Although some claim to dislike local scribe Dave Eggers -- probably because he is successful, something writers and alleged writers hate like holy hell -- you should read his new book. It's a work of nonfiction. And it's heavy-ish. It's called Zeitoun. What's it about? Well, it involves a Syrian-American man. And hurricane Katrina. And probably some super sad stuff. But why listen to us when Amazon's product description can explain it to you better.

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Syrian-American , a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers’s riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun’s roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy — an American who converted to Islam — and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible. Like What Is the What, Zeitoun was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research — in this case, in the United States, Spain, and Syria.

Anyway, tomorrow afternoon, Eggers will hop down Valencia Street to Modern Times Bookstore (damn dirty Communist pinkos!) in the Mission to sign copies of his latest effort. Join him, won't you?

Tuesday, July 14
Modern Times Bookstore
888 Valencia (at 20th Street)
1 p.m.