W. Hodding Carter

Normally when we hear the same old "Follow your dreams kids! Never give up!" patter from celebrities and star athletes or whoever, it smacks of - how do you say this delicately - cow manure. But there's something that rings true about W. Hodding Carter and his unending quest to become an elite swimmer. His book "Off the Deep End: The Probably Insane Idea That I Could Swim My Way Through a Midlife Crisis - And Qualify for the Olympics" is the story of a man - we hate to say it - never giving up, and following his dreams. He reads tonight. 7 p.m. Free. Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Cambridge. 617-491-2220. portersquarebooks.com