Author and humorist Michael Perry will read from Population: 485, the 2010 selection for the Linn Area Reads program, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 15 at Theatre Cedar Rapids. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of Out Loud! The Metro Library Network Author Series.

Population: 485 is subtitled Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time. The book features Perry’s adventures as a member of the volunteer fire and rescue department in New Auburn, Wis. It is filled with colorful characters, real emergencies, and the quirkiness of a small Midwestern town.

In addition to reading from the book, Perry will take questions from the audience and sign books following his presentation.

Perry is also the author of Truck: A Love Story and Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting.

More information about Michael Perry can be found at his web site: www.sneezingcow.com.

The Linn Area Reads program is supported by Barnes & Noble Booksellers, the Cole Library, East Central Library Services, Friends of the Cedar Rapids Public Library, Friends of the Hiawatha Public Library, Friends of the Marion Public Library, The Gazette, the Giacoletto Foundation, Hancher, the Linn County Library Consortium, the Lisbon Public Library, and the Metro Library Network.

Out Loud! The Metro Library Network Author Series is a program of the Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, and Marion Public Libraries and is supported by the Giacoletto Foundation with media support from The Gazette and book sales provided by the Cedar Rapids Barnes & Noble.

Information about both programs is available at www.metrolibrarynetwork.org.