Get Your Calendars Ready! Book Festivals in the Chicago Area.

Getting ready for some book festivals? There are many book and author opportunities throughout the Chicago area. Check with your local independent or chain bookstore to see what is happening there. But here are some bigger festivals on the horizon.

What are you doing this weekend? From April 29 to May 11th is the Evanston Literary Festival. Events, lectures and documentaries are scattered throughout the town and held at various venues and bookstores. Go to their website for more details.

A little further afield is Printer's Row Lit Fest. This event is held the weekend of June 10- 11th, with sessions, readings, and discussions held in the Harold Washington Library and tents along S. Dearborn.  They feature local and nationally known authors. And if you are not into fiction - there are many opportunities to listen to non-fiction authors speaking on their topic.

And did you know there is a food tent? That's a great time to see some of Chicago's renowned chefs.  Things take place rain or shine. Depending on the weather, my tip is to plan for some air-conditioned sessions throughout the day. It's great fun. For more details on this year's schedule and authors go here.

Just want to buy some cool older titles? The 2017 Newberry Library Book Fair takes place at the library July 27 - 30.  For more details see their website. You never know what titles you will discover there.

If you're a long distance planner - Keep an eye out for Columbia College's Chicago Book Expo this fall. Chicago Book Expo's mission is "to celebrate Chicago’s vital independent publishing scene." Columbia College’s Creative Writing Department helps to sponsor it. Take a peek at last year's website to get a feel for what they offer.

So there is no excuse! Lots of book activities at the Glenview Public Library and beyond.

After THE CIRCLE, Try...

The Circle, based on the novel by Dave Eggers, comes to theaters this Friday, starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. Here are some titles to try either before or after the movie.



BOOKS

• The Circle by Dave Eggers: Try the book first! A young tech worker takes a job at a powerful Internet corporation, quickly rises up the company’s ranks, and soon finds herself in a perilous situation concerning privacy, surveillance and freedom. 
• The Private Eye by Brian K. Vaughan: Years after the digital cloud “bursts” and exposes all of our worst secrets, THE PRIVATE EYE is set in an inevitable future where everyone has a secret identity. Following an unlicensed P.I. who is thrust into the most important case of his life, this sci-fi mystery explores the nature of privacy with frightening prescience.
• The Terranauts by T. C. Boyle: As climate change threatens the earth, eight scientists, four men and four women dubbed the “Terranauts,” have been selected to live under glass in E2, a prototype of a possible off-earth colony.
• 1984 by George Orwell: The original novel warning about the dangers of surveillance - Big Brother is watching! 
• Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier: Learn the truth behind the novels and all about the digital information and surveillance age. 

MOVIES

• Children of Men: In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary. You might also try the novel. 
• Gattaca: A slick science fiction drama in a world where your DNA determines everything about the course of your life, starring Ethan Hawke and Jude Law. 
• Her: Your phone might be watching you...but what if you fell in love with it? This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance.
• The End of the Tour: Directed by James Ponsoldt, the director of The Circle, this is the story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace’s groundbreaking epic novel, Infinite Jest.

Paranormal Romance Author Chloe Neill

Chloe Neill is the New York Times bestselling author of the Chicagoland Vampires Novels, the Devil's Isle Novels, and a YA series, Dark Elite. Chloe was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest. When she's not writing, she bakes, works, and scours the internet for good recipes and great graphic design. Chloe also maintains her sanity by spending time with her boys--her husband and their dogs, Baxter and Scout. 

Neill's series Chicagoland Vampires is fun and the heroin is all Chicago-Girl sassy. You will enjoy that Chloe mentions many of Chicago's amazing locations and delicious eateries.

Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series new books.



Dark Debt  Book 11
Springtime brings new challenges to Chicago’s vampires, as Merit, the Cadogan House Sentinel, and her Master and paramour, Ethan Sullivan, face personal threats from Balthasar, Ethan’s presumed-dead creator, and a shadow organization headed by Merit’s ex, Morgan Greer. The cooperative skills of the newly minted Assembly of American Masters are tested, and Merit’s previous immunity to vampire glamour can’t withstand assault by Balthasar, creating intimacy issues for her and Ethan. Merit and Ethan are aided (and occasionally hindered) by magical allies, the Cadogan House staff, and Merit’s father and grandfather, as they engage in overt and covert battles for control over the powerful vampire houses. Little characterization details like Merit’s enthusiasm for refreshments, destructive tendencies toward formal wear, and complicated family emotions enhance this brisk adventure.



Midnight Marked Book 12

In book 12 of the Chicagoland Vampires series, vampire Merit attempts to attend a Cubs night game with her Master (and lover), Ethan, along with her best friend, Mallory, and Mallory's husband. When Mallory senses some strange magic, she leads them to the dead body of a shape-shifter. They arrive just in time to give chase to the killer, another vampire. He eludes capture and, to save the alliance with the shape-shifters, they investigate the murder. Sorcery, alchemy, and a friendly necromancer contribute to the supernatural fun. The comradely banter between the characters and the continued hot romance between Merit and Ethan add to the enjoyment of the book.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2017

On Friday, April 7, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, performer inductees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five years after their first recording is released.  Inductees include Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, and Yes.


The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is an English rock band from Birmingham, West Midlands, England.  It was formed in 1970 by Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan.  Lynne and Wood wanted to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones.  Their first single "10538 Overture" was released in 1972 as a homage to the Beatles.  Some of their albums include Eldorado, a Symphony (1974) and Time (1981)  They have sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Joan Chandos Baez, and American folk singer, songwriter, musician, and activist was born on January 9, 1941 on Staten Island, New York.  Her contemporary folk music includes songs of protest or social justice.  She has performed from 1960 and has released over 30 albums.  Her first three albums, Joan Baez, Joan Baez, Vol. 2 and Joan Baez in Concert have all achieved gold records.  Some of her songs include, "Diamonds & Rust", "Farewell, Angelia", "Love Is Just a Four-Letter Word", "Forever Young", "Joe Hill", "Sweet Sir Galahad" and "We Shall Overcome" (which became prominent during the Civil Rights Movement).

Journey is an American rock bank from San Francisco, California.  They formed in 1973 with former members of Santana and Rumious Bandersnatch.  "Don't Stop Believin'" (1981) was one of their top hits.  They have had two gold albums, eight multi-platinum albums, one diamond album, and 18 top 40 singles in the United States.  Their style is Arena Rock, Stadium Rock, and Concert Rock.  In the United States they have sold 48 million albums and worldwide close to 90 million records.

Pearl Jam, also known as Mookie Blaylock originated in Seattle, Washington in 1990.  They play alternative rock, grunge, and hard rock music.  Its debute album was Ten in 1991.  Members included Eddie Vedder (lead vocals), Mike McCready (lead guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Jeff Ament (bass), and Matt Cameron (drummer).  They have refused to make proper music videos, give interviews, and have boycotted Ticketmaster.  They have sold nearly 32 million records in the United States and 60 million worldwide.

Tupac Amaru Shakur (Lesane Parish Crooks) was born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, New York, and died on September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He was an American rapper who was also known as 2Pac, Makaveli or Pac.  He had sold over 75 million records worldwide, with All Eyez on Me and his Greatest Hits best-selling albums.  His themes are about violence and hardship in inner cities, racism and other social issues.

Yes (originally Mabel Greer's Toyshop) are an English rock band from London that began in 1968 by singer Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire.  They began playing covers to progressive and art rock in the 1970s and then pop in the 1980s.  They have sold 13.5 million albums in the United States.  Their most successful albums are The Yes Album (1971) and Close to the Edge (1972).  They disbanded in 1981 and reformed in 1983 with new musicians.  Their highest-selling album was 90125 (1983), which included "Owner of a Lonely Heart".  In 1985, they won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance with "Cinema", and received five Grammy nominations between 1985 and 1992.

What Are You Reading Lately?

I recently listened to and have now become an enthusiastic promoter of comedian Trevor Noah’s incredible coming-of-age memoir, “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood". 

Trevor Noah, the host of Comedy’s Central’s The Daily Show, relates tales of his growing up during the final years of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. Because his father was a Swiss-German white and his mother an African black, Noah was "born a crime”. Relations between whites and blacks were strictly prohibited under apartheid law. Noah, a light-skinned child, struggled to find his place in world that seemed determined to cast him as an outsider. While there are certainly funny moments in this memoir, Noah’s book is a fascinating and, at times, sobering look at life inside apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.

Noah is a masterful storyteller with an extraordinary facility with accents, dialects and languages. His narration of the audiobook makes the listening experience particularly intimate and very powerful.

What books have you been enjoying lately?

Motion Picture Music

Often when I watch a movie, it is the music that makes an impression on me. I love how they use a certain song to invoke an emotion or demonstrate the character's feelings. I find myself thinking what a great choice or I wonder what song I would have chosen. Right now I can't stop listening to the soundtrack from 500 Days of Summer. I think I like the music more than the movie. Artists include the Smiths, Doves, Temper Traps and Feist to name a few. Many of the songs take me back in time, which I love, they make me feel a little lighter, like I did when I was younger. My favorite tracks are 3-9, and since I love all things foreign, the French song by Carla Bruni makes me smile. I love singing along to it even though I don't speak French. Have a listen, you won't regret it.

Animation - Not Just for Kids!

When we think of animation or cartoons, the first images conjured to our minds are frequently children's films or television shows, Disney and Dreamworks and the like. But there are plenty of animated films made for adults. Below is a list of just a few animated titles you might enjoy.

• Anomalisa: A stop-motion drama from the writer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2015 Academy Awards. 

• Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor: A collection of acclaimed Japanese animator Koji Yamamura's short animated films. 

• Grave of the Fireflies: The story of two orphans struggling to survive in Japan during World War II, based on a semi-autobiographical short story. 

• Persepolis: An adaptation of the acclaimed autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis recounts growing up during Iran during and after the Islamic revolution.  

• A Scanner Darkly: A science fiction thriller starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Robert Downey Jr. based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. This film uses an animation style called "rotoscoping": it was filmed with the actors as a normal live action movie, then painted over with traditional animation techniques. 

• Waltz with Bashir: Based on the graphic novel. A story of the 1982 Lebanon War that blends documentary and drama as a man searches for his lost memories as a soldier. 

• Waking Life: From the director of Boyhood comes this philosophical journey

• Watership Down: The story of a group of rabbits searching for a new home after their home is destroyed by humans. Based on the novel. 

Stop by the Audiovisual desk for more great animated titles. 

It's Spring and Nature Beckons! Check Out A Year of Reading - April 2017: the Natural World

By now, I hope the GPL community is familiar with the Year of Reading 2017 brochure that lists thematic monthly book recommendations. If perchance, you're not, you will find them at the Reader Services desk ready for the taking. Pick up a copy - the year is young!

It's April and as the signs of Spring emerge, my literary thoughts turn to the particular genres of eco-fiction and nature writing. How fortuitous then that the theme for April is The Natural World. There are several titles listed. I've read some of them and maybe you have too. So, I've listed some additional titles that you and I might enjoy as well.





Goodnight, Texas by William J. Cobb
In this novel people struggle to survive job loss, severe over-fishing, and a looming hurricane. A lyrical, romantic, comic, and redemptive story about wanting what you cannot have, love amidst the ruins, survival, connection, and hope.

That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx
Assigned to locate land in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma that can be purchased and converted into pig farms for his employer, Bob Dollar meets the residents of Woolybucket and comes to respect their fierce desire to retain their land.

Anthill by Edward O. Wilson
Presents the adventures of Raff, a modern-day Huck Finn in Alabama, whose love of ants transforms his life and those around him as he fights condo developers intent on destroying an endangered tract of land.

An Inconvenient Truth by Albert Gore
The former vice-president details the factors contributing to the growing climate crisis, describes changes to the environment caused by global warming, and discusses the shift in environmental policy that is needed to avert disaster.

Half-earth by Edward O. Wilson
A conclusion to the trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the National Book Award-finalist The Meaning of Human Existence argues that humanity must consider the histories of millions of other Earth species and increase the planet's regions of natural reserves in order to prevent future mass extinctions.

Age is Just a Number: Novels Featuring Older Adults

The books on this list feature older adults as the main character.  Some of these titles are fun reads featuring older adults who shatter the negative stereotypes that old people are just silly old fools or useless. Many are set in nursing homes or retirement communities and follow the misadventures of quirky and amusing characters. And some of these novels address more serious topics such as; grief, loss, second chances, widowhood, aging, or love and friendship. Great books you'll enjoy no matter what your age!

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cantankerous and quick-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors whose chattiness and habits lead to an unexpected friendship.

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Maude sinks into a confusing world in this riveting psychological mystery written in the voice of an aging woman with Alzheimer’s. She can’t remember what she’s doing or where she is, but she is fixated with one thought–her good friend Elizabeth is missing.

100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

On his 100th birthday, hesitant centenarian Allan Karlsson climbs out the window of his nursing home and embarks on a hysterical and entirely unexpected journey.

Etta and Otto and Russel and James by Emma Hooper

82-year-old Etta has never seen the ocean. One morning she takes a rifle, some chocolate, and her best boots, and begins walking the 3,232 kilometers from rural Saskatchewan to Halifax. Her husband, his oldest friend, who has loved Etta from afar for 60 years, insists on finding her, wherever she's gone.

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

 As Poland falls to the Nazis, Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in San Francisco. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by others, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are torn apart as Ichimei and his family are relocated to internment camps. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forced to hide from the world.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Patrick Phaedra

In this delightful debut, 69-year-old Arthur Pepper stopped engaging with life a year ago, when his wife of 40 years died. But the discovery among her things of a charm bracelet he'd never seen before prompts a quest to discover the origins of the bracelet and all of its charms. 

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Widower Louis Walters is initially thrown when his neighbor Addie suggests they spend time together, in bed, to stave off loneliness, but soon they are sharing confidences and memories.

  

The Little Old Lady Who Broke all the Rules by Catharine Inglelman-Sundberg

Bored with her dull, dreary life in a retirement home, Martha and four of her best friend’s rebel against the rules imposed on them.

This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison

Harriet Chance receives a phone call informing her that her recently deceased husband, Bernard, has won an Alaskan cruise. Deciding to go on the trip, she is given a letter from her close friend Mildred, with instructions not to open it until she is on the cruise. The contents of this letter shatter Harriet and she begins to reexamine her life and her relationships. 

Life After Life by Jill McCorkle

The staff and residents at Fulton, North Carolina's retirement facility, share the realities of their lives, from a successful lawyer who feigns memory loss to escape life with his son, to a woman who keeps a scrapbook of every local crime.

After GHOST IN THE SHELL, try...

Did you see the live-action remake of GHOST IN THE SHELL, starring Scarlett Johansson, this weekend? Here are some movies and books to try after seeing the newest sci-fi blockbuster.

MOVIES

• Ghost in the Shell: While the franchise originally started as a manga, this classic anime is a must-see for both science-fiction and anime fans alike! 
• The Matrix: Urban legend has it that when the Wachowskis pitched their groundbreaking sci-fi action movie to producers, they showed them the Ghost in the Shell anime as their primary inspiration. 
• Appleseed: Another science fiction anime, Appleseed follows a newly recruited female soldier as she begins to see cracks in the "utopia" she lives in. 
• Lucy: Ghost in the Shell isn't Scarlett Johansson's first sci-fi blockbuster! In Lucy, she unlocks the full capacity of her brain power, making this a kinetic and crazy action movie.
• Robocop: More than just another 80's action movie, the original Robocop explores human identity as it becomes fused with advanced technology - just like Ghost in the Shell. 

BOOKS

• Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan: In the first novel of the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy, we're introduced to a world where your consciousness can be downloaded into a new body...making death all but obsolete. Good for mystery fans who want some sci-fi bite to their hard-boiled detective. Soon to be a Netflix series. 
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick: Famously adapted into Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner, Dick's novel takes place in a grim science fiction world where androids look just humans, but are hunted down by the police. 
• Neuromancer, by William Gibson: Often credited with single-handedly creating the "cyberpunk" sub-genre of science fiction, Neuromancer follows a cutting-edge cyber heist. 
• Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami: Prefer your science fiction a little more literary, a little less science-y? Try Murakami's acclaimed exploration of identity as one man delves into a strange vision of Tokyo's underworld. 

Looking for even more? Stop by the Reader Services or Audiovisual desk and talk to a librarian today!