The book industry as a whole, once viewed as on the verge of collapse, has largely bounced back since the COVID-19 pandemic, with hundreds of new members in the American Booksellers Association.
Chicago area’s independent bookstores see revival
Category: Books
Remembering Jay Robert Nash, a prolific writer with a huge personality
He wrote dozens of books and spun countless tales, many of them in Chicago taverns and some of them true. He died on April 22 at age 86.
Biblioracle: Netflix’s ‘Ripley’ does justice to Patricia Highsmith’s book
I started the new Netflix series “Ripley” as a decided skeptic. The show’s source material, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith, is one of my desert island books. The novel is a sui generis portrayal of a character without apparent conscience, but whom we nonetheless feel great attachment to. Other writers have been trying […]
What to do around Chicago: Trace Adkins, C2E2 and a bookstore crawl
Also this weekend, Frankie Beverly at the United Center, Mike Birbiglia in the Loop and a 25th Annual Poetry Fest.
Biblioracle: What is happiness? A slim new book from Adam Gopnik has an answer
When I saw the title, the song “Happiness” from the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” popped into my head.
Growing idea: Libraries repurpose card catalogs for garden seed exchanges
Area libraries, including those in Homewood, Park Forest and Blue Island, are repurposing old card catalog cabinets to house flower and vegetable seeds, encouraging people to donate their leftovers and others to try new varieties.
Times change, but City News Cafe stays the course as the place with thousands of magazines
The store often attracts customers from nearby states such as Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.
Biblioracle: John Barth dies at 93 — his books pulled stories apart
I first picked up the postmodern novelist’s “Lost in the Funhouse” and I’ve never read anything like his books since.
The most infamous serial killers all seem to have something in common — they’re from around here
The Midwest seems to draw out such darkness. Just read Adam Rapp’s new book “Wolf at the Table” and Cynthia Pelayo’s “Forgotten Sisters.” That’s just for starters.
WTTW’s Geoffrey Baer explores the mysteries around us
“Chicago Mysteries” premieres April 16. When you get to know secrets and solve mysteries, does that not take some of the fun out of life? Not in this case.