For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Welcome to another installment of a collaboration between the Chicago Review of Books and the Your Favorite Book podcast. Malavika Praseed, frequent CHIRB contributor and podcast host, seeks to talk to readers and writers about the books that light a fire inside them. What’s your favorite book and why? Our guest this week is … Read more
[ad_1] When we select a book from the shelf and open its pristine pages, we might believe the process of producing that book was smooth, even dreamy. We might imagine the author sat down, and the words arrived to her perfectly formed, the characters coherent, the plot sure-footed. Sara Lippmann would likely disagree with you. … Read more
[ad_1] They say that time is money and that fiction is time. Does that mean that money is fiction as well? What measures a good book about work? With Halloween upon us, can one imagine a greater work of horror than the collected emails of a corporate fraud artist like Enron’s “Kenny Boy” Lay? Christine … Read more
[ad_1] Fatima Ali was a rising star. A celebrity chef featured on the reality contests Chopped and Top Chef, Ali aspired to open the eyes and mouths of American diners to Pakistani flavors. But in 2017, at the age of twenty-nine, she was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, and soon after passed … Read more
[ad_1] Short story author and novelist Elizabeth McCracken has just published a book, The Hero of This Story, in which the main character is Natalie Jacobson McCracken, educator, writer, and former editor-in-chief of Boston University alumni magazine, Bostonia. Elizabeth herself is the narrator of this novel. And, also, the daughter of Natalie. In the novel. … Read more
[ad_1] Vanessa A. Bee’s debut memoir opens with a passport replacement appointment at the French consulate in Washington, D.C. “Where are you from?” the consulate guard asks Bee. Home Bound: An Uprooted Daughter’s Reflections on Belonging, a meditative and captivating examination of the layers that make up a home, is Bee’s answer to this question. … Read more
[ad_1] It’s Not Nothing is the kind of novel that you can’t help but to savor. Every sentence, every turn of phrase is liable to catch you off guard—knock you off center—crack you up or kill you. In it, protagonist Rosemary Candwell shuffles in and out of bars, hourly jobs, and institutions, trying to grasp … Read more
[ad_1] In its long and popular history with writing, the term “craft” and its associates—“toolbox,” “workshop,” “mechanics”—have always looked somewhat incongruous. Rather than bring the poet to mind, they evoke the technician or the engineer, paring back emotional intimacy in favor of writing’s nuts and bolts. Think of Kurt Vonnegut charting plot on a blackboard … Read more
[ad_1] In this heartfelt and bracing debut, Ramona Reeves renders the complex lives of the people of Mobile, Alabama, in all their pursuits and struggles. It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories presents a memorable account of a community through the intimate lens of their relationships, addictions, longings, and fears. Reeves excellently sets the … Read more
[ad_1] The Chicago Review of Books is proud to announce the shortlist for the 2022 CHIRBy Awards! Now in its seventh year, the CHIRBy Awards recognizes the best fiction, nonfiction, and short essays that feature Chicago and our strong literary community. Eligible titles include works published between September 1, 2021 and September 1, 2022 that … Read more