Laura Pearson – Page 9

Bright idea: An outlet cover that doubles as a night light

May 23, 2019 at 8:51 a.m.

These days people are so reliant on personal electronic devices that need routine charging — smartphones, tablets, laptops and the like — that home power outlets quickly become crowded, and...

Me, My Shelf and I: Josh Honn

May 9, 2019 at 5:55 p.m.

In a little nook off the hallway of Josh Honn's Ravenswood apartment is Pam's bookcase. "She kept a black box here full of index cards for every book she read,"...

The great 2016 winter, spring book preview

May 9, 2019 at 5:55 p.m.

As the holiday hubbub retreats and the cold unceremoniously creeps in, voracious readers — or anyone needing an escape — wonder what new books the winds of winter will blow...

Me, My Shelf and I: Emily Maloney and Ori Fienberg

May 9, 2019 at 5:54 p.m.

Writers and newlyweds Emily Maloney and Ori Fienberg don't shy away from difficult projects. Not only are they in the middle of a major renovation of their Evanston home —...

Up the delivery ante and go for something worthy of that nice bottle of wine you're hanging on to: Balena's orecchiette with kale fits the bill.

We ordered delivery every night for months; here are takeout secrets we learned

June 11, 2018 at 6:55 a.m.

Winter came early to our house. Not so much the weather — that progressed as summer does: Thuggish, sweaty, occasional pouring rain. Who noticed? We were up to our ears,...

Lego Skyline sets offer escapist fun for grown-ups

June 16, 2018 at 9:04 a.m.

Last year, Danish toy company Lego (maybe you've heard of it?) released a set of monochrome building blocks called the Lego Architecture Studio. Containing more than 1,200 white and transparent...

Me, My Shelf and I: Joachim and Carly Lapotre

May 9, 2019 at 5:53 p.m.

"I don't go out on the weekends," says Joachim Lapotre, opening a file on his computer containing original designs for a sculptural shelving unit. "Design is really the only thing...

"I went to a creative writing camp where I read the most famous prose poem of all time, 'The Colonel' by Carolyn Forche, and I got really into it." The poem is published in her 1981 collection "The Country Between Us."

Me, My Shelf and I: Carmen Aiken

May 9, 2019 at 5:53 p.m.

For Carmen Aiken, a writer and volunteer coordinator for the Active Transportation Alliance, books are a portal back to childhood — her own and that of her parents. "Before my...

Review: ‘Vertigo’ by Joanna Walsh

May 9, 2019 at 5:53 p.m.

Something happens to many astronauts during space flight, specifically when viewing the Earth from the moon or from orbit. They describe a state of profound awe and mental clarity, a...

"If I could write like anybody, it would be Alice Munro," Mohanraj says. "She writes these quiet, miminalist, unshowy stories. You disappear into the lives of her characters."

Me, My Shelf and I: Mary Anne Mohanraj

May 9, 2019 at 5:52 p.m.

When Mary Anne Mohanraj and her partner, Kevin, renovated their "creaky old Victorian" in Oak Park, they incorporated plenty of book-centric bells and whistles. Take the little free library in...

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