I know you’ve probably heard about the award-winning book “Life of Pi” being the book that Mayor Karl Dean picked for us to read this spring as part of the “Nashville Reads” campaign.

There have been lots of discussions and fun associated with the communitywide read of this wonderful book, and now it is time to enjoy the movie, too.

Yes, everybody is invited to a free screening of the Oscar-grabbing movie “Life of Pi” on Saturday night on an inflatable screen at the Nashville Zoo. The outdoor movie event, which is a joint venture of the Nashville Public Library and the Nashville Zoo, will feature a panel of animal experts at 6 p.m., and the movie will begin at sunset, which should be about 6:30 p.m.

• History buffs should enjoy Saturday’s Metro Nashville Civil War sesquicentennial program, which includes two lectures and a concert featuring the 1861 Project.

The event starts at 8:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 615 Sixth Ave. S., which is itself a treasure since it was built in 1854 and is an English Country Gothic design.

The speakers include Tennessee State University senior professor of history and former TSU dean Bobby Lovett, who will speak on contrabands in Nashville, their work on building Fort Negley and the establishment of African-American communities in Nashville. Lovett, who is the author of several books including “The African American History of Nashville 1780-1930: Elites and Dilemmas,” says he “will show how those camps for runaway and contraband slaves expanded black urban history in Tennessee during and after the Civil War, fused other blacks with Negroes from adjacent areas of Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and free Negroes from northern states, creating large black settlements yet visible in Tennessee’s largest cities and towns. The paper includes an African-American interpretation of the Civil War, aftermath and benefits to black Tennesseans,” he said.

Saturday’s event also features University of Memphis associate professor of history Susan O’Donovan, who will talk about emancipation and its effects in Tennessee.

The musical component of the program will be the 1861 Project, a musical group put together by Marty Stuart and others, to play and record its collection of new, original songs that were inspired by the people who fought and lived through the Civil War. Organizers say it is “a contemporary take on Civil War music” and it has been well received at events like this.

• With the weather finally warming up, you may be looking for something to perk up your wardrobe. The timing is perfect for shopping at Kelley Beaman and her fashionista friends’ semi-annual, high-end consignment sale.

The sale, with shoes, accessories, jewelry, handbags, coats and lots of clothing from all seasons from about 30 shopaholic consignors (mostly size 12 and under), will take place in the auxiliary gym at Montgomery Bell Academy on Harding Road Friday and Saturday. Kelley was nice enough to invite my Ms. Cheap readers to come at 8:30 a.m. Friday for some early-bird shopping. The public sale is noon-5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday.

• Another popular sale is the West Meade Fellowship Rummage Sale at the church at 277 Old Hickory Blvd. in Bellevue. The sale, where more than 150 families have donated items, is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, with proceeds going to support youth programs. www.westmeadefellowship.com

• I’ve written about the free People’s Law Classes at the Cohn School at 4805 Park Ave. in West Nashville. There is a good one coming up: Renters’ Rights, which will teach you your legal rights as a renter and point out what to look for in a lease, how to get your landlord to make repairs and how to get your security deposit back. The class is from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday. To register, call 615-298-8050.

The Nashville Public Library hopes to reopen its main library on Mondays and the branch libraries on Fridays, officials told Mayor Karl Dean during a budget hearing Thursday.

While the changes would cost more than $1.5 million — primarily to fund 45 new jobs — Dean sounded receptive to the idea, telling his finance chief that it would be “high on my list” of budget priorities in an otherwise tight year.

The library system cut back its days during the economic downturn. The main library at 615 Church St. has been closed on Mondays since July 2009. The branch libraries have been closed on Fridays for at least a year longer than that.

In his presentation to Dean, Library Director Kent Oliver acknowledged that the request for increases was “optimistic” but also said restoring the lost days is “essential” and “reasonable.”

Oliver said it would cost about $1.1 million and 31 new jobs to reopen the branch libraries on Fridays. Restoring Mondays at the main library would take about $470,000 and 14 new positions.

“One of the things we like to talk about is that part of a great city is a great public library,” Oliver said after the meeting with Dean. “Part of having a great library is having access.”