In case you hadn't taken the time today, you should wish the good ol' Bard a happy 445th birthday! If you're in the D.C. area this weekend, you can even share some cake, jesters, song and dance at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

(One of these days, you should ask me about my college project in which I deconstructed the Folger, and how that semester of learning has helped me not at all in daily life.)

If you'd like to stay closer to home, the Smith College Club of Baltimore is hosting its annual book sale, Friday-Sunday at the Timonium Fairgrounds. They accept cash and checks only, so leave the plastic at home; Sunday is "all you can carry" for $5, so bring a long-armed friend.

On Sunday night, you can swing by Atomic Books to meet the authors and zinemakers on the Microcosm Tour, including John Isaacson, Shelley Jackson, Joe Biel, Joshua Ploeg and Moe Bowstern. 

John Barth will be at the Johns Hopkins Mason Hall Auditorium on Tuesday to discuss and sign his book, The Development, which is set on the Eastern Shore. The event is at 6 p.m., but you should RSVP to Stacie Spence at libraryfriends@jhu.edu or 410.516.7943.

If you've got an extra $100 to blow later in the week, you can enjoy a pleasant meal and some sparkling conversation with Cokie Roberts at Morton the Steakhouse on Wednesday. The event includes a gourmet lunch and a signed copy of Roberts' We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters: Revised and Expanded Edition. For $50 more, join the VIPs for a one-on-one session with the Emmy Award-winning journalist and a photograph.

And for even more events, visit the Read Street calendar.