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TUESDAY

Warm and witty, with knowing insights about modern techno life, Caroline Preston’s novel Lucy Crocker 2.0 will undoubtedly be the next Goldie Hawn movie. Or maybe Bette Midler movie. I mean that in the best sense. Because although it is certainly faint praise to think of this charming book in Hollywood’s shallow terms, the story is tailor-made for a strong female actress. The Luddite title character is dismissed by everyone for her Earth-motherish, Loreena McKennitt-loving ways, even though she inspired the best-selling computer game that built her family’s fortune. Blocked at creating a sequel, Lucy discovers her husband’s compromising e-mail and her sons’ downloading of ‘Net porn. So she flees to the lakeside cabin of her childhood. Of course, it’s a voyage of discovery—which the whole family undertakes. Ask Preston about film rights—and try to outbid me if they’re still available—when she reads tonight at 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free. (202) 364-1919. (Dave Nuttycombe)