Review: ‘How to Be a Playgirl’ by Jessanne Collins
On Jessanne Collins' first day at her new job, she found her cubicle already occupied. "Straddling the chair, one peach-Crayola colored arm draped casually over the armrest, was a blow-up...
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Chicago writer Bob Miller’s book ‘Son of a Gambling Man’
While growing up, Bob Miller wasn't allowed to have a deck of cards or a pair of dice. Miller's father, Ross, didn't want his son getting involved with illegal gaming...
Stephanie Hochschild prepares for new role at The Book Stall
If a predisposition to love literature were genetic, Stephanie Hochschild would be a gene carrier. Her mother is a librarian at the National Library of Medicine in her hometown of...
Summary: “Crooning” by Frank D. Gilroy
The unnamed scriptwriter who narrates Frank D. Gilroy's Kindle single "Crooning," set in 1958, doesn't think filming a movie in Havana is a very good idea. But producer and want-to-be-star...
Meditation on family nets Algren Award
Erika Schmidt has come a long way since "The Island of Doughnut Hole Lake," her first full-length story written in collaboration with a fourth grade classmate. That illustrated piece, inspired...
Meditation on family nets Algren Award
Erika Schmidt has come a long way since "The Island of Doughnut Hole Lake," her first full-length story written in collaboration with a fourth grade classmate. That illustrated piece, inspired...
‘The Illustrated Press: Chicago’ renders news
To Darryl Holliday, comics journalism descends from cave paintings: Cave of El Castillo. And then Lascaux. And then "The Illustrated Press: Chicago." Cave paintings are "nonfiction visualizations of what was...
Arlington Heights Memorial Library strives – and spends – to stay relevant
When Jason Kuhl, executive director at Arlington Heights Memorial Library, asked people what they wanted to see improved at their library, their responses usually fell into one of two categories....
Calligraphic wonders at the Newberry
Think calligraphy is simply that swirling script on nice wedding invitations? Think, again — then check out the Newberry Library's newest exhibit, "Exploration 2013." Presented in partnership with the Chicago...
Librarian’s Choice: 5 books to read now
To see how exciting getting your first library card can be, look no further than the Chicago Public Library's Facebook page. Every week, the library posts a picture of a...