John Warner – Page 26

Author Dawn Turner in the Lake Meadows complex in Bronzeville on Aug. 31, 2021. Turner's new book, "Three Girls from Bronzeville," features stories of growing up in the community where she and her friends would sit and play along the blue-tiled wall on the grounds.

Column: The Biblioracle’s 5 picks for best memoir and biography for 2021

December 9, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

Very much by design, and due to some better than average good fortune, thus far I've lived a largely uninteresting and uneventful life, which makes the chances I'll write a...

"Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America" by Keisha N. Blain.

Column: Biblioracle’s 8 favorite nonfiction books of 2021

December 3, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

Somehow, the calendar is telling me that it is December, which doesn't seem possible, though now that I think about it, the sun goes down not long after lunch, so...

Nick Offerman at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago in Oct. 2013.

Column: Looking for direction in your life? Nick Offerman might be able to help

November 24, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

One of the more difficult things for any person to navigate is how to figure out how to live in the world. Life is a series of choices. The more...

"Cities I've Never Lived In" by Sara Majka, Leslie Jamison's "The Empathy Exams" and "Milkman" by Anna Burns.

Column: A moment to praise Graywolf Press, ‘Milkman’ publisher and an unsung hero in the books world

November 17, 2021 at 6:00 a.m.

The average reader may not know the name Fiona McCrae, but within the publishing world she is a living legend and I want to tell you why. I want to...

Chicago's first Amazon store opening in the 3400 block of N. Southport, carries books for all ages, Saturday March 18, 2017. The store is expected to open Tuesday March 21. Abel Uribe/baiduhai

Column: Publishing works like an ecosystem, which is why Penguin Random House shouldn’t eat Simon & Schuster

November 8, 2021 at 7:02 a.m.

Natural ecosystems have something called keystone species, which are species that have an effect on the overall environment disproportionate to their numbers. There's different types of keystone species. Beavers are...

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. The band is the subject of "Led Zeppelin: The Biography" by noted music biographer Bob Spitz.</p>

Column: New biography ‘Led Zeppelin’ takes the air out of my rock ‘n’ roll memories

November 2, 2021 at 3:01 p.m.

When I was in sixth and seventh grades, a group of us studied the works of Led Zeppelin as though they were holy texts. We debated whether or not the...

Column: For Halloween, 8 books with chills like campfire ghost stories

October 29, 2021 at 6:15 a.m.

When I was a kid, every year my friend Tom would have his birthday party in one of Chicagoland's forest preserves. Tom's nickname was "nature boy" and his father was...

A recent Pew Research Center survey from a representative sample of American adults found that more than three-quarters had read a book in past year.

Column: Books vs. Twitter! We are reading more but there’s still room to grow

October 20, 2021 at 6:15 a.m.

When Facebook and its associated apps and websites recently went down for the better part of a day, on Twitter I saw a handful of tweets celebrating along the lines...

Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah poses ahead of a press conference in London, Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. The Swedish Academy said the award was in recognition of his "uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism." (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Column: Abdulrazak Gurnah wins Nobel Prize in Literature, a little-known name for U.S. readers

October 8, 2021 at 3:33 p.m.

When the Nobel committee announced Abdulrazak Gurnah as the 2021 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, I'm guessing that most of you that heard the news said, "Who?" Gurnah...

Author Chuck Palahniuk in 2009 in Toronto.

Column: ‘Fight Club’ author Chuck Palahniuk is serializing his next book. Will an old way of reading become new again?

October 4, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

A Victorian-era practice is finding new purchase. What goes around comes around, I guess. "Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk recently announced that he signed a deal with the Substack newsletter...

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