The folks at the library are optimistically calling it the Winter/Spring lineup, but you and I know that March--even late March--isn't really spring. So here's the Winter Lineup for the Central Library's free author series, Talk of the Stacks:

Gabrielle Hamilton, New York City restaurateur and author of the wonderful memoir, "Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef," will be here Jan. 31. (You can read our review here.)

David Treuer, author of the novel "Little," "The Hiawatha," and many other books, will be here Feb. 21. Treuer is the winner of a Pushcart Award, a Minnesota Book Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and many other honors. He divides his time between Los Angeles, where he teaches at the University of Southern California, and the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. His latest book, "Rez Life," his first full-length book of nonfiction, will be published early next year.

Benjamin Busch, author of the forthcoming memoir, "Dust to Dust," will be here March 27. (And who knows? Maybe it really will be spring by then.) You might know Busch from the HBO series, "The Wire," where he played Officer Anthony Colicchio, but he is also a decorated U.S. Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq and a notable writer, published in Harper's and nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize.

All of the events will be at the Central Library on the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. Each will begin at 7 p.m., with the doors opening at 6:15 p.m., and will be followed by book signings and sales.