There are some things in life you can rely on: strife in the Middle East, the baker on Sesame Street falling down the stairs, and James Ellroy writing a book about his mother. This time out, Ellroy discusses and signs The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women, in which boy Ellroy alternately desires and hates his mother, wishes her dead and –- after she does die -– falls down a spiral of unrequited life as a result of his feckless fuckery. Delinquency! Druggishness! Pursuit of women! Presently, he thinks he's found the woman who may be able to mitigate all his inverted self-loathing –- or does she?  If you're tired of all those authors trying to come to terms with their parents by writing books so saccharine as to induce diabetes in a zinc-lined meat locker, this is your book. Vroman's Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Thurs., Sept. 9, 7 p.m., free. (626) 449-5320, vromansbookstore.com. (RareBirdLit also presents Ellroy with the L.A. Times' Carolyn Kellogg and comic/writer Laura Kightlinger at Largo at the Coronet, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd.; Tues., Sept. 7).  

Wed., Sept. 8, 8 p.m., 2010

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.