After visiting the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library over the holidays, I thought it might behoove me to celebrate my fellow Hoosier with a little notice in this blog. Vonnegut wrote several books, none of them very long, and if you like them, I have others to recommend to you. Slaughterhouse-Five: Or The Children's Crusade, A Duty-Dance…
In Memoriam
By Maria
The world lost many great writers, artists and performers in 2014. Whether through their written words or performances on stage and screen, they entertained, inspired and gave joy to many. Let's take a moment as we come to the end of another year to remember them. Maya Angelou Lauren Bacall Shirley Temple Black Roberto Gomez Bolanos…
Happy December…Dark Seasonal Reads
By sgissy
I'm probably not the only contrarian who gets a little blue in dreary December. To satisfy your inner miserablist streak, why not try some of these dark reads to match the rapidly encroaching darkness outside? Tenth of December is a bleak but often hilarious collection of short stories blending the mundane and the surreal. George Saunders…
Great Minds Think Alike
By Jeff
Great minds have never thought alike. They have a bad habit of thinking for themselves, and when you put two really smart people in the same room, sparks are bound to fly. It's fun finding out what happens when geniuses collide. Alfred Hitchcock rarely opened up to journalists or fans, but he did open up to famed French New…
Light a Candle for Kwanzaa
By Jason Driver
This time of year is all about creating shared memories with loved ones through holiday traditions. If you don't have a special cultural or familial holiday tradition, it's never too late to start one. Why not partake in the nearly 50-year-old tradition of Kwanzaa, a harvest festival of first fruits? Anybody can celebrate Kwanzaa; it's fun for the…
The Great Lakes Naval Arms Race
By Lyle
Two hundred years ago today, on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, officially ending of the War of 1812. The War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain was a minor part of the worldwide Napoleonic Wars. Largely forgotten nowadays, fierce naval battles and a strange naval arms race took place on…
Nothing Like a Dame: Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench has recently released a new book of photos and anecdotes from her long career: Behind the Scenes. The photographs are both publicity shots and ones from Dench's private collection, documenting both her professional and personal life. The most striking thing I learned from this book was that as a young actor, a…
Perseverance is Triumph: Lalita Tademy
Lalita Tademy used to have a high-powered job at Sun Microsystems before delving into her genealogy, leading to three books (so far) imagining her family's history. The results are historical novels that tell of little-known parts of the American narrative, which we forget to our peril. All three family sagas are moving, atmospheric, and accurate down to the smallest…
Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
By Katie
Even though we've had our hats, scarves, gloves and coats out for a while, the first day of winter is finally here! Winter officially begins on December 21, a day that is called the Winter Solstice because it has the shortest amount of daylight. Here in Chicago, winters can be extremely cold, but that doesn't…
Once Upon a Christmas
By Evelyn
There is no time like the holidays to cuddle up with classic Christmas stories. I still remember when I first saw A Christmas Carol as a young girl. Seeing Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol this month gave me the same thrill. Wanting to continue that magic, I was inspired to re-read this classic Dickens tale. Though there…
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