Top 5 Books “Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape,” Raja Shehadeh (Scribner) “Netherland: A Novel,” Joseph O’Neill (Pantheon) “Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization,” Nicholson Baker (Simon & Schuster) “Sleeping it Off in Rapid City: Poems, New & Selected,” August Kleinzahler (FSG) “A Better Angel: Stories,” Chris Adrian (FSG) —John Freeman
Top 5 Books “The Lazarus Project,” Aleksandar Hemon (Riverhead Books) “Indignation,” Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin) “Lush Life,” Richard Price (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux) “When You are Engulfed in Flames,” David Sedaris (Little Brown and Company) “Crime,” Irvine Welsh (WW Norton & Company) —Tom Lynch
Top 5 Cookbooks Featuring Chicago Chefs “From Our Hearts to Your Table: Favorite Recipes From a Greek American Family,” Dorothy Bezemes (N/A) “Cooking with Les Dames d’ Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink,” Les Dames d’ Escoffier (Sasquatch Books) “The Parthenon Cookbook: Great Mediterranean Recipes from the Heart of Chicago,” Camille Stagg (Agate Surrey) “Alinea,” Grant Achatz (Ten Speed Press) “Market-Fresh Mixology: Cocktails for Every Season,” Bridget Albert with Mary Barranco (Agate Surrey) —Veronica Hinke
Lit 50 2023: Who Really Books In Chicago Our role in the world seems increasingly ephemeral, which is why so many of us take refuge in the endurability of words on paper, whether in novels, poems, essays or biographies. And Chicago's role in the world of literature has never been stronger.
Lit 50 2023: Comics & Kids Books Our role in the world seems increasingly ephemeral, which is why so many of us take refuge in the endurability of words on paper, whether in novels, poems, essays or biographies. And Chicago's role in the world of literature has never been stronger.
The Mother of Good Luck: A Review of Dream Books and Gamblers Elizabeth Schroeder Schlabach takes us to Great Migration-era Chicago. When southern Blacks transplanted to Chicago, fleeing Jim Crow, they first landed and were crowded into the Bronzeville neighborhood. Soon after an informal market of illegal lotteries referred to as “policy” sprung up. Schlabach’s particular focus is Black womanhood in this policy industry.
Lit Top 5: May 2022 Chicago Humanities Spring Festival and American Writers Festival headline an extraordinary month for book lovers and thought leaders.
Lit Top 5: May 2021 From Chicagoski to Fat and Queer, May is full of dynamic events
