Results tagged “childrenfirst”

The art of the postcard is a delicate thing. How does one evoke the entirety of a place, a mood, and the very essence of travel into a tiny block of text with a picture on the front? From the "thinking of you" sentimental to the "wish you were here" silliness, most often they miss the point. We come away happy for sharing, but ultimately lost on the breadth of travel in the brevity of a postcard.

blog on the New York Times. Convinced you need to know her?

We love stories of people donning an outfit and going into the world undercover. Remember when Tyra put on a fat suit? Maybe Tyra should put on a “normal person” suit and see what that’s like? Just an idea. Piggybacking off of John Howard Griffin and more recently, Barbara Ehrenreich, former Los Angeles Times columnist, Norah Vincent, left her job and went undercover as a man for a year and a half. For her book,...

Now that it's cool to live in Andersonville again, some local politicians are mulling over a proposed ordinance that would ban chain retailers and restaurants from opening up shop in designated business districts and historic neighborhoods. The idea is that by freezing out the Starbucks and Borders of the world, hoods like Andersonville can retain their charm by favoring places like the Kopi Cafe and the Women and Children First Bookstore. The ordinance hasn't yet been introduced to the City Council, and if it were to pass, qualifying neighborhoods could opt in or out of the so-called "formula retail" ban.

Jane Hamilton’s new book, “When Madeline Was Young,” begins with the unfortunate knowledge that there is no more waiting, the other shoe has definitely dropped.

You know Alpana Singh from the show "Check Please!" and from constantly being reminded that at the age of 26 she was the youngest woman to be inducted into the Court of Master Sommeliers. But did you know she also just wrote a book, "Alpana Pours: About Being a Woman, Loving Wine, and Having Great Relationships"? We're told that the main focus of the book is wine, of course, but it's also "peppered with off-the-cuff...

Maybe we’re old fashioned. Maybe we‘re frustrated or tired. Or maybe, we’re just not getting it.

Lately, we’ve been seeing the name Alison Bechdel everywhere. Every time we look at the book reviews, her name keeps popping up, Bechdel, Bechdel, everywhere a Bechdel.

You know those days when your life adds up to nothing? When you scan your years, and you see nothing but incoherent days and inebriated nights? When your creative mind is as empty as a Pabst Blue Ribbon at 6:00 in the morning? Well, if you happen to be having one of those days today, you might want to stop reading. When we checked out the website for freelance writer Elaine Soloway, we became overwhelmed...

English writer Julian Barnes will read from his novel, Arthur and George, which is based on actual events in the life of Sherlock Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Okay, so it’s fiction about a real guy. That’s still fiction, okay?) Chicagoist has heard stories about Doyle that rival those of his character, Holmes, and can’t wait to get our hands on this mystery novel.

Here's the thing: anytime we hear the term "chick lit," our head starts spinning and we feel a little queasy. We're not sure what to think of a marketing strategy that degrades both the product and the (female, natch) reader and yet is somehow wildly successful. Frankly, we're inclined to ignore it, but the terminology just pisses us off. Which is why we're pretty fired up about tonight's Chick Lit Panel Discussion at Women and Children First. Especially since the alleged "coiner of the term" will be participating in the event hosted by Anne Holub of Gapers Block and including the aforementioned Cris Mazza as well as Jessa Crispin of Bookslut, Nina Barrett of Women and Children First, and our very own Erin Shea. Can we say smackdown?

Please excuse us; we can't help but be exclamatory: stop by the Chicagoist Happy Hour on Thursday, and this will be your one good excuse to leave early. Author, radio personality, and all-around legendary Chicagoan Studs Terkel will be at Women and Children First Thursday at 7:30 to talk about his new book: And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey.

earlier this week, and we admire her eloquence and thoughfulness about her writing. She reads--both in her writing and her spoken reading--like a poet, which makes for a great bookstore event. See for yourself at Women & Children First tonight at 7:30.

Chicagoist will be the first to admit that we often prefer a quiet night with a book or magazine over a rollicking party where we have to, like, interact with real people. We comfort ourselves with the notion that the partiers are missing out on our glorious literary knowledge, but might we be missing out on something ourselves? Well, for those of us book nerds who never get out, and those of you crazy party...

When Chicagoist tried out for the freshman girls' basketball team in high school and somebody asked if we always shot with two hands, we pretty much made the decision right then and there to just stick with track and cross country. As such, we find it difficult to imagine walking our little blonde-in-the-summertime white-girl self around Chicago looking for pickup ball games. And as such, we find the premise of Melissa King's She's Got Next:...

Chicagoist was looking for something literary to do this week, and stumbled upon a couple of readings of Colleen Curran's first novel, Whores on the Hill. We read the blurb at Women & Children First--young women at the last all-girls high school in Milwaukee in the 80's: the sex, the drinking, the drugs--and have to admit that we were a little turned off. We were super nerds in high school (and, yes, beyond) and lacked...