If CTA construction is getting you down, stop by the Barnes & Noble DePaul Center this Thursday, April 17, at 5:30 to find out how you can become your own alternative transportation. J. Harry Wray, professor of political science at DePaul, will discuss and sign his new book "Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life" (LPC 388.34720973 W943p2008), which grew out of the Discover Chicago course he's taught for several years. Wray shows how "politics, economics, and the environment combine to affect culture and be affected by it," and how a bike seat can be the best place to experience that.

Then, if you ride north fast enough, you'll be in time for Steve Almond's reading here at 7 pm in room 300 of Richardson Library. Almond first gained attention with the story collection "My Life in Heavy Metal." He followed that up with "Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America" (LPC 338.47664153 A452c2004) and a co-authored novel with confessional narrators alternating by chapter. His newest offering is "(Not That You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions," a collection of essays with "biting humor, honesty, smarts and heart," according to Kirkus Reviews.