Did you catch the interesting profile in today's New York Times about Project Runway guru and celebrity Tim Gunn? You may want to read it as preparatory materials, because the well-loved and well-spoken design honcho is going to be in the DC metropolitan area at the end of next week.

Gunn will be dishing out advice on fashion and design to the masses through his recently-published book, Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style. And he's making two appearances in DC to promote the tome.

First up is Friday, April 20, 2007 at 7pm at Olsson's in Penn Quarter (418 7th St., NW). Then on Saturday afternoon, he'll be at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave., NW) at 3pm.

Make sure to show up early for these events; judging by the popularity of "Project Runway" and Gunn's packed appearance at the Corcoran last fall, the fashionistas will be out in force.

Why should Saint Patrick’s Day be just about green beer? There’s lots of brilliant Irish culture out there, too, and Solas Nua, a local Irish arts organization, wants to make sure you get some of it. This Saint Patrick’s Day the organization will have representatives at locations throughout the metropolitan area distributing books by Irish authors to anybody who wants ‘em—free. That’s right—free!

Why is Solas Nua doing this? In the group’s own words: “Solas Nua’s mission is to seek out both feted and obscure work by contemporary artists in Ireland to promote awareness of modern Irish culture in Washington, DC.”

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. If you want to pick up your own bit of modern Irish culture, click here for the list of locations where Solas Nua will be distributing books. And click here for the full list of books being distributed.

Margaret Truman is no George Pelecanos. But if your taste in Washington mysteries runs more to mind candy and name dropping than to guts and grit, Truman’s books may be for you.

The latest in her Capital Crimes series, Murder at the Opera takes place mainly around the Kennedy Center and the Washington National Opera’s rehearsal space in Takoma Park. The central characters, a Nick and Nora Charles–type couple named Mac and Annabel, spend little time at their jobs—law professor and gallery owner, respectively—which is just as well when a promising opera singer is found murdered. Annabel, an opera board member, asks a couple of extras—or supernumeraries—from Tosca to help the investigation, conveniently enough her husband and a music-loving ex-cop who’s a little too dandy to be real.

To read the rest of the review, click here. Want more book reviews and advice on what to read? Check out our Book Review section, chock full of reviews on everything from thrillers to the latest political books.