January 3, 2012
Parents of toddlers might find themselves pondering the deeper mysteries of children’s books after reading a favorite story night after night seventeen bedtimes in a row. They want to get beyond the obvious plot and characters. Questions come to mind: Why is George curious? Are monkeys really that curious? What kind of monkey is he? Are some monkeys […]
January 3, 2012
Fans of Orson Scott Card’s 1985 classic Ender’s Game may be pleased to hear that the novel is being prepared for transition to film. Young Ender Wiggin arrives at Battle School and quickly rises to the top of the military academy which is desperately searching for a leader to ward off the alien formics, an […]
December 29, 2011
Publishers of print books have been struggling for control in the new world of publishing. Borders has gone by the wayside in the aftermath of the shift to digital publishing and presently publishers maintain control over pricing for e-books. However, attempts to increase revenue through adding extra features has not been very successful. As John […]
December 28, 2011
The Huffington Post has started a series on the status of libraries in the US. As I read this article, I noticed a quote from an Evanston resident regarding the closure of South Branch! At the heart of the discussion is the acknowledgment that the economy is weak and cities must cut back on expenses, […]
December 27, 2011
Critically accalimed author of tales set in Medieval England, Sharon Penman chatted with NPR’s Pricilla Nielson last weekend, and shared her list of the best historical fiction of 2011. Penman offered a brief overview of each title and her opinion on why it made her a-list. Of course, my ears prick up any time I catch […]
December 22, 2011
Today on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Linda Wertheimer interviewed editor Michael Sims about his new book The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur’s Collection of Victorian Detective Stories in which he offers fans of the genre an opportunity to read some of the obscure writers of that period, many of them women. Readers will meet wonderfully named female detectives such as Violet Strange […]
December 20, 2011
“Lyrics, even poetic ones, are not poems.” This statement is from none other than Stephen Sondheim, one of the most famous and well-regarded lyricists ever to have his work appear on Broadway. See this thoughtful article which discusses some nuances of music and poetry and different ways of understanding them. Shira S.
December 18, 2011
Young National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward will be making a stop in Chicago between Feb. 29 and Mar. 3, 2012. Her book on the days leading up to Katrina garnered much attention, standing out against many better known and established authors. Salvage the Bones is her second novel. Shira S.
December 15, 2011
A phantom sculptor has been leaving beautiful paper sculptures in libraries and museums all over Edinburgh, Scotland — really amazing artworks created from books and paper. One sculpture of a gramophone and a coffin was sculpted from a copy of Ian Rankin’s book Exit Music. Another sculpture had a tag on it that read: “This […]
December 14, 2011
PS to the last post on Chicago politics- Justin Kaufman‘s hysterically funny portrayal of a Chicago alderman is worth seeing. Do you live in the 53rd ward? He’s your man! Shira S.
