As the James “Whitey” Bulger trial churns on in U.S. District Court in Boston, this is the ideal time to catch up on the history behind it – all three centuries of it.

The essayist’s newest work looks at who we decide is a villain, with individual pieces putting microscopes on phenomena ranging from Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky to “Star Wars,” Bernhard Goetz and Batman, the Eagles and O.J. Simpson., Muhammad Ali and Joe Paterno.

Lesley University’s summer series of free readings and presentations starts tonight at 7:15 with the screening of a film written by Barry Brodsky and a reading by Sara Zarr, who specializes in writing for young people. It runs through June 28.

Three acclaimed suspense novelists, including Boston reporter and award-winning author Hank Phillippi Ryan comes to the Cambridge Main Library next week.

Cambridge comes in fourth behind Alexandria, Va.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Miami. Is an Amazon-centric, Kindle-centric list to be trusted?

If her candidacy for Best Poet in a Boston Phoenix poll and performance tonight at T.T. the Bear’s Place or at the Feb. 28 performance of Beck’s “Song Reader” wasn’t enough for Jade Sylvan to be excited about, her book “Kissing Oscar Wilde” has found a publisher.

Murder mystery “The Bone Bed” has taken up residency on The New York Times’ best-seller list, but fictional hero Dr. Kay Scarpetta is staying a resident of Cambridge — and the involvement of author Patricia Cornwell isn’t over either.

Marc Brown, creator of the beloved “Arthur” children’s book character and television series, speaks Nov. 15 at Lesley University

Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell — whose latest novel, “The Bone Bed,” is set in Cambridge — is visiting the Cambridge Police Department on Tuesday as part of $30,000 in crime scene management she’s given police forces for Cambridge, Harvard, MIT and Everett.

Halloween bliss is here: Access to Mount Auburn Cemetery’s breathtaking Bigelow Chapel to hear Edgar Allan Poe’s candid thoughts and classic works, including his “To Helen” in aria form by classical-meets-pop composer Mary Bichner.