Jodi Picoult signs books in Phoenix in November 2008. (Photo: Devon Adams)

New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult will be at The Brattle Theatre at 6 p.m. Wednesday to read from and sign copies of her new book, “House Rules.”

Picoult, a New Hampshire resident who got a master’s degree in education from Harvard in 1990, is the author of 17 novels, all tending toward the thought provoking but weepy — like if “Law & Order” were a Lifetime original series. Case in point would be “My Sister’s Keeper,” a novel made into a 2009 film with Abigail Breslin, Alex Baldwin, Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric.

Here’s part of the imdb.com film summary, which happens to be better than several synopses of the book that are out there, with some editing to remove spoilers:

Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald was brought into the world to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate, who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia. Because of her sister’s dependency on her, Anna is unable to live the life she wants; in and out of the hospital constantly, she cannot take part in extracurricular activities such as cheerleading or soccer. When Kate turns 13 she goes into renal failure. Knowing that she will have to donate one of her kidneys to her sister, Anna sues her parents for medical emancipation and the rights to her own body. Attorney Campbell Alexander agrees to work for Anna pro bono.

But you probably either know Picoult’s work or you don’t, and if don’t, you probably don’t care about getting tickets to a reading. If you do know Picoult, you may really, really want to get tickets for this reading. And the tickets are only $5.

They may still be available at the door of the Brattle, 40 Brattle St., the night of the reading, or you can try at The Coop, 1678 Massachusetts Ave. Or call (617) 499-2012.