I saw only one episode of the old Oxygen Network show Girls Behaving Badly, which was sort of a raunchier Candid Camera. It didn’t last long, but cast member Chelsea Handler has continued with stand-up comedy, TV (see Chelsea Lately on E!), and, perhaps improbably, books. Her second, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea (Simon & Schuster, $24.95), is a collection of humor pieces and essays. These memoir-ish and no doubt exaggerated tales of youth—she’s half Mormon, half Jewish?—and dating are often funny, and more often over the top. (Note to commuters: that’s sometimes exactly what your Metro ride needs.) Seeing Handler explain in person why vodka is the cause of, and solution to, most of life’s problems should be an evening well spent—which will no doubt lead you to the nearest bar. (Or to the Pantages down in T-Town, where she’s playing a gig at 9 p.m.) University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, www.bookstore.washington.edu. Free. 7 p.m. LAURA ONSTOT

Fri., May 9, 7 p.m., 2008