Book Reviews, News & Best-Sellers - Chicago Tribune

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Landmarks: New history restores freedom seekers as protagonists of the Underground Railroad story

Larry McClellan, one of the founders of Governors State University, has written a new history on the Underground Railroad sharing more stories of those escaping from slavery.

August 12, 2023

Biblioracle: There’s the whiff of real student writing in Schumacher’s Payne University novels

In the end, for me, Schumacher’s trilogy is one of the go-to sources for how it truly feels to make one’s way inside higher education.

August 12, 2023

‘Homecoming’: New book by a ‘Dreamer’ from Little Village humanizes the journey of undocumented children in US

Margarita Quiñones-Peña, who still lacks permanent legal status after 30 years in Chicago, wants immigrant kids to know there's no shame in that.

August 06, 2023

Biblioracle: Patricia Lockwood’s essay about the late David Foster Wallace is, for me, a new lens on an old favorite

It is important we continue to evolve as we experience the world. What a drag it would be to keep reading the same books over and over.

August 05, 2023

An Orland Park book club discussing Portillo’s history gets extra gravy with visit from founder’s son

Portillo’s Restaurants executive Michael Portillo recently joined members of the Orland Park-based Smith Crossing Men’s Book Club to discuss the book “Out of the Dog House” by Portillo’s founder Dick Portillo, Michael's dad.

August 03, 2023

Naperville’s North Central College announces its upcoming entertainment season with tickets now on sale

Tickets are on sale for North Central College’s upcoming performing arts season, which features a mixture of returning favorites and new performers, a variety of genres and talented college musicians, vocalists and actors.

August 01, 2023

Biblioracle: It is very hard to write a great second novel. Lydia Kiesling does just that with ‘Mobility.’

Lydia Kiesling’s gift is her ability to captivatingly render the seemingly mundane experiences of life set against a broader world.

Northwestern AD Derrick Gragg, under scrutiny for hazing scandal, offers questionable advice about women — ‘man’s greatest distraction’ — in book

While most of the book covers academics and avoiding trouble, two chapters that focus on women stand out as markedly different in tone and language.

Sky’s the limit for new children’s book with roots in Geneva

Geneva native Kurt Wehrmeister, author of his first book for children, will return to his hometown Friday to share the story of “Cumie, the Brave Little Cloud” at an event in downtown Geneva.

Biblioracle: TikTok’s parent company is getting into the publishing business. Will it work?

ByteDance is apparently distressed that it has a vehicle capable of minting best sellers but no direct way to profit.

Barack Obama appears in Kankakee library TikTok video to put focus on book bans

Former President Barack Obama criticized book bans and appeared in a video celebrating censored books with Kankakee Public Library librarians.

Ana Castillo’s new book makes you see stories everywhere. Or maybe they’re ghosts.

Also, you should see her drawings. The lines! She writes in the a.m. and makes art in the p.m.

Biblioracle: It’s hard to make happiness interesting and dramatic. Patrick deWitt does so in ‘The Librarianist’

Patrick deWitt has a new novel, “The Librarianist” and I found the whole reading experience utterly charming.

Milan Kundera, renowned Czech writer and former dissident, dies in Paris aged 94

Milan Kundera, whose dissident writings in communist Czechoslovakia transformed him into an exiled satirist of totalitarianism, has died in Paris. He was 94.

Biblioracle: ‘Was it a good book?’ Sometimes there’s no easy answer to that question

Some books are not to be judged, but simply to be experienced. For me, one such book is Lorrie Moore’s “I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home."

The real Red Cross inspirations behind Luis Alberto Urrea’s bestseller ‘Good Night, Irene.’ Namely, his mom.

During Luis Alberto Urrea's national tour for the novel "Good Night, Irene," he stopped to share a few pictures from his mother’s wartime experiences.

Biblioracle: ‘To Name the Bigger Lie’ explores how our memories may not always tell the truth

If we understand anything from Sarah Viren’s book, it’s that narratives are rarely so tidy.

How a Lake Forest teacher went from posting scary stories on Reddit to a film deal for his debut novel

Juliano, an educator who works at Lake Forest High School, first made a name for himself posting scary stories to the NoSleep subreddit.

This was your chance to see a loud librarian — annual ALA conference in Chicago over the weekend took on book banning

A handful of panel titles — “Be Fierce,” “Combating Book Bans” — hinted at a new unwillingness to play the role of the meek librarian.

His debut novel ‘Mickey Sojourn’ takes readers on a wild ride, from Hollywood dreams to bank robberies

On its best pages, Josh Lettiere's "Mickey Sojourn" reads like a collaboration between Hunter S. Thompson and Elmore Leonard.

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