The book world loves an anniversary, and not just because a book that's been around 50 years - or an author that's been dead that long - is necessarily worth the fuss. But because, heck, it's a good way to sell some books. Remind readers of what they've long ago forgotten, and they just might want to dust off their old titles - or better yet, buy the anniversary editions.

This year, the landmarks have come so fast and furious, I feel like I'm living in some sort of surreal time warp.

It all started in January, with the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jack Kerouac's On The Road. The classic beat book inspired film showings, concerts, even an "urban hike" around town, highlighting some of the settings in Kerouac's books (and by the way, the scroll on which Kerouac wrote his first typewritten draft is on display at the Denver Public Library through the end of the month - don't miss it; it's jaw-droppingly amazing).

If Kerouac's drug-fueled ferocity wasn't your cup of tea, February brought a more sedate option: the 100th anniversary of poet W.H. Auden's birth. A smattering of readings around the country, and the publication of a new book of Auden's Selected Poems, by Vintage, and the party was over.

This month brings two more landmarks: the 50th anniversary of the publication of Dr. Seuss' famous The Cat in the Hat and the 50th anniversary of Ayn Rand's classic Atlas Shrugged. What a pair: a subversive cat and a libertarian lioness.

I don't know what the rest of the year has in store by way of literary celebrations, but a person could get a hangover trying to lift a glass to every occasion. If you ask me, Auden's literary executor Edward Mendelson has the right idea. Why worry about all the hoopla when you can just crack open a book?

"Auden's centennial will probably be a low-keyed affair," he told Publishers Weekly before the anniversary rolled around, "because the kind of reader who most admires Auden tends to be someone who isn't especially interested in organizing big events and would prefer to express their admiration for him by reading his work in private."

I second that motion. Stop all that noise and pass the poetry. I'm trying to concentrate here.

Don't miss

• Thursday, Azar Nafisi, comes to the Post-News Pen & Podium Series. Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran took off through word of mouth - and hasn't looked back since, logging more than 70 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list.

It's an entirely deserved success: Nafisi offers a vivid, often shocking look at what happens when a westernized society is suddenly engulfed in an Islamic fundamentalist revolution. I'll be introducing the author at the event - and looking forward to hearing her insights, especially considering the volatile events unfolding in the Islamic world today.

There are still tickets left, $33-$48. The event is at University of Denver's Newman Center, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-357-2787 or 303-871-7720

• April 4 brings author Daniel Alarcon, whose debut novel Lost City Radio was just released to fine reviews, including one by Rocky critic Gary Williams. Williams called the story set in a South American country in political tumult "a wise look at the ravages of war and political strife." If that's not enough enticement, Alarcon's story collection, War by Candlelight, was a finalist for the 2006 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award.

Alarcon appears as part of the Denver Mint Reading Series, sponsored by CU-Denver Live!, Copper Nickel and the UCDHSC Writing Center. The free event begins at 7 p.m. in the King Center Recital Hall on the downtown Auraria Higher Education Campus. Information: copper-nickel.org/mint/