Alina Simone at Brookline Booksmith


Photography by Bryan Bruchman

Ukrainian-born songstress Alina Simone grew up in Lexington and attended art school in Boston before moving to Austin and eventually, Brooklyn (oh, really? We’re so surprised). Her latest album, Make Your Own Danger (Pentar) just came out this month; it’s dark, moody, and Simone’s vocals are a well-tuned gateway to raw, emotive power — think PJ Harvey and Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes. Apparently, though, Simone also writes books. You Must Go and Win (Faber & Faber), is a memoir in the form of a collection of personal essays about her life — including stories about befriending Amanda Palmer pre-Dresden Dolls and making a trek to the Russian town where she was born (the “Framingham of Ukraine,” as she so lovingly describes it).

Some reviews have compared her to David Sedaris — and while we’re not convinced she’s that funny, a chapter titled “I Wanted Unicorns” that starts off with the words, “A few years ago, I was baptized by a renegade priest into an unrecognized offshoot of the Russian Orthodox Church” definitely gets our attention. But judge for yourself — you can catch Simone reading excerpts from her book on Monday, June 20, at Brookline Booksmith.

Free, 7 p.m., Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-566-6660, brooklinebooksmith.com.