Lost literary era is found
There are ghosts in Chicago: the ghosts of writers past. This weekend, they're moving amongst the living writers, the ones who are filling the streets of the South Loop for...
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Getting a good night’s creep
Call him the anti-Ambien. If it's sleep you crave, steer clear of Marcus Sakey. Start one of his books at bedtime, and you can forget about slumber. "I love the...
Quarks and quantum quirks
While reading a book on contemporary physics some time ago, I realized that attempting to comprehend it was like trying to floss the teeth of a flea. Underwater. While drunk....
Getting a good night’s creep
Call him the anti-Ambien. If it's sleep you crave, steer clear of Marcus Sakey. Start one of his books at bedtime, and you can forget about slumber. "I love the...
Quarks and quantum quirks
While reading a book on contemporary physics some time ago, I realized that attempting to comprehend it was like trying to floss the teeth of a flea. Underwater. While drunk....
Page to screen evokes passions, screams
My first real heartbreak came not from the loss of a beloved pet or tragic love affair, but from the 1966 movie version of "Batman." As a comics fan, I...
Step right up!
Charles Dickens was many things: great writer, canny businessman, philandering husband. But he was also one other thing: magnificent performer. After a preshow meal of a dozen oysters and ample...
Step right up!
Charles Dickens was many things: great writer, canny businessman, philandering husband. But he was also one other thing: magnificent performer. After a preshow meal of a dozen oysters and ample...
Fame and footnotes
The rich and famous, we are often told, have this much in common wih regular folks: They, too, put their pants on in the morning one leg at a time....
Depicting addiction
In novels and songs, in movies and plays and TV shows, addiction to drugs and alcohol is a frequent theme. Steve Earle's new novel "I'll Never Get Out of This...