There are lots of art-related talks this week, plus the Smart Museum of Art opens its much-buzzed-about show, Feast. more ›

Hint for "Around Town" contributors: photographs of the Harold Washington Library will always be considered for inclusion. It's certainly one of our favorite photography subjects. We just find the building from the architecture firm of Hammond, Beeby and Babka (now known as Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge, Inc.) to be one of the underrated gems of downtown. We can pass by the Washington Library twice a day and find something new about it we hadn't noticed before. more ›

Running down a few of the great literary events going on around the city over the next couple of days. Check out more inside. more ›

Tomorrow evening at the Harold Washington Library, author Jonathan Safran Foer will speak about and sign copies his new book, Eating Animals. more ›

Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State, 9th Floor more ›

We hope some of you got a chance to go to something at the Chicago Book Festival last week, but if not, here’s your chance. Our take on the second week: Jeffrey Toobin, CNN’s senior legal analyst, discusses and signs his newest book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, and maybe adds a few pointers for broke Chicagoists. Monday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m., Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., Cindy... more ›

Now that the Cubs are in the playoffs, want to convert? Or maybe you've been a Cubs fan but need to brush up on your trivia skills? Tonight, authors Glenn Stout, of the Best American Sports series, and Richard A. Johnson, the curator of the New England Sports Museum, present their latest collaboration, The Cubs: The Complete Story of Chicago Cubs Baseball, at Harold Washington Library. The Cubs details Cubs history covering such items as... more ›

Well, we've been hearing about Looptopia for awhile. A big overnight festival held in the Loop, blah blah. We didn't think too much about it. We pretty much dismiss the Loop after 5 p.m. and give it up for lost on the weekends. Looptopia is obviously working hard to change all that. It's going on this Friday through early Saturday morning and since we're going to be down there, we decided to check out the... more ›

As if the gorgeous weather wasn't enough reason to call out sick for the week, Columbia College give you another with its 11th annual Story Week: Cities of Words. Sunday kicked off the week of words with an alumni reading, and Monday's reading by Anchee Min about Maoist China was tender, raw and funny. With fifteen events over five days, you can't go to everything, but here's where Chicagoist will be: Tuesday: the Graduate Student... more ›

This past weekend reinforced why we live in Chicago. Everything may still be brown and muddy, but the fact remains that the blue skies and warm sun reminded us why this city rules. Here are two more reasons why Chicago is awesome, just in case this weekend wasn’t enough for you. more ›

We tend to keep the 10 p.m. local news on for background noise as we work on perfecting our next blogging masterpiece. Night after night, the stories tend to be about the same – a few robberies, some new business merger, speculation about the Bears future, and a health piece about how some food that will really make us fat may also help us fend of diseases. But on Tuesday night, our ears perked up... more ›

We love the Harold Washington Library, but we have to admit that there have been times walking through the stacks when we have been a little ... creeped out. You know, you're taking town your copy of Sade's Justine, and you see an eye peeping out from the other side of the stack. Eeeh. It's fiction, dude. more ›

It’s that time of year -- leaves are falling, radiators are clunking, and the Chicago Humanities Festival is raring to go. We love the fest, we really do. Chicagoist even worked for them for a few years. We don't want to look in gift horses' mouths, but we can't help wishing they would un-stuffy it up a little bit. Maybe book some more fun guests and authors. (Neil Gaiman sold out in minutes a few... more ›

We here at Chicagoist want to give the Harold Washington Library a shout-out for booking some really great authors. Last week it was David Mamet; this week, partnering with Nextbook is none other than E.L. Doctorow. more ›

We love the library. We can hardly believe this idea exists. Don't have THIRTY dollars to spend on a book you'll read in a day and a half? You can just go and check it out of the library, read it, and give it back. Ever since we were kids, we have been checking out piles of books, reading them quick, and getting more. There's something about getting lost in a book that we've never... more ›

What the ... fuck … what the fuck are you doing? Doing? What the fuck am I doing? I’m writing a post. A post. A post on … Mamet. The playwright. And author. He’s an author too. A playwright and an author. An author, yes. I see. He grew up … fuck … wait ... he grew up here. He wrote that play about selling real estate. He’s speaking at Harold Washington Library. I see... more ›

Today the “One Book, One Chicago” book was announced, and honestly; this is the most excitement we’ve seen come out of the Harold Washington Library in a long time. more ›

We’re gearing up for the weekend and to see some of our favorite authors at the Printers Row Book Fair. We thought we’d tell you who we’re planning on seeing, but remember there are a gajillion more events; so make sure you check the schedule; there’s much too much to even fathom. more ›

You have two hours of free time downtown with your 10-year-old son on a pre-paid trip that already includes King Tut, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, a harbor cruise, Hard Rock Café and Medieval Times. What do you do? (Besides drink heavily.) more ›

It’s always hard to come back after a three-day weekend and be hopeful. But here are a few things that let us know the world is going to be okay: more ›

Among the things we wish for at night, besides Heath Ledger telling us we are his only one, is the wish that we have changed the world, that we have had an impact, that we have taken our art to a higher form, and that we are appreciated for it. more ›

Chicagoist hasn’t really covered tap dance and, if you’re like most people, you probably haven’t thought much about the art form either. Chicago Tap Theatre is out to change all that. Since their 2003 incorporation they’ve spread the love for an often neglected American art form, performing in Dance Chicago and collaborating regularly with other Chicago tap companies and the French troupe Tapage. more ›

Whew, Chicagoist had a busy weekend. We had some friends in from out of town, so we went downtown and had a look at some buildings. Luckily spring is arriving, so even behind the scaffolding of the Federal Center, we could see the easy simplicity of Mies van der Rohe’s big black boxes. We told our friends that “less is more” and “God is in the details” and about the evolution of Chicago’s architecture. We... more ›

A smorgasbord for the mind, the 2005 Chicago Humanities Festival has rolled into town. This year’s theme is Home and Away, concerning “the role that ‘place’ serves in the creation of our sense of rootedness and belonging.” Sounds like Pretentious-English-Major-speak, but an impressive slate of writers, musicians and performers are addressing such hot button issues as globalization, mobility, national identity, and bridging regional differences. Most tickets are $5, a bargain that ensures many sold out... more ›

The title pretty much says it all, folks. Enter here for your chance to win a whopping 3 swell books from Picador. The free shipping alone is worth the win--and you get books! Nice, solid, long books that you really won't want to end. You have until 3 PM today. Winners only will be notified by email. You need not win a contest, though, to see authors James McManus, Stuart Dybek, and Jeffrey Eugenides... more ›

When Chicagoist first heard about the Picador 10th anniversary event occurring next Thursday evening at the Harold Washington Library, we were excited. Okay, we first had to google Picador to find out that they're the paperback imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux (and Henry Holt and St. Martin's). And who are FSG? Publishers of some sweet, sweet books, that's who. We hope to pass our excitement on to you, dear readers, with a little... more ›

James McManus - Author, Teacher, Poker Player more ›

We have to admit that felt a little thrill when we found out that his excellency John Irving would be visiting Chicago for a reading--we read the bizarre A Prayer for Owen Meany in our literary-formative high school years, and the man is a bit of a legend. He'll be at the Harold Washington Library tonight to discuss his eleventh novel, Until I Find You. more ›

Hey, remember those elementary school book fairs, when you got to skip math for the day and go to the library to stock up on the Berenstain Bears and, later, Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume? Chicagoist does, which is why we’re so excited for this weekend’s Printer’s Row Book Fair. Billed as the “largest free literary event in the Midwest,” the Printer’s Row Book Fair is the ultimate book fair for grown-ups and kids... more ›

“If you’re sad and like beer, I’m your lady.” It’s easy to fall madly in love with a woman who speaks such poetry. And when those words fall from the lips of Isabella Rossellini, Chicagoist just melts. Of course, no woman is that simple and neither is The Saddest Music in the World, which is part of a series of free screenings over the next week at the University of Chicago by Nuveen Visiting Filmmaker... more ›