Thurs. Jan. 10

 Jarvis Miller, the protagonist in Jami Attenberg's "The Kept Man," has a bit of a problem. She's morose. The New Yorker's husband, Martin is rather famous artist, but he's been in a coma for six years. Jarvis has been numb, doing little but living off the risque paintings her husband's art dealer, Alice, has sold. When she meets three house husband types at a local laundry - and when they engage her in flirtatious exchanges - her life begins to change into something different. And then, Jarvis is considering taking Martin off life support, which rallies the right-to-life-at-all-costs crowd. This is the gist of Attenberg's first novel and she'll be reading from it at Brookline Booksmith Thursday Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Two bonus features: Somerville's Kickass Cupcakes will provide goodies and singer-guitarist Ryan Walsh of Hallelujah the Hills will perform afterwards. Free.

279 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-566-6660 www.brooklinebooksmith.com