March 4, 2016
“If you’ve ever been trapped in a refrigerator only to have the door flung open just before you black out, you have some sense of what Chicago spring feels like.” – Contrary Motion by Andy Mozina Happy Chicago Incorporation Day! Yes, on this date in history (March 4, 1837) Chicago was officially incorporated as a […]
March 3, 2016
You didn’t hear it from me, but you know Spotlight, the movie that just won an Academy Award for Best Picture? Did you know it was based on a book from 2002? Only, see, the book has a different title than the movie. Here’s the book: Now as of this blog post, that book is […]
March 1, 2016
Look, I gotta level with you here. The Evanston Public Library collection? It’s massive, man. We have 485,000 print items alone, which is kind of unusual for a city this size. We’re proud of our collection as well. Have you ever looked, I mean really looked, at our art books? How about our music scores? […]
February 26, 2016
If you’re a regular reader of the Evanston Roundtable then this title probably caught your eye this month: Evanston is in the Midst of a Reading ‘Crisis’ says ETHS. The piece goes on to describe how the number of incoming freshmen who require reading intervention has more than doubled since 2011, and that number isn’t […]
February 24, 2016
This is the first in a series of posts highlighting important businesses or areas in Evanston. You wouldn’t think that at the age of 37 a person could become a curmudgeon, but there is at least one area in which slot neatly into the definition. Hacking. It’s not that I don’t like it or think […]
February 20, 2016
In this age where authors are expected to tweet, update their Facebook pages, use Instagram to promote their books, and even dabble in Pinterest/Snapchat/what-have-you, it’s really enough to make you nostalgic for an era where an author could write a book, have it be a massive success, and then generally disappear from public view if […]
February 19, 2016
Hungry? You should be. For what it’s worth the authors Daniel R. Block and Howard Rosing, the men behind the new book Chicago: A Food Biography, are coming to Evanston Public Library on Sunday, February 21st at 3:00 p.m. to the Community Meeting Room (it’s bound to be popular so please register online or call […]
February 16, 2016
Lots of people want to write and/or illustrate books for kids, but how do you actually go about doing so? What are some of the pitfalls and perks of the job? What should you avoid? What are the common myths? This past Saturday, attendees of Evanston’s monthly Literary Salon (an event for adults with an […]
February 12, 2016
Sometimes these blog posts feel a bit like dares. The Challenge: Locate as many literary podcasts that are based out of the Chicago area as possible. Special Bonus Points: Find one that’s recorded in Evanston, IL proper. The search was on. By which I mean, the Google search. The iTunes search as well. I love […]
February 10, 2016
Dig deep enough into the stacks of Evanston Public Library and you’ll find book jackets long since forgotten. Today’s pick is that classic summer paean, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. A beautiful novel and one that I return to constantly when the cold winds of February blow (like today), I thought I knew all its […]
