 bucks. For reservations: 212-485-9269.

· Former Ringling Bros. clown and creative nonfiction evangelist Lee Gotkind reads at KGB, 85 East 4th. 7:30pm.

· A night of modern Turkish poetry at The Kitchen, featuring readings from Murat Nemet-Nejat and Küçük Iskender, one of Turkey's most celebrated living poets. 512 West 19th. 7pm.

· Quirk-rock kings They Might Be Giants have stumbled upon their true calling as a children's book publishing powerhouse. Does it not make sense? They're playing a small show and signing copies of their new book project, Bed, Bed, Bed, at the Union Square B&N tonight. 7pm.

· Russian-born writer Lara Vapnyar reads from her new collection of miniatures, There Are Jews in My House, at Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby in Soho. 7pm.

· Highly engaging poet Tracy K. Smith reads selections from her new book, The Body's Question, at the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 5 Union Square West, 7th floor. 7:30pm.

· Israel is the topic at JCC Rough Cut night at KGB, with Ruchama King -- author of Seven Blessings, a novel exploring matchmaking in Israel -- and Oz Shelach, author of Picnic Grounds, offering two very different perspectives. 85 East 4th. 7:30pm.

· William Schulz, who is the executive director of Amnesty International, is beyond disturbed about human rights abuses in post-9/11 America. Hear his argument when he discusses his book, Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights, at the Astor Place B&N. 7:30pm.

· Former Ringling Bros. clown and creative nonfiction evangelist Lee Gutkind reads at Soft Skull Shortwave, 71 Bond Street in Boerum Hill, BK. 7pm.

· Playwright and former Amazon employee Mike Daisey and short-film producer Scott Prendergast converge at Amanda Stern's Happy Ending Reading Series, 302 Broome at Forsyth. 8pm.

· Urgent poet Jo Ann Wasserman reads at the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 5 Union Square West, 7th floor. 7pm.

· McSweeney's hosts a reading at Barbès, Ninth Street and Sixth Ave in Park Slope. 7:30pm.

· Poet and McSweeneyite Sarah Manguso reads with Mark Bibbins and Sean Singer at the Ear Inn, 326 Spring Street in Soho. 3pm.

· Book release party for Steve Dollar's Jazz Guide: New York City, with readings by Mr. Dollar, viola by Matt Maneri and vibes by Matt Moran, at Barbès, Ninth Street & Sixth Ave in Park Slope. 6pm.

· Matthew Sharpe reads from his dark, humorous, antidepressant-soaked novel, The Sleeping Father, and Lucky Girl Nell Freudenberger follows suit at KGB, 85 East 4th. 7pm.

· Soft Skullers Shanna Compton, Tom Hopkins and Daniel Nester host the year's final Frequency reading at Soft Skull Shortwave, 71 Bond Street in Boerum Hill, BK. 2pm.

· And Soft Skull poet Todd Colby unfortunately lost everything in a fire in Greenpoint last month, so his poet friends are helping him out the best way they know how: with a benefit reading. Those friends include Hal Sirowitz, Maggie Estep, David Cemeron, Daniel Nester, Trace McTague and Jo Ann Wasserman. Contribute and feel good about yourself for once at Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery across from CBGB. 8pm.

· Pulitzer-winning playwright Tony Kushner -- who is currently acquiring legions of new fans thanks to HBO's production of his epic play, Angels in America -- signs copies of his Sendak-illustrated children's book Brundibar at Coliseum Books, 42nd Street across from Bryant Park. 4pm.

· Veteran war correspondent Lutz Kleveman (The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia) and New York mag writer Mark Jacobson (12,000 in the Nick of Time) discuss from their utterly different but equally worldly new books at Half King, Tenth Ave & 23rd. 7pm.

· Award-winning journalist Julian Rubinstein discusses his forthcoming book about a Transylvanian, bank-robbing, animal-pelt-smuggling folk hero, and novelist Susan Choi talks fiction at Junno's, 64 Downing Street between Bedford & Varick in the West Village. 7:30pm.

· WNYC's Leonard Lopate interviews Ursula Hegi, author of Sacred Time, at the 92nd Street Y, 92nd & Lex. 8:15pm, 25 bucks.

· Neo-Nuyorican poet and novelist Emanuel Xavier stimulates gawkers at Bluestockings, 172 Allen between Stanton & Rivington. 7pm, 5 bucks.

· Reclusive prose poet Russell Edson joins Sarah Manguso for public phrasings and vodka at Russian Samovar, 256 West 52nd. 7pm.

· Mercury retrogrades.

· Carol Bergman, editor of Another Day in Paradise: International Humanitarian Workers Tell Their Stories, accompanies contributors to her compelling book project at Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby in Soho. 7pm.

· Accomplished science fiction authors Nancy Kress and Jack McDevitt do KGB, 85 East 4th. 7:30pm.

· Book launch party for artistic theorist Warren Neidich's new study, Blow-Up: Photography, Cinema and the Brain -- which hypothesizes a link between the development of culture and the development of the brain -- at Printed Matter, 535 West 23rd. 6-8pm.

· "Contemporary art is sex.. It's all about sex," says John Waters, and he proves it in his new book, Art: A Sex Book, which he will be signing and discussing tonight at Ursus Books, 132 West 21st. 6-8pm.

· Writer and cool mom Ayun Halliday hosts her "Atheist-Jewish-Lapsed-Episcopalian-With-Buddhist Pretensions-Christmas" at Soft Skull Shortwave, 71 Bond Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, USA. 7:30pm.

· McSweeney's hosts a reading at Barbès, Ninth Street & Sixth Ave in Park Slope. 7:30pm.

· Fictionists Sam Lipsyte (remember Feed?), Gary Lutz and Little New York Bastard M. Dylan Raskin read/drink at Astoria's Buzzer Thirty, 38-01 23rd Ave in QNS. 8pm.

· Daniel Blaufuks' book, Collected Short Stories, is designed to look like a Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics edition, but is actually a collection of mysterious photographs taken in nine different countries. Celebrate narrative possibility at the book's launch party at Printed Matter, 535 West 22nd. 6-8pm.

· Warm lesbian matriarch Joan Nestle makes an appearance to celebrate the publication of a new edition of her 1987 book, A Restricted Country, at (where else?) Bluestockings, 172 Allen between Stanton & Rivington on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. 7pm.

· Angry news addict Danny Schecter, author of Embedded: How the Media Failed to Cover the War in Iraq, presents his case at Half King, Tenth Ave & 23rd. 7pm.

· Radical and relentless New Jersey Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka riles up the crowd at Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery across from CBGB. 7:30pm.