LIFE IN POSTWAR YUGOLSAVIA ... Palo Alto author Vlasta Diamant will share her memoirs about growing up in postwar Yugoslavia under Josip Tito's rule and her perspective on life after emigrating to San Francisco in 1970 during the last wave of the hippie culture during a reading of her book, "Socialism V. Santa," at 3 p.m., Sept. 15, at Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Diamant is a multifaceted artist and author who has worked in different media. She studied design and photography and taught art. She also has written a children's book and a play.

FEMINIST FIGHT CLUB ... Author Jessica Bennett, a curator of the Lean In Collection, and Rachel Thomas, president of Palo Alto-based Lean In, will be at Kepler's Books on Sept. 20 providing tactics for the gender battle in today's workplace. Bennett's book, "Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace"

-- part manual, part manifesto -- is billed as a hilarious yet incisive guide to navigating subtle sexism at work, providing real-life career advice and humorous reinforcement. The book blends personal stories with research, statistics, expert advice, a Negotiation Cheat Sheet and more. The talk will start at 7:30 p.m.; Kepler's Books is located at 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park.

SILICON VALLEY CRIME SCENE ... Susan Wolfe, a Palo Alto attorney and award-winning author, will launch her second thriller set in Silicon Valley, "Escape Velocity," on Oct. 4 at Books Inc. In this novel, Georgia Griffin has just arrived in Silicon Valley from Piney, Arkansas, having firmly rejected her father's life as a con artist. She desperately needs to keep her new job as paralegal for Lumina Software so she can provide a haven for her sister before it's too late. But Georgia realizes that incompetence has a death grip on her new company, so she decides to adapt her extensive con-artist training -- just once -- to clean up the company. Soon Georgia must decide: Will she risk her job, the roof over her sister's head, and perhaps her very soul? Wolfe's best-selling book,"The Last Billable Hour," won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. She has been a criminal defense attorney and a corporate lawyer. The launch will take place at 6 p.m. at Books Inc., 855 El Camino Real #74, Palo Alto.