ART

LITTLE LOVE The exhibit “Small Scale Love Stories” features New Yorker Cammi Climaco’s small sculptures and a suite of gouache drawings.The show includes porcelain cigarette cases, a puppy on a diving board, and a 14-karat gold wire spelling out “You are forbidden to sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.” Through Monday, March 6, Wednesday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m., Silo, 1 Freeman Alley, off Rivington Street between the Bowery and Christie Street, 212-505-9156, free.

UNNATURAL HISTORY Richard Plunkett spent the last two years sculpting skeletons for a fictional natural history exhibit which he imagined to be held 100 years in the future. To add to the confusion, the fanciful sculptures are installed at a real natural history museum. The works in “Future Shock,” which closes on Monday, represent “endangered species in Staten Island” based on current evolutionary theory. Through Monday, Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday, 1–5 p.m., Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Place, between Hamilton Avenue and Wall Street, Staten Island, 718-727-1135, $2 adults, $1 seniors and students, free for children under 12.

BENEFIT

FEEL-GOOD AWARDS The “Books for a Better Life”awards celebrate the year’s “best self-improvement books,” in categories such as inspirational memoir, psychology, relationships, spirituality and wellness, and parenting. Nominees include “I Had Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse?”; “Persepolis 2”; “The Anatomy of Hope”; and the ubiquitous “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Meredith Vieira of “The View” emcees, and presenters include Karen Duffy, Irwyn Applebaum, and Soledad O’Brien. The awards dinner benefits the New York City chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Monday, 6 p.m., Millennium Hotel Hudson Theatre, 145 W. 44th St., between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, 212-463-7787 ext. 3016, $175.

BOOKS

PIANO WOMAN Singer-songwriter Tori Amos signs her book “Tori Amos: Piece by Piece” (Broadway), which details her creative process. Tonight, 6 p.m., Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 E. 17th St. at Broadway, 212-253-0810, free.

TO MARKET, TO MARKET Ian Rankin reads from his book “Fleshmarket Alley” (Little,Brown & Company), a murder mystery set in Edinburgh, at two events tomorrow. The first is part of the “Word for Word” lunchtime series in Bryant Park — heat lamps have been installed, so even if the weather outside is frightful, the reading will go on (tomorrow, 12:30 p.m., Bryant Park Reading Room, New York Public Library, Fifth Ave. at 42nd Street, 212-803-5890, free). In the evening, he’ll read indoors at Barnes & Noble (7:30 p.m.,Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free).

COLLECTING

STUFF, GLORIOUS STUFF The mood is more Collyer brothers than Christie’s at a celebration of collecting presented by the City Reliquary Museum in Williamsburg. The film “The Flea Market Project” makes its debut and collections of bottle caps, vintage bicycles, and baseball cards are on display. The author of “Acts of Possession: Collecting in America” (Rutgers University), Leah Dilworth, discusses eccentric collections and audio documentary producers from StoryCorps present segments of their interviews, many of which were recorded in a booth at Grand Central Terminal. Tonight, 7 p.m. doors open, 7:30 p.m. event, Union Pool, 484 Union Ave. at Meeker Avenue, 718-609-0484, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, $5.

FILM

PARADISE LOST The Swedish film “Paradiset” (Paradise) follows a journalist working on a story who receives a call from an abused Bosnian woman who needs her help. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave., between 37th and 38th streets, 212-879-9779, $8 general, $6 members.

FOOD & DRINK

SNEAK-PEEK SIPS Chef David Bouley’s new spot, Upstairs@Bouley Bakery, will open this spring. For those who just can’t wait until then, bar chef Albert Trummer offers a taste of some of the brand-new cocktails he’s created, served with hors d’oeuvres by Mr. Bouley. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Danube, 30 Hudson St. at Duane Street, 212-791-3771, $55.

GOURMET MARATHON Whereas a hot-dogeating contest is competitive eating in quantity, D’Artagnan’s “Duckathlon” is competitive eating in quality. Twenty teams of four visit restaurants in the Meatpacking District to taste food, sip wine, and test their culinary trivia skills. The winners receive a prize from the gourmet food purveyor D’Artagnan, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Saturday, noon–4 p.m., meeting place disclosed at registration, 800-327-8246 ext. 213, $20. Please go to www.dartagnan.com for more information.

MUSIC

SOVIET PACIFIC The Pacifica Quartet performs the work of Soviet composer Nicolai Roslavets (1881–1944). Soprano Elizabeth Farnum and pianist Margaret Kampmeier accompany the ensemble. Friday, 8 p.m., Columbia University, Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, 212-854-7799, $20.

READING

POST-PRESIDENTS DAY The Little Gray Book Lectures, a series of off-kilter readings interspersed with music, presents an evening honoring Presidents Day. Presidential presenters include Sarah Vowell, Joshua Bearman,and Ken Smith. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St., between Kent and Wythe avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-782-5188, $5.

TALKS

CULTURE CHAT Panelists at a discussion about politics and culture wars includes a poet and columnist for the Nation, Katha Pollitt; the author of “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” (Metropolitan), Thomas Frank; and a Harvard professor of African-American studies, Kimberly DaCosta.The discussion celebrates the publication of the winter issue of the sociology magazine Contexts, based at New York University. Tomorrow, 6–8 p.m., NYU Kimmel Center for University Life, room 914, 60 Washington Square South at LaGuardia Place, 212-998-8296, free.

BODY ART The authors of “The Black Female Body: A Photographic History” (Temple University), Carla Williams and Deborah Willis,discuss the intersection of race and art. Tomorrow, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Dahesh Museum of Art, 580 Madison Ave., between 56th and 57th streets, 212-759-0606, free with museum admission, $9 general, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 12.

THEATER

INTERNATIONAL ENQUIRER Sir Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy of manners “The School for Scandal,” first produced in 1777 in London, is revived in Brooklyn. The play has a timeless message: When a wealthy middle-aged man marries a beautiful young woman, gossip follows. The Lincoln Center Theater production of Sheridan’s play “The Rivals” closed in January. Through Sunday, March 6, Thursday–Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., the Gallery Players, 199 14th St., between Fourth and Fifth avenues, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-595-0547, $15 general, $12 seniors and children under 12.

MUD SLINGING The new Zoo Theatre company’s second production is a revival of Maria Irene Fornes’s “Mud.” The dark comedy follows a poor woman in rural America and her makeshift family. David Mishook directs the limited four-day run. Ms. Fornes also wrote “Fefu and her Friends,” which was produced in December at the Culture Project. Tomorrow, 8 p.m., Friday, 8 and 10 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., John Houseman Studio Theater, 452 W. 42nd St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, 212-352-3101, $20.

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