In 1924, Peter Levant’s opened what was one of Whiting’s famous “perch palaces,” a place that served freshly caught perch right from Lake Michigan. They also advertised such menu items as steak, chicken, and, of course, this being The Region, frog legs—mostly likely from nearby Lake George. Indeed, frog legs were so in…
Category: Author event
Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy and His Family
Melissa Shapiro could have said no when asked to foster a deaf, blind, and traumatized puppy. After all, Shapiro, a veterinarian with a busy practice already had six rescue dogs, a husband and three college-aged children in her home. She certainly didn’t have the time, energy, or room to take on a highly anxious…
Kill All Your Darlings: A New Mystery by David Bell
In David Bell’s newest mystery, “Kill All Your Darlings,” Connor Nye’s life is rapidly deteriorating. Indeed, the college professor, who is still mourning the death of his wife and son five years earlier, knows he might not make tenure unless he publishes something quick. Lost in grief, it’s an impossible task. But fate seems to…
Mark Bittman: Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal
Mark Bittman never does anything in a small way. His cookbooks typically run some 600 pages and have titles like “The Best Recipes in the World,” and his ten-book “How to Cook” series such as “How to Cook Everything Fast,” “How to Bake Everything” and “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.” They’re so pack full of…
Chicago Writer Takes Us Back to the Gilded Age in New Novel
Chicago author Renee Rosen is again taking us on a trip to the past. In her previous novels, she’s explored the city’s jazz roots (Windy City Blues), the Chicago Fire and the founding of the city’s iconic department stores (What the Lady Wants: A Novel of Marshall Field and the Gilded Age), and Prohibition-era…
The Women of Chateau Lafayette
“It’s amazing how women get lost in history,” says Stephanie Dray, the New York Times bestselling author of The Women of Chateau Lafayette. “I want to tell their stories.” At first, the story she was going to tell was that of Beatrice Chanler, a success London actress with a troubled marriage who received…
WIN! By Harlan Coben
He’s incredibly handsome, impeccably dressed, totally urbane, interested only in no-strings relationships, and so amazingly rich that it’s hard to remember when anyone in his family has ever worked besides, that is, practicing their golf swings. Of course, Windsor “Win” Horne Lockwood III is totally obnoxious or would be if he didn’t recognize and make…
TMI: My Life in Scandal by Perez Hilton
The phone call from Perez Hilton came two days earlier than planned. “He can do it now instead,” his assistant emailed me on Wednesday. I was totally unprepared. Hilton’s autobiography, “TMI: My Life in Scandal” (Chicago Review Press) — the one we’re supposed to talk about — sat unread on my desk. Thinking “right now”…
Virtual Book Event: Ask Me Anything with True Crime Authors
Log on to Reddit on Saturday August 22nd at 4:30 p.m. for “Ask Me Anything with True Crime Authors,” featuring four best selling authors who will be answering your questions live! Submit your question about writing, work, real-life crimes, cover-ups, covert operations, all-time favorite snacks, and anything in between and read through responses as the…
The Herd
As Katie, Hana and other staff members of The Herd attempt to discover what happened to Eleanor, their missing boss, they unearth secrets not only about her but each other. It seems that everyone had something to hide.
