Outing absurdity

He may seem like just another cog in the vast liberal media conspiracy, but one of the things we like best about Rolling Stone columnist Matt Taibbi is that he holds everyone's feet to the fire. The often foul-mouthed, irascible Taibbi caught our eye with a series of appearances on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher," where he serves as a sort of ambassador for the young(ish) generation fed up with politicians of all stripes. In his latest book, "The Great Derangement" Taibbi travels across the country capturing the absurdity and idiocy of contemporary political discourse. He reads from the book tonight. 7 p.m. Free. Barnes & Noble at Boston University, 660 Beacon St., Boston. 617-267-8484. bu.bncollege.com