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  • BOOK REVIEW, SIGNING: New author Ma Ling hones ‘Apocalypse Office’ genre in dark comic novel

    Candace Chen’s life is so much about chaos and loss that she finds solace and satisfaction in her job coordinating the sourcing of materials and production of Bibles. It’s a job that entails such minutiae as making sure there’s a supplier for the crushed gems which decorate a specific best-selling Bible even though many of…

  • Brian Gruley’s Bleak Harbor

                Life is indeed bleak for many of the town’s residents in Bryan Gruley’s newest mystery, Bleak Harbor (Thomas & Mercer 2018; $24.95). Carey Peters’ autistic son is missing, lured away by the offer of a milkshake and his mother and stepfather need to come up with $5.145 million to get him back.  Carey, frantic…

  • Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home

    When six-year-old Gonker, a much loved family pet decided to do some typical canine spontaneous off-site exploring when navigating the Appalachian Trail with his owner Fielding Marshall, he was expected to shortly return. But after a while, though repeatedly calling the six-year old Golden Retriever’s name, Marshall began to worry that his dog was lost.…

  • Chicago by the Book: 101 Publications That Shaped the City and Its Image

    The Caxton Club of Chicago, founded in 1895, has dedicated itself to the field of book arts—the creation of volumes using the structural, creative and craft disciplines such as design, typography, printing, papermaking and bookbinding needed to produce books that are more than readable; they’re also beautiful works of art.             The little-known organization has…

  • Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious

    I had never heard of hummusiyas before reading Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook (Rue Martin Books 2018; $35). It turns out word refers to the numerous restaurants in Israel specializing in hummus (who knew, right?).  The two authors, who own several award winning restaurants include Zahav (they won a…

  • The page-turning book about how Rocky Wirtz turned the Blackhawks into winners

    I’ve only been to a few hockey games — always under duress — but that didn’t keep me from reading “The Breakaway: The Inside Story of the Wirtz Family Business and the Chicago Blackhawks,” well into the night. Typically I don’t expect sports books to be page-turners, but Bryan Smith, a two-time winner and six-time…

  • Book review, signing: New book offers fresh take on Gary/Chicago resident, Nelson Algren

    Mary Wisniewski was a college student when she first discovered the writings of Chicago writer Nelson Algren. “Many of his books were set in Wicker Park where my family was from which intrigued me,” says Wisniewski, noting that though Algren’s novels are about shady characters, drug addicts, grifters, drifters and those on the margins of…

  • Goodreads Giveaway for Lincoln Road Trip: The Back Roads Guide to America’s Favorite President

    Indiana University Press is running a Goodreads giveaway for my new book Lincoln Road Trip (due out this spring) from now until December 19th. If anyone is interested, here is the link:https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/286632-lincoln-road-trip America’s favorite president sure got around. From his time as a child in Kentucky, as a lawyer in Illinois, and all the way…

  • Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg

                It’s a dark world at times and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg feels compelled to make it just a little nicer through her novels. In her latest, Night of Miracles (Random House 2018; $26) she takes us back toMason, Missouri, an imaginary town where kindness reigns and there are happy endings.            …

  • Bill Kim “Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill inSeven Sauces”

                My friend  Kimiyo Naka asked if I’d like to interview Bill Kim, a Chicago chef/ restaurateur and James Beard Award nominee who had a new cookbook out on grilling Korean-style who would be doing a demonstration at the Japan Pavilion at this year’s National Restaurant Association. I’ve wanted to…