April 4, 2011
On Sunday afternoons, volunteers of the Chicago Books to Women in Prison meet and read letters sent by women in prisons throughout the country. Chicago BWP fulfills their requests as best they can, sending paperbacks to prisons in Illinois, as well as Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. This group “is dedicated to offering women behind bars the opportunity for self-empowerment, education, and entertainment […]
April 1, 2011
EarlyWord posted this brief item about “Swedish Noir”— authors who write in a similar style to Stieg Larsson. Along with this short article is a link (USA Today) to outlines of the plots of each novel mentioned. Lastly, Dierdre Donahue explains which Scandinavian authors are on book tour this summer in the states. […]
April 1, 2011
It looks like Library of America, the venerable publisher of classic American literature, will give in and start publishing books of greater interest to the general public. LOA announced today that it would publish volumes of Paris Hilton’s and William Shatner’s memoirs, and possibly those of Jersey Shore’s Snooki (Nicole Polizzi). If the plan proves fruitful for the […]
March 31, 2011
So, Oscar time has come and gone, and once again you’ve missed seeing any of the nominated movies. What now? Hope that it’ll be at the local video store when you find time to go there? Wait your turn on a library reserve list that has 200 people ahead of you? Fear not. Evanston Public […]
March 30, 2011
Several Dr. Seuss stories which were only seen in a magazine 60 years ago will appear for the first time as a book. Random House Children’s division says the material last saw the light of day in 1950-1951. The collection of seven stories, titled The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, should be released in […]
March 30, 2011
The finalists of the Man Booker International Prize have just been announced: Wang Anyi (China) Juan Goytisolo (Spain) James Kelman (UK) John le Carré (UK) Amin Maalouf (Lebanon) David Malouf (Australia) Dacia Maraini (Italy) Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada) Philip Pullman (UK) Marilynne Robinson (USA) Philip Roth (USA) Su Tong (China) Anne Tyler (USA)
March 29, 2011
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (who won a Pulitzer for her 2006 work March) is a work of fiction based on the Sarajevo Hagadah. This is the only significant novel about hagadot I was able to find. One of the earliest illuminated Jewish manuscripts, the priceless antique haggadah serves as the vehicle for […]
March 29, 2011
The Passover or Pesach (in Hebrew) holiday begins Monday evening April 18 and continues until the 26th. Maxwell House is printing a new edition of its haggadah which appeared originally in the 1930’s. Different articles have been circulating about people’s memories and nostalgia associated with family gatherings where the haggadah was recited at the annual […]
March 26, 2011
“Why do writers write? What influences their work? Where do they find inspiration? ” Some of the United Kingdom’s most celebrated writers answer these questions and more for the National Life Stories’ Authors’ Lives project archived at the British Library. You can read and listen to excerpts at the Guardian (both here and here), or purchase the complete […]
March 25, 2011
The latest creation of Maurice Sendak, renowned children’s author and illustrator, will be released in September. HarperCollins said that “Bumble-Ardy,” a fun-loving pig, will see an initial printing of 500,000. Not child’s play! PS- If you remember, he worked on a Chicago Lyric Opera a few years back (2003). Here’s a link to Brundibar (2009). […]
