For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] It’s that time of year again, and in a painfully unsettled world, I’m especially thankful for the people I get to work with at Chicago Review of Books and our partner, StoryStudio Chicago. Some are new friends and others I’ve known since I was lucky enough to join the organization. Most of them are in Chicago, of … Read more
[ad_1] The world of Joma West’s debut novel, Face, is one where people can design an unborn baby that someone else delivers. Physical touch has been rendered obsolete. Individuals called menials are “programmed” to serve other people without question. Romantic relationships have evolved into transactional partnerships between people based on personal gain. What’s most compelling … Read more
[ad_1] Take a chill pill” is a harmless enough—albeit rude—imperative: Calm down. Relax. Hush. But the phrase quickly transforms from harmless to insidious with a brief Internet search. Not only can you buy Chill Pills® for “natural relief” from anxiety and insomnia, but “chill pill” is, historically, a slang term for ADHD medication. The phrase … Read more
[ad_1] 17 Books to By Indigenous Authors to Read During Native American Heritage Month It’s easy—especially in the United States—to let commemorative times like Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Native American Heritage Month pass without giving them much thought. Because of the long-lasting narratives of settler colonialism, it’s easy to drift through these times thinking only … Read more
[ad_1] The phrase “conservative critic of US foreign policy” generally has a particular connotation. One imagines a sweaty call for even more bombs, more spending, more muscle against every enemy real and imagined. It is assumed the more force the better, no matter the outcome. That’s not the style of Andrew Bacevich, a long-time critic … Read more
[ad_1] My neighborhood in Fort Worth, TX is undergoing rapid gentrification. It has gone from an industrial area where residents had to dodge tractor trailers to what’s now a commercial, entertainment district. The small, limited, public spaces have been made Instagrammable, and the neighborhood renamed to an easy hashtag. Where early residents lived in old, … Read more
[ad_1] I first met Dionne Irving in a workshop at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and I was impressed not only with her talent but also with her engagement and kindness. I’ve gone on to have the pleasure of publishing her first book, the brilliant historical novel Quint with 7.13 Books in 2021. Dionne is that … Read more
[ad_1] Want author Lynn Steger Strong stretches her scope from the nuclear to the extended family in Flight, a story of adult siblings and their partners and children gathering for Christmas for the first time since their mother’s death. Helen, the recently deceased and seemingly universally beloved matriarch, has passed away just eight months prior, … Read more
[ad_1] “Give me my robe. Put on my crown. I have / Immortal longings in me,” announces Shakespeare’s Cleopatra, in one of her famous—and final—invocations. In Emery Robin’s sweeping space opera, The Stars Undying, Cleopatra’s crucial accessory is not her crown but a pearl-sized computer, alleged to contain the consciousness of Alekso, her god. This … Read more
[ad_1] While award-winning creative flutist, composer, and bandleader Nicole Mitchell Gantt is no longer based in Chicago, she has certainly left a legacy. She was the first woman president of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and founder of the Black Earth Ensemble (BEE), “a musical celebration of the African American cultural … Read more