November 22, 2013
New York Public Library has acquired author Tom Wolfe’s archive, including materials for his novels, letters from friends Hunter S. Thompson, William F. Buckley and Gay Talese, works of journalism, and interviews with “historically significant figures like the test pilot Chuck Yeager.” Library president Anthony W. Marx called the archive “amazing”, saying: “His work touches […]
November 21, 2013
This year’s National Book Award for fiction was awarded to James McBride for The Good Lord Bird. His novel, narrated by a child follower of John Brown, was praised by the judges for “a voice as comic and original as any we have heard since Mark Twain.” Considered an underdog up against such writers as […]
November 19, 2013
This informal article on how to approach reading with your children struck a chord with me because I think it reflects common sense and reality. No parent wants to be the one to turn a child away from reading! The author has grappled with wanting to encourage her children (and also students) to enjoy reading […]
November 19, 2013
The publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary unanimously chose selfie as the 2013 word of the year. The term, meaning a self-portrait typically snapped with a smartphone and shared over social networks, was first recorded in Australia in 2002 when someone posted this after a drunken accident: “I had a hole … right through my bottom […]
November 19, 2013
It’s 272 words long and lasted about 2 minutes. It was delivered 150 years ago today at the height of the Civil War to consecrate a battlefield cemetery in Pennsylvania where over 50,000 slain soldiers from both sides were buried. It followed a speech given by former Congressman Edward Everett which ran over two hours, […]
November 17, 2013
Popular and much-acclaimed author Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel in literature, died today in her London home. The prolific author of novels and short stories is most known for her 1962 novel The Golden Notebook, a loosely autobiographical exploration of the inner lives of women. Lessing was a harsh critic of society’s treatment of women […]
November 14, 2013
These remarkable libraries speak for themselves in terms of fun and excitement. Bright colors, slides, and you must check out the “birdcage” in photo number 6! One is even an outside room meant to encourage children to play, grab a book, and get fresh air. I appreciate that some of the designs are meant […]
November 14, 2013
I would disagree with the title of this NYTimes blog post. Books are never secondary at Evanston, but we do have other reasons for using the library. Anyone who visits EPL on a regular basis knows the conference rooms are in big demand. Unlike this post, I doubt we’ve had couples exchange vows in our meeting spaces, but on […]
November 9, 2013
Evanston’s very own Next Theatre Company isn’t afraid to challenge its audience. For nearly 35 years the company has remained committed to producing “socially provocative, artistically adventurous work,” and this season’s staging of Rinne Groff’s Compulsion stays true to that mission. Based on the true story of Meyer Levin and his obsession with Anne Frank’s […]
November 8, 2013
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, is considered one of the classics of science fiction. It has appeared near the top of any comprehensive list of the best of sci-fi and fantasy since it was originally published, in 1985. It is the winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, the highest honors in the […]
