Magnolia writer Sam Howe Verhovek has worked as a correspondent for both The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, was an early Glee devotee, and recently authored Jet Age: The Comet, the 707, and the Race to Shrink the World (Avery, $27), about the dawn of commercial jet aviation. Verhovek’s not one to hog good fortune, however; he’s agreed to donate to Richard Hugo House a portion of proceeds from every book he sells after tonight’s happy-hour reading. Grim’s, a Pb Elemental-designed marvel of rugged reclaimed materials, will also donate a portion of the proceeds from every Comet Cocktail it concocts. What’s a Comet Cocktail? As detailed in Jet Age, it was the signature drink on De Havilland’s Comet, the pioneering British passenger jet. It consists of ½ brandy, 2/3 grapefruit juice, 1/6 Van der Hum (tangerine-flavored South African liqueur), a dash of Angostura bitters, and a sliver of lemon peel. Hopefully, Verhovek will don an ascot while he reads so as to outclass Peter O’Toole, who’s sure to fly in for the occasion. MIKE SEELY

Wed., Feb. 9, 5 p.m., 2011