December 2, 2016
My name is Sara Grady, and I’m a former engineer with the heart of a poet. As a Road Scholar with the Illinois Humanities Council, I travel the state talking about how stories, myths, and words influence our culture and communities. I love language, breathe books, and teach science writing at Northwestern University. I wish […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
October 12, 2016
Usually around this time of year I like to put up a big display of fall books on the first floor. Mind you, that was before Hamilton: The Musical came to Chicago. Now my apples have been replaced with Federalist Papers. Pretty cool, but with all these lovely autumnal materials on our shelves it seems […]
October 10, 2016
The other day I was perusing the blogs of the New York Public Library (my old stomping grounds) when I came across a piece that was strangely pertinent to my current location. Called Researching the Chicago Marathon the piece talked about this past Sunday’s race and mentioned the following: Most runners who are interested in […]
September 28, 2016
It only comes but once a year, but the actual banning of books happens far more frequently than that. Here in Evanston we are a reading community. Book challenges don’t appear here at the same rate that they may in other cities. That said, there is value in celebrating the right to read. Here then […]
September 26, 2016
The saddest thing that i ever did see, was a woodpecker peckin’ on a plastic tree. He looks at me and “friend” says he “Things ain’t as sweet as they used to be”. – Shel Silverstein Shel Silverstein got many things right but in this case he was wrong. Sad woodpeckers have nothing on old […]
September 20, 2016
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. That time when the longlists for the National Book Awards are announced. Click on the covers to put any of these on hold. Here are the nominees by category for the National Book Awards: POETRY Daniel Borzutzky, The Performance of Becoming Human (Brooklyn Arts Press) Rita Dove, […]
September 14, 2016
Spoiler Alert: There’s an election this year. Did I surprise you? I’m sure that since it’s never in the news you probably forgot that we’ll be picking a new president this year. Note: There is no sarcasm font, so I want you to read the preceding sentences in a voice fairly dripping with it. For […]
