On Hope, Blacklisting and Rancho Mirage : Trio of new titles offered by Barricade Books includes one by poet and novelist Aram Saroyan, a Thousand Oaks resident.

So many books, so little time, and television is so seductive. But try to find time for a trio of titles published this month by Barricade Books: “The Secret Life of Bob Hope” written by Arthur Marx, son of Groucho, may make many fans of Hope unhappy and Hope himself furious. There is nothing sacred and none untouchable in this era of The Expose.

The sublime “Maggie: A Love Story” by the brilliant novelist John Sanford of Santa Barbara is a moving memoir of his late wife Marguerite Roberts, the celebrated Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted by the industry for 10 years for refusing to inform on associates to the House Un-American Activities Committee. When the political climate changed she returned to write “True Grit,” which earned John Wayne an Oscar.

The poet and novelist Aram Saroyan has dipped into the true crime genre and produced “Rancho Mirage,” a tragic story of madness and murder in Palm Springs. Saroyan, a past president of PEN Center USA West, lives in Thousand Oaks.

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Women writers of mysteries featuring female sleuths continue to dominate the genre. Marsha Landreth of Calabasas will sign her second Samantha Turner mystery, “A Clinic for Murder,” at 6 p.m. Friday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Her first book in the series, “The Holiday Murders,” has been optioned by Gross-Weston Productions for a movie of the week.

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Sharon Linnea, author of “Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death,” will address the American Scandinavian Foundation of Thousand Oaks on the life of the man credited with saving hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps. The biography is written for young adults to help them understand how one person with courage and commitment can make an enormous difference. Wallenberg, a Swedish architect and humanitarian, was imprisoned after World War II by the Russians. How, when and where he died remain a mystery. Linnea, a playwright, film producer and journalist, will describe how she researched the life of the martyred Wallenberg at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Nelson Room, Cal Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Call (818) 354-0661.

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Used-book sales really do yield treasures. Browsing in a local library’s used-book store, I found for $1.25 a 15-year-old biography about Werner Erhard, the founder of EST and a man whose life I am studying and the subject of “Outrageous Betrayal,” a new and damning biography by Steven Pressman. It made my day. So, pencil in the used-book sale scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Newbury Park Library, 2331 Borchard Road.

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Creative writing classes taught by Ron Reichick have begun for 8- to 10-year-olds Mondays, and for ages 10 and up Tuesdays at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3190 Cochran St. Both classes begin at 4:30 p.m. Call 529-3611 for details.

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A five-week class on How to Write and Sell Magazine and Newspaper Articles will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in classroom H-7, Simi Valley Adult School & Career Institute, 3192 Los Angeles Ave. Instructor Jan Johnson, author of four books and hundreds of magazine articles, is a member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. The class costs $25. Register at 522-3221.

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Linda Freeny of Ventura is a semi-finalist in the Nicholls Fellowship Screenwriting competition sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Her script “Pieces of Green” is among the 104 chosen from 3,853 entries.

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The Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library at St. John’s Seminary and College in Camarillo was dedicated Oct. 14, 1940.

Author and radio talk-how host Frances Halpern writes a regular column in Ventura County Life. Information on literary events should be sent to her at least two weeks in advance. Write to her at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura, 93003 or send faxes to 658-5576.