From Téa Obreht in Corte Madera to Chang-Rae Lee in the Sunset, August brings a run of marquee bookstore readings across the Bay Area. Here are the dates, doors and door prices — and which ones need an RSVP.

If you read, August is your month. A Bay City News calendar carried by SFGATE lists dozens of author events across the region this month, and the marquee names are stacked: Chang-Rae Lee, Téa Obreht, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, The Immortalists author Chloe Benjamin, NPR's Scott Simon. Almost all of them are free. Here's the short list worth clearing an evening for, with the logistics that actually get you in the door.

Nina LaCour, Thursday, Aug. 6, 6:30 p.m. — Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda. The YA novelist launches Meet Me in the Garden in conversation with Jandy Nelson. Free; the Alameda room is small, so get there early.

Randy Ribay, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 7 p.m. — Books Inc., 317 Castro St., Mountain View. The National Book Award finalist reads from Nest of Tongues, billed as a horror story about Filipino vampires. Free.

Robert Hass, Friday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m. — Mrs. Dalloway's, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley. The Pulitzer winner presents A Third Commonness alongside poet Brenda Hillman. Free — and one of the reasons to know this shop isn't on the usual SFGATE roster.

Scott Simon, Saturday, Aug. 15, 4 p.m. — Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. The Weekend Edition host talks Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known with his wife, Caroline. Free, open seating.

Téa Obreht, Monday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. — Book Passage, Corte Madera (same address). Obreht (The Tiger's Wife) presents her Wyoming ghost-town novel Sunrise with Parini Shroff. Confirmed free with open seating on Book Passage's own listing.

Chang-Rae Lee, two nights. Thursday, Aug. 20, 7 p.m. at Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 Ninth Ave., San Francisco — with R.O. Kwon, free with RSVP. Then Friday, Aug. 21, 6 p.m. at Kepler's, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, with Elaine Castillo. The Kepler's date appears to be ticketed (reported in the $12–$45 range); confirm the price when you register, since the others are free.

Chloe Benjamin, Monday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m. (reception 6:15, doors 6:40) — Mrs. Dalloway's, Berkeley. An in-store launch for Under Story with Kirstin Chen; free with registration.

A few friend-to-friend notes: Book Passage's two Marin dates are a straight shot off Highway 101 with a parking lot on site — the easiest of the bunch if you're driving. Green Apple's Ninth Ave. store sits a block from Golden Gate Park's east end; the N-Judah drops you close. And "free with RSVP" still fills up — the bigger names (Lee, Benjamin) reward registering now rather than at the door.

If I had one night: Obreht at Book Passage on the 17th. It's free, it's confirmed, and Sunrise is the most talked-about book on this list. Full calendar and submission line (books@baycitynews.com) via Bay City News.