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T H U R S D A Y

I went to college with Jane Mendelsohn, and she wasn’t Amelia Earhart in those days; I guess she had already finished being the famed aviatrix (I wonder how often a sentence containing the word “aviatrix” isn’t about Amelia Earhart). In any event, being Amelia Earhart appears to have been a shrewd career move, because Knopf is now trumpeting Mendelsohn’s debut novel, I Was Amelia Earhart, with a press release that blares: “VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE LINE FILMS INK SIX FIGURE DEALS FOR BUZZ BOOK OF MOMENT….FIRST TIME AUTHOR CHARGING UP BESTSELLER LISTS; IMUS OF AIRWAVES FUELING NATIONWIDE AMELIAMANIA.” The novel itself is less noisy than either the publicity or Imus—an evocative, fragmentary narrative alternating between first- and third-person observations of the way, as one character puts it, Earhart was “risking [her] life but not living it.” Mendelsohn will be reading at 7 p.m. at Chapters, 1512 K St. NW. FREE. (202) 347-5495. On the other hand, if you were Amelia Earhart, skip Mendelsohn and head for the Learning Annex, where Sheldon Fox will conduct a Past Life Regression Workshop. Presumably, Mendelsohn’s breakthrough will be nothing but good for business, so register early before all the former Lindys, Baron von Richthofens, and Eddie Rickenbackers get their books out before you. At 6:30 p.m. at the Learning Annex, 1634 I St. NW. $39. For reservations call (202) 639-2000. (James Lochart)