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Before the Fall: A Riveting Mystery by Noah Hawley
A Great Beach Read! I wasn’t sure that I’d like Noah Hawley’s “Before the Fall”(Grand Central 2016; $26) because I already knew it involved a plane crash and that didn’t sound too appealing. But this mystery about a rich media titan and his family and friends is so absorbing, I kept turning the pages way after…
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Adult-ish: Record Your Highs and Lows on the Road to the Real World by Cristina Vanko
At 27, Cristina Vanko began to feel herself metamorphosing into adulthood — at least in some ways. “Adulthood was a topic of conversation among my friends who were doing all these movement things towards being adults — they were getting real jobs, getting married and moving away,” says Vanko, the author of the just released “Adult-ish:…
Jane Simon Ammeson
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Chicago’s Fabulous Fountains by Greg Borzo with photos by Julia Thiel
Hiding in plain sight, Chicago’s many fountains are gems of art, history, politics and culture, their stories often overlooked. Sure we all know Buckingham Fountain and the Crown Fountain in Millennial Park. But what about the Nelson Algren Fountain at Division Street and Ashland and Milwaukee avenues which was opposed by the Polish community and many…
Jane Simon Ammeson
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Testimony by Scott Turow
More than 30 years ago, Scott Turow released his first legal mystery, Presumed Innocent, a best seller that soon had any lawyer with a modicum of writing ability penning novels. Since then, Turow, a Chicago attorney, has continued to specialize in complex, multi-faceted books about the legal scene in scene in Kindle County—think Cook County.…
Jane Simon Ammeson
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Into the Water: A New Thriller by Paula Hawkins
Paula Hawking, author of the international best-selling The Girl on the Train, which was translated into 40 languages and made into a movie, will be in Chicago next Friday, May 19 to talk about her newest book, Into the Water (Riverhead Books 2017; $A tense, psychological thriller told from the different viewpoints of all those…
Jane Simon Ammeson
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Fabio Viviani: Fabio’s 30-Minute Italian
“Good cooking and a lot of flavor don’t have to take a lot of time,” says Fabio Viviani, chef, restauranteur and TV personality, explaining why he wrote Fabio’s 30-Minute Italian (St. Martin’s 2017; $27.99), his beautifully photographed cookbook filled with wonderfully accessible recipes. “The whole premise is easy.” Viviani, who grew up in Florence, Italy,…
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King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World
For her new book King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World (Alfred A. Knopf 2017; $35), Joan Nathan, the multiple James Beard award winner, followed in the footsteps of Jewish traders as they circumvented the globe centuries and even millenniums ago. As they traveled, they brought the food cultures…
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Matt Moore’s Secrets to Good BBQ
When it comes to barbecue, geography is everything. That according to Matt Moore, author of the recently released “The South’s Best Butts: Pitmaster Secrets for Southern Barbecue Perfection.” He explains how barbecue differs in the 12 southern states he calls the Barbecue Belt. And just to end the suspense, Indiana is definitely not one of…
Jane Simon Ammeson
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My Cubs: A Love Story by Scott Simon
Change is an important part of life says Scott Simon, now a devoted husband and father who at one time was happy being single and childless. But for Simon, the award winning host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, there’s one change that’s just not going to happen. Enamored (or should we say obsessed) with the…
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Marisol Murano’s Valentina Goldman Books Now Available as Audiobooks
When Marisol Murano’s first novel Valentina Goldman’s Immaculate Confusion hit the shelves five years ago, readers were delighted at her heroine’s brash and completely unique voice that shone through in every short and sweet chapter. Reading the book is a lot like gossiping with your best friend–if your best friend is a no-holds-barred Latina who has recently…
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