For the Love of ‘Lucy’

Almost 40 years after the final “I Love Lucy” episode appeared on television, its appeal is still strong, and reruns of the series are aired daily. Jess Oppenheimer, creator and head writer of “I Love Lucy,” began his association with Lucille Ball in 1948 when he wrote, produced and directed her radio show, “My Favorite Husband.”

At the age of 72, Oppenheimer finally began to write a memoir of the golden years of radio and television but died before completing the work. His son Gregg gave up a law practice to write, and finished his father’s book, “Laughs, Luck . . . and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time,” now in its fourth printing. The book includes rare photos and scripts of the show, including one Lucy and Desi refused to perform. An audio CD of Lucy’s unreleased radio comedy performances comes with the book.

Gregg Oppenheimer will sign at three Barnes & Noble Bookstores: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Thousand Oaks, 160 S. Westlake Blvd.; 2 p.m. Saturday in Ventura, 4360 E. Main St.; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Santa Barbara, 829 State St.

*

Poet Michael Schwartz has a bachelor’s degree in communications, a law degree from George Washington University and is currently a Ventura County deputy public defender. Schwartz will read his work, including “Of Clocks and Watches,” at 7 tonight in the Oddfellows Lodge, located above the Ventura Bookstore, 522 E. Main St. Call 643-6532.

*

In conjunction with activities encouraging children to participate in the ongoing drive to collect 10,000 books for Ventura County libraries, Waldenbooks will sponsor a “Why I Like to Read” story-writing contest from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at The Oaks mall, 222 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. Call 495-4628 for details.

*

In a review of Robin Maxwell’s “The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn,” Publishers Weekly wrote: “This is a wonderfully juicy historical novel so convincing it is difficult to believe it’s the author’s first.” Maxwell will sign at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Borders, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

*

The author-editor of the extraordinarily successful chicken soup books, Jack Canfield, will sign “Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul” with co-author Patty Aubery at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village, 446-2820.

*

Everyone is encouraged to bring work to read and perform at Poetry Night at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Local Hero Books & Cafe, 254 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai, 646-3165.

*

The Simi Valley branch of the National League of American Pen Women will sponsor the annual Dorothy Daniels Honorary Writing competition, which awards cash prizes to first-place winners in three categories: poetry, fiction and nonfiction. The deadline is July 30. For specific contest rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to NLAPW-SVB, P.O. Box 1485, Simi Valley, 93062.

*

In Santa Barbara

Jonathan Kirsch, lawyer and book reviewer, whose “Handbook of Publishing Law” has become a writer’s bible, has a new book out. “The Harlot by the Side of the Road” recounts startling and explicit tales from the Old Testament, which, Kirsch asserts, have been suppressed and mistranslated by the religious community. Kirsch will sign at 2 p.m. Sunday at Chaucer’s Books, Loreto Plaza, 3321 State St.

* Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3), Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.