Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

Review: Chicago’s Lost Boys: Mother Chicago, by Martin Billheimer

Mother Chicago: Truant Dreams and Specters Over the Gilded Age By Martin Billheimer Feral House Chicago is a dark place. All cities are. The more humans you pack into a […]

Dan Kelly /
Folk and Bluegrass, Lit, Music, Nonfiction

Review: Where Dylan Grew into His Genius, Bob Dylan’s New York By June Skinner Sawyers

Bob Dylan’s New York By June Skinner Sawyers The History Press,142 pages, $21.99 First of all, a story: In April 2010, I was in downtown Duluth on a freelance writing […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Children's books, Dialogs, Fiction, Film & TV, Lit, Live lit events

Kids Can Learn Sign Language, Storytelling and Teamwork with Sweet Animated Video Calvin Can’t Fly

Jennifer Berne wrote the storybook Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie in 2010, and her second cousin Sarah Michaelson directed and produced a video version last year. […]

Karin McKie /
Lit, Music, Nonfiction

Review: In Neil Young on Neil Young, the Musician Opines on Other Musicians, Politics, and Being Canadian

Neil Young on Neil Young: Interviews and Encounters By Arthur Lizie Chicago Review Press “Serious, intense, with hooded, blue-gray eyes that always seem capable of pinning you to the wall, […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Architecture, Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

Review: It Is What It Is: Guide to Chicago’s Twenty-First-Century Architecture

Guide to Chicago’s Twenty-First-Century Architecture Chicago Architecture Center and John Hill University of Illinois Press As packed with tacky tourist traps as any city, Chicago has one irreproachable draw: its […]

Dan Kelly /
Art & Museums, Lit, Painting & sculpture, Photography

Gift Ideas for Art Lovers: Ten Great Art Books Published in 2021

Looking for gift ideas for art lovers in your life? Or perhaps you want to treat yourself by buying a book that will not only inspire and educate you about […]

Thomas Wawzenek /
Chicago history, Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

Review: Messy Cities, Monstrous and Full of Hope, Metropolis, by Ben Wilson

Metropolis: A History of the City, Humankind’s Greatest Invention By Ben Wilson Anchor Books In the 1850s, Swedish writer Fredricka Bremer visited Chicago and, to say the least, was not […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Lit, Nonfiction

Review: Donna Seaman’s Book on Female Artists Explores That Old Problem: Invisibility

Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists By Donna Seaman Bloomsbury USA I discovered this book about female artists who never received proper recognition after seeing the Newberry Library exhibit […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Feature, Lit, Nonfiction, Stages

Dialogs: Critical Race Queries from Nikole Hannah-Jones at the Chicago Humanities Festival.

“We’ve been taught the history of a country that doesn’t exist.” Nikole Hannah-Jones is today’s Ida B. Wells, both fearless females and groundbreaking African-American journalists (Hannah-Jones’ Twitter handle is Ida […]

Karin McKie /
Dialogs, Lit, Live lit events, Nonfiction

Dialogs: Actor/Performer/Etc. Alan Cumming Brings Charm and Stories to Chicago Humanities Festival

By Carr Harkrader With its dramatic palazzo ornamentation, twinkling star-lit ceiling, and mischievous cherubs nuzzling within insets, the Music Box Theatre was perhaps the perfect place for a talk with […]

Guest Author /
Design, Dialogs, Lit

Dialogs: Podcaster/Designer Debbie Millman Talks About Why Design Matters and What We Can Do About It

Debbie Millman has been podcasting since before there were podcasts. She has produced more than 500 interviews over the 16+ years she has been talking about why Design Matters. She […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Fiction, Lit, Photography

Review: Victimized at Every Turn, Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi

Note: Stephanie Gangi will discuss her new novel Carry the Dog in conversation with Chicago author Christie Tate at 6pm Wednesday, November 3, in a free virtual event through Barbara’s […]

Patrick T. Reardon /