Augusten Burroughs has become the rock star of the tell-all dysfunctional-family memoir genre, starting with his bestselling Running With Scissors. He’s now profiting from his uniquely colorful childhood with his fifth biographical account: A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father (St. Martin’s, 24.95), in which dad is an alcoholic who spends his spare time scratching his psoriasis-ridden body and tormenting hamsters. Burroughs depicts himself as a innocent child sitting in a high chair, gazing at the world through one of the tiny holes in his saltine cracker. (Who remembers shit like that? . . . unless it’s fiction, which many have suggested.) Whether you find Burroughs excessive, creative, narcissistic, suspicious, or—more likely—all of the above, Burroughs reminds us why he’s a major presence in bookstores: He tells one hell of a story. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 634-3400, www.bookstore.washington.edu. Free (advance tickets required from University Book Store). 7:30 p.m. ERIKA HOBART

Tue., May 13, 7:30 p.m., 2008