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Award-winning author Michael Mayhew will read scary Halloween stories for adults tonight from 6 to 8 at the Valencia Library, 23743 Valencia Blvd. Mayhew is the editor of “Harvest Tales & Midnight Revels,” a collection of adult scary stories. The Publishers Marketing Assn. honored the anthology with two 1999 Ben Franklin Awards for excellence. Also, the library and the Inventors Assistance League will offer an inventors’ workshop, for anyone who has questions about the invention/patent process, Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. (661) 259-8942.

Singers and songwriters Robin Pearl and Lisa Johnson will perform tonight at Exile Books and Music, 14925 Magnolia Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Show time is 8 p.m; $5 cover. Nancy Becker Kennedy’s one-woman show, “I Had to Break My Neck to Get Here,” returns to the store Saturday night. 8 p.m. curtain; $8 cover. Additionally, the store has Elena the Tarot Lady plying her trade Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. This Russian mystic has become so popular, appointments are recommended. The Sunday Open Mike is for performers with original material only. Songwriters may perform three songs, and spoken-word artists get 10 minutes on stage. Sign-ups at 6:30 p.m. No cover. (818) 986-6409.

Susan Ahdoot will be the featured poet at the poetry reading Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 16461 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 380-1636.

Tonight’s open-mike poetry readings at Barnes & Noble, 731 N. San Fernando Road, Burbank, start at 8. (818) 558-1383.

Singer-songwriter Deedee O’Malley performs tonight at 8 at Borders Books & Music, 9301 Tampa Ave., Northridge. The Chad Bloom Trio performs straight-ahead jazz Saturday at 8 p.m. Borders Northridge celebrates its first anniversary Sunday at 2 p.m. Stop by for cake. (818) 886-5443.