THURSDAY: Trevor Corson at the Brookline Booksmith

TREVOR CORSON has a thing for sea life. His first book, The Secret Life of Lobsters, began as an essay in The Best American Science Writing. Now, he’s turning his attention from Maine crustaceans to “the fast food of Old Tokyo” with The Zen of Fish (click for an excerpt). Corson, a reporter and magazine editor who’s fluent in Japanese, presents the cultural history and science behind sushi through the eyes of Kate Murray and her fellow students at the California Sushi Academy. Not only does he elaborate on how the original concept of sushi became bastardized by America, he provides an insider’s tour of Murray’s three-month apprenticeship — all the while inserting delicious tidbits on the behind-the-scenes characters of sushi preparation. Corson reads and signs at the Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline | 7 pm | free | 617.566.6660.