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.

Wilco, the local band

Want to get to know Wilco? The alternative rock band, from sweet-home Chicago, just wrapped up a four-night gig at the Chicago Theater. The Chicago Theater is one of my favorite venues. I love the vintage feel and there really isn't a bad seat in the house, plus I love going downtown. If you are a fan or want to get to know them better, check out what we have. Don't forget you can also download music with your library card using Hoopla.

Schmilco  2016

Star Wars 2015

(The Album) 2009
Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014

What's Your 20?: Essential Tracks 1994-2014

The Whole Love Deluxe edition 2011

Sky Blue Sky 2007

Kicking Television 2005

A Ghost Is Born 2004 

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2002

Summerteeth 1999

Historical Fiction Set in the Windy City

What the Lady Wants by Renee Rosen
In late-nineteenth-century Chicago, visionary tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto, "Give the lady what she wants." His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer and led to an infamous love affair.

Last Night At the Blue Angel by Rebecca Rotert
A highly ambitious and stylish literary debut set against the 1960's Chicago jazz scene about a talented but troubled singer's heartbreaking relationship with her precocious ten-year-old daughter.

Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon
A tale spanning the years between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the end of World War I features characters who are caught up in such events as the labor troubles of Colorado, the Mexican revolution, and the heyday of silent-movie Hollywood.

Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
After sending their men off to fight in the war, sisters Kitty and Louise Heaney join their flirtatious younger sister, Tish, in writing letters to servicemen overseas, in a study of life during World War II from the perspective of the young men on the battlefield and the women left behind on the home front.

The Jazz Palace by Mary Morris 
The son of a grieving Jewish family in jazz age Chicago impresses patrons of a mob-controlled saloon with his piano talents, which become subject to a changing music era, his need to survive, and exacting mob demands.

Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Set during the era after the Civil War, three people who have each come to Chicago in search of a new life struggle to overcome the pain of the past and define their own future as a divided nation tries to come together once again in the bitter aftermath of a terrible, bloody war and lay the pain of the past to rest .

The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
This story, alternating between turn-of-the-century Chicago and modern times, features a man attempting to re-imagine the death of a Jewish immigrant.

Orchid Fever

It's dreary out and it seems Winter will never end. Break out of your rut by getting a taste of Spring with a bit of orchid fever.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is having their Orchid Show until March 15, 2015. While you're waiting for your day to go, take a look at these titles that will get you eager to view the delicate beauties.

Orchid Fever: a Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy by Eric Hansen might be the place to start. Hansen does a great job exploring the local and international world of orchid hunters and scientists who are working to save endangered orchids. Each chapter is a different element of the tale of how these plants have grabbed a hold of man's desires.

Next, go to the classic tale of The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. This book started as a series of essays in the New Yorker, and takes us from eccentric orchid growers in Florida, to treasure hunters who seek new and rare orchids.  A delightful story of the community of orchid lovers.

After visiting the Botanic Garden, you may be inspired to try to care for your own orchids. A good title to start with is Orchids Are Easy: a Beginner's Guide to Their Care and Cultivation by Tom Gilland. And there are many other orchid care titles and identifying guides available to check out.

If you can't make it for the Orchid Show, try one of the other greenhouses in the Chicago area. The Garfield Park Conservatory has a lovely collection of ferns and other fauna, and the Lincoln Park Conservatory has an orchid house as well.  Or you can wait for the Chicago Flower and Garden Show coming up on March 14, 2015 to catch a whiff a spring.

Or if it is only orchids that you crave, try visiting Orchids by Hausermann. It is a family run greenhouse in Addison, IL. Their experts will show you the orchid grower's perspective.

Enjoy getting a taste of spring.

Thirty-first Annual Chicago Blues Festival

If your plans for this weekend are not yet finalized, you might want to consider going to the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park. Drop in on Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday to enjoy the music of everyone from the Carolina Chocolate Drops to Aaron Neville and Dr. John. The schedule and locations for the performers can be found at the following website:

http://www.choosechicago.com/things-to-do/chicago-events/chicago-blues-festival

If you want to read books about blues artists, try one of these:

Fiction with a Blues Theme

Walter Mosley – RL's Dream (1995)

Ace Atkins – Leavin' Trunk Blues (2000)

Robert Hellenga – Blues Lessons: A Novel (2002)

Andre Dubus III – Bluesman (2006)

Deborah Grabien – Graceland (2011)

Non-fiction With a Blues Theme

Daniel Beaumont – Preachin’ the Blues: the Life and Times of Son House (2011)

Timothy O’Brien – Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin’Hopkins (2012)

Buddy Guy – When I Left Home: My Story (2012)

John Milward  - Crossroads:How the Blues Shaped Rock ‘n’ Roll (and Rock Saved the Blues) (2013)

Don't forget to check at the Audio-Visual desk for related DVDs and CDs.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

September, October. Summer is winding down, the days and evenings are getting cooler. It's time for the Monsters of the Midway and the Junkyard Dogs to come out of hibernation.

We've come a long way since those days, and for those who were not around then, you can watch Chicago Bears, The Complete History - a 2 disc DVD which  includes the story of the 1985 world champion Chicago Bears.

          Other DVDs to watch are: A Tradition of Defense, Soldier on the C, and Chicago Bears 2006 NFC Champions.

           And then there's Brian's Song, the fictionalized story of the real-life friendship between Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers.

            If nothing else, watch The Super Bowl Shuffle, a video that was recorded by the 1985 Chicago Bears. They were the first team to do this, and many others subsequently followed, but none to the same level of success and popularity.
            Another season, new hope!
           

Summertime, Summertime

It's finally summer! The warm weather is here and school's out, so is it time for some rest and relaxation?  Will it be off to Europe, a road trip,  the beach, or somewhere close? If a '"staycation" is it, there are plenty of places to visit right here in our neighborhood. Be a tourist at home. For ideas, the following DVDs can help you discover places to visit right in your own backyard!

The following explores the architectural and historical treasures of Chicago:

7 Wonders of Chicago

Chicago's Lakefront

Chicago by Boat

Chicago by L

If you don't want to go to Chicago, then check out the following: Fox River Valley and Chain O'Lakes, Chicago's North Shore, and Northwest of Chicago.

Last but not least, do you want to spend a day at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Botanic Garden, or Morton Arboretum to name a few? Because you are a GPL library cardholder, you will be eligible for a Museum Adventure Pass to one of these attractions.  For more information, please visit http://www.museumadventure.org/ and next time you're at the Library, stop by the Reader Services Desk.

Whatever you do, enjoy the summer!

Waiting for the new Erik Larson book?

In the Garden of Beasts is the new book by the author of The Devil in the White City and is looking as though it will be another non-fiction bestseller. If you find yourself on the waiting list for this book at the library, here are several other suggestions you may enjoy if you like non-fiction that reads like fiction.

Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott

Set at the dawn of the 20th century, Abbott tells the story of two sisters, Ada and Minna Everleigh, and the opulent brothel they opened in Chicago.

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

After murdering his wife, Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen tries to escape to the US via ship, but his plan is foiled due to the newest wireless technology used on board.

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

The true story of how the director of the Warsaw Zoo sheltered over 300 Jews and Polish resisters in the zoo during the Nazi occupation.

A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger

The author of A Perfect Storm revisits the Boston Strangler case and it's connection to a murder that took place in his hometown of Belmont in which a Black man was wrongly convicted.

Lyric Opera of Chicago's New Director

The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced on April 20, 2011, that they will have a new director in October. Anthony Freud, general dirctor and CEO of the Houston Grand Opera, will succeed William Mason. He became Houston's third general dirctor and the company's first CEO in March 2006. Previous to that he was the general director of the Welsh National Opera from 1994 to 2005.

Mr. Freud has served on the juries of many international singing competitions and chaired the jury of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. From 1992 to 1994, he lived in Holland and was the Executive Producer for Philips Classics.

Mr. Freud graduated, with honors, with a law degree from the University of London King's College in 1978 and became a lawyer in 1979. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Chairman of Opera Europa.

"I am one of the few people who can honestly say they are earning their living by pursuing their passion," Freud said. He will begin his post in October 2011.

Murder, Chicago Style

Chicago has always had the reputation for being a tough, rough-and-tumble town, complete with tough politicians, tough cops and tough crooks. Numerous mysteries have been written in recent years that have reflected the city’s gritty reputation while also showcasing the many faces of Chicago as a backdrop for their stories.

Here are a few suggestions for anyone looking for a Chicago-based mystery story:

Trigger City by Sean Chercover

Unable to believe police reports that blame a mentally ill co-worker for his daughter's murder, a retired army intelligence colonel hires Ray Dudgeon to discern the truth, triggering a confrontation between the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Terror Town by Stuart Kaminsky

Detective Abe Lieberman works to discover a common link between a baseball player whose career has been cut short by tragedy, a religious fanatic who employs unorthodox conversion methods, and a murdered single mother.

Close Call by John McEvoy

Jack Doyle is hired as the publicity director at Monee Park, a struggling race track owned by Celia McCann. Doyle soon discovers that Celia is being threatened by thugs who are pressuring her to sell the valuable property to real estate developers.

Well Read and Dead by Catherine O’Connell

After a long, decadent European vacation, widowed Chicago socialite Pauline Cook returns to learn she's lost nearly $20 million in bad investments, Air France lost her Louis Vuitton luggage, and her best friend, Whitney, who's been taking care of her precious cat, Fleur, has vanished. Whitney's grief-stricken husband offers Pauline a multimillion-dollar reward to find Whitney, taking the daring amateur sleuth all the way to Thailand and Vietnam.

Person of Interest by Theresa Schwegel

Her marriage to Craig, an undercover Chicago cop, cracking under the stress of his job, Leslie McHugh launches her own investigation when $1000 mysteriously vanishes from their joint bank account and Craig cannot provide an explanation.

City of the Absent by Robert W. Walker

As the great Chicago Exposition of 1893 draws to a close, the city is rocked by the assassination of its mayor. Meanwhile, Inspector Alastair Ransom launches his own investigation into the brutal killing of Nell Hartigan, a Pinkerton agent posing as a prostitute, to find an unspeakable murderer preying on the city's most vulnerable--and disposable--citizens.

The Last Striptease by Michael Wiley

Sick of violence, Chicago private detective Joe Kozmarski reluctantly agrees to assist Judge Rifkin, who wants him to investigate his assistant, Bob Piedras, the prime suspect in the murder of his lover. The case becomes complicated by the judge's murder and the disappearance of Piedras.

Chicago Tribune's "Printers Row"

What better way to keep track of book related news, reviews and events, than the Books section of the Chicago Tribune which has recently been redesigned to Printers Row! You can check out the online blog version of Printers Row on the Chicago Tribune website. It's a great source for local literary events including author signings, awards, reviews, book clubs and major events. Twitter fans can also follow them at ChiTribBooks. For those hardcore book lovers, you might also want to check out the Books section of The New York Times, which is worth bookmarking in your favorite book related sites, as well!

Print editions for both Printers Row and The New York Times Book Review are kept at our Reader Services Desk, on the desk counter which has our new "Readers Shelf" display.

Write on, Chicago

Chicago writers don’t necessarily need Bristish literary magazine Granta’s approval of the city’s rich literary history, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. In fact, it actually feels pretty good. It’s welcome attention that recognizes Chicago’s cultural significance in a month when the 2016 Olympic Bid is daily front page news. American editor John Freeman chose Chicago over other themes for the next issue because “right now, Chicago is having a real cultural movement”. The issue arrives in mid-September but you can get a head start and check out some of the featured authors (Aleksandar Hemon, Stuart Dybek, Sandra Cisneros, Alex Kotlowitz) now at the library.

Introducing "Chicago" from Granta magazine on Vimeo.

Hangin' with the Fruit Bats

I’m not sure where The Fruits Bats are hanging out these days, but they are often figured as a Chicago band (OK, Eric Johnson's from here, but hasn't lived here in a while. Maybe?). They certainly have plenty of ties to these parts, and while main Bat Eric D. Johnson may be well traveled, spending time in bands in San Francisco (Vetiver) and Seattle (Factums), you get the feeling he likes it here when he sings on album’s third song, “I’m heading back to the place that makes sense to me, my heart belongs to the snow, Buffalo and Chicago”. Ruminant Band was recorded in Chicago and it's The Fruit Bats 3rd album overall and first since 2003’s Spelled in Bones. What do they sound like? The Fruit Bats music is often compared to The Shins, which makes a lot of sense given Johnson spends time playing in that band too. But rather than the 60s inflected, moody, folk-pop that the Shins employ, the songs on Ruminant Band choogle with a laid-back authority that’s grafted to the sonic bones of The Band, the Allman Brothers, and 70s AM radio in all the best possible ways. Califone’s (another nod to Chicago) Tim Rutilli even lays down a guest vocal on one track. If you like The Shins, or the last couple of Wilco records, do yourself a favor and check out The Fruit Bats.