Northern California writer William T. Vollmann (on the left) will appear twice in San Francisco today — at 12:30 at Stacey’s Bookstore, on Market between 1st and 2nd Streets, and at 7:30 pm at Booksmith, 1644 Haight St. — reading from his new nonfiction book “Riding Toward Everywhere,” which is about jumping freight trains.

Vollmann, sometimes called an “adventure journalist” for his expeditions to dangerous, faraway climes, is also well known as a novelist. His “Europe Central” won the 2005 National Book Award (which is is shown receiving), and his novels are about subjects as diverse as Tenderloin prostitutes and Pocahontas.

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