Memoirous

I need to start this entry with an admission: I have not read a single Ann Patchett book. I have heard her name come up in literary circles for over a decade and it is “on my list.” FredShafer uses her material in his workshops at  OCWW , but I just haven’t gotten around to reading Bel Canto, The Commonwealth, and—now, The Dutch House. I moonlight At Wilson Abbey an event space and especially show up for book events put on by The Book Cellar and Women and Children First, as well as book launches held there. As much as I’ve decried buying more books, I am packing out my shelves more than ever. Back to Ann Patchett who had a Chicago appearance to support The Dutch House at Wilson Abbey last week. I wanted to hear this woman that everyone talks about so glowingly. There were 350 people in the auditorium. I stood in the back. When she came on at exactly 7 pm she apologized for being late??? Then told us that she’d missed an earlier flight and had to take the next one out o...

Sooooooo I’m honestly flattened, knocked for a loop. I want to walk the middle of the road so as not to put off readers or get people twisted up. The Cubs, the White Sox, the Bears, the Packers, North and South, and, dare I say their names, Hillary and Trump. We all knew someone was going to lose and someone was going to win. We just all hoped it would be us, the other guy’s pain, not ours. Last night, this campaign will forever go down in history, in collective memory, as a bad nightmare. I have friends on many sides of the aisle. On Facebook I read posts thanking Jesus to others where the F-word showed up, with a few others. I care about all of you. I care about the future, my daughter, the economy (which just crashed), foreign policy. There is a lot that I wish could change. I wish for a do-over. This morning I was tired. Really really tired. A good friend passed away last evening. He enjoyed walks in the park and last night he walked down to a bench, sat down, an...

THIS SATURDAY: May 2, is Independent Bookstore Day. There are book giveaways and raffles held throughout the day PLUS each store will be able to start 10 people collecting an exclusive story written by Stuart Dybek and illustrated by Dmitry Samarov. This story is limited to 120 copies total. Open Books River North: 1 pm- Book signing and cheesecake samples with Jo A. Kaucher (author of THE NEW CHICAGO DINER COOKBOOK) and Micky Hornick of The Chicago Diner Powell's Bookstore University Village: 12 pm- In-store reading with Blue Balliett in celebration of her new book, PIECES AND PLAYERS 7 pm- In-store reading with Audrey Niffenegger Women and Children First: 10:30 am- Storytime with Miss Linda Specially baked samples from Mindy Segal's new book COOKIE LOVE Signed copies of Aleksandar Hemon's new novel ZOMBIE WARS   Women & Children First in Andersonville! Unabridged Bookstore: 12 pm- Book ...

Forget about unrest in the Middle East and people protesting in the squares-- what about Borders Bookstore Inc filing for bankruptcy? I'm sure my friend Linda Buben at Women & Children First (THE feminist bookstore in Chicago) is going like Touche! under her breath.