This week is the kick-off for my new book, Pugetopolis: A Mossback Takes on Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the Myth of Seattle Nice (Sasquatch Books, $18.95). Regular readers of Crosscut will be familiar with the prose style, and also some of the essays which are drawn from my work for this Website, Seattle Weekly, Seattle magazine, KUOW and other outlets. It's the first book to spin out of Crosscut, but I'm sure not the last.

And while Greg Nickels would likely give me a "B" grade for recycling, he might be surprised (I doubt pleased would be the word) that there's also new material in the book, including an essay on the subject of Pugetopolis itself, the sprawling New Jerusalem we're building here, for better or worse.

This Saturday, Jan. 10 I'll be talking about the book and regional issues at the monthly Seattle Neighborhood Coalition breakfast at the Salmon Bay Cafe in Ballard (9 am). On Sunday afternoon Jan. 11, I'll be giving my first book reading ever, debuting at the Eagle Harbor Book Co. on Bainbridge Island, home of many of Mossback's clan. And next Thursday, Jan. 15, I'll be reading at Elliott Bay in Pioneer Square (7:30 pm). There's a full schedule of readings throughout the month of January and February, and for the convenience of Crosscut readers, I'm posting information about them and the book at my own Pugetopolis Website.

On February 25th, National Book Award author Tim Egan and I will be doing a joint appearance at Town Hall to discuss local issues. Tim wrote a flattering introduction to Pugetopolis in which he said he only agreed with me about half the time, which I consider a pretty high average. We thought it would be fun to debate the other half. Details of that event will be forthcoming.

I hope you can make it to one of the readings, and if you do, please introduce yourself and let me know you're a Crosscut reader. Since Crosscut is still relatively new and since much of my online work is done in "pajamas" at home, it'll be good to meet real readers in person.