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24

TUESDAY

Since almost no one reads, it’s rare that we hear about how books are written. We hear a lot about how money is made, and about how money-earning projects get started and finished. The making of films, for example, is exhaustively chronicled each week in several glossy magazines. Leave it to Brian Lamb—who’s been feeding us our Brussels sprouts since he helped start C-SPAN 21 years ago—to put together a book on books. Like the C-SPAN show that shares its name, Booknotes isn’t about public affairs, politics, or history. It’s about the process of writing about those subjects, told by the writers themselves. Though their stories vary, just about all the 150 authors Lamb interviewed agree on one matter: The process is harrowing. On this point, the best (Shelby Foote can write only about 500 words a day) agree with the worst (Dan Quayle spent six 18-hour days in a hotel room with an editor finishing his book). The preternaturally composed Lamb discusses these and other tales at 7 p.m. at Borders, 18th & L Sts. NW. FREE. (202) 466-4999. (John Cloud)