A Little Bit of Hope: A Booklist for Our Times

February 9, 2017

It’s no secret that there are a fair number of folks out there that are depressed.  The year is turning out to be fairly contentious right from the get go and it’s only (checks watch) February.  Oog. We look out the windows and spring seems an awful long ways away, both literally and metaphorically.  Fortunately […]


Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? Local Evanston Authors On Our Shelves

January 20, 2017

When I tell you that Evanston is full of local authors, that information should hardly shock you.  Being as literary a community as we are, writers are liable to spring up whenever possible.  And, whenever possible, we do try to add their books to our library.  Of course, there are authors like Laurence Gonzales and […]


And Now . . . The Most Interesting Unexpected Donation of 2017 and a Mystery

January 11, 2017

When I walk in the door Monday morning I am greeted by a flood of donations that have appeared, mysteriously, in my absence.  They are in piles in the bins, overflowing the sides.  Two good-natured volunteers are also usually there, panning for gold, as it were.  They’ll fill up a nice little cart and I’ll […]


Where Do Evanston Readers Go When They Travel? The Answers May Surprise You

January 3, 2017

About a year ago I decided to make a little separate Travel section for Evanston Public Library’s books. This allowed me to do two things: Figure out how many travel books we actually had on our shelves and Weed out all the egregiously ancient ones So we picked them up and moved them to their […]


The Unexpected Bookmarks of Evanston, IL

December 20, 2016

You’re reading a book from the library. It is good. You are having a good time, but something unexpected comes up. You need to hold your place and being a responsible patron you know that you can’t just break the book’s spine and hold your location by splaying it across the back of a chair […]


Introducing the 2016 Holiday Gift Guide from the Evanston Public Library Staff!

December 12, 2016

It’s that time of year again. In fact, if you haven’t done your holiday shopping yet, you might be glancing nervously at the calendar (like me) worrying about whether or not you’ll be able to ship your items in time. With that in mind, let Evanston Public Library ease your worries a tad. If you […]


75-Years Ago: Remembering Pearl Harbor

December 2, 2016

On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked in a surprise military strike by Japanese forces. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack. For those of you looking to brush up on your knowledge in that area, have no fear. We’ve a list of all the newest books on the subject. As you […]


The Chicago Review of Books Awards

November 16, 2016

This one’s going out to those of you who may have wondered why all the major book awards seems to come from places other than Chicago.  Considering the breadth and depth of the literary landscape here, it’s a bit shocking that we have so few awards to name off the top of our heads.  Introducing […]


How Do Evanston Residents’ Reading Habits Compare to the Country?

November 9, 2016

Ever wonder what sets Evanston, IL apart from the rest of the nation?  While other parts of the country go gaga over one book or another, can the same be said for our little corner of the world?  Curious, I decided to do some comparisons between the top selling books according to Publishers Weekly this […]


Clowns: Not All of Them Are Psychos, You Know

October 14, 2016

Here’s my theory. With the release of a new version of Stephen King’s It, I half suspect that the reason we’ve been seeing a lot of scary clowns in the news lately is that someone started dressing up as a form of viral promotion and things got out of hand.  That’s just my theory, though.  […]


Translate »